The Athabasca Aces have the Legal Vipers on the ropes in their North Central Hockey League first round playoff series.
The teams met for Game One of the best-of-three series at the Athabasca Regional Multiplex last Saturday, but it wasn’t much of a contest. The Aces scored early and often on their way to a 7-1 drubbing of the Vipers. They controlled the puck for most of the game and almost doubled the Vipers shot total (36-20).
It was exactly the game Aces head coach Tony Kiselyk was looking for from his team.
“I’m very pleased. It was a good effort from our boys,” said the coach. “We sent a little bit of a message to them.”
That message was loud and clear for the Vipers, who will have to come better prepared for Game Two in Legal on Saturday if they hope to stave off elimination.
“It’s a short series, and you don’t want to get behind,” said Kiselyk. “We didn’t want to go down there needing a win in their small barn. Going to Legal down a game would have been a pretty big chore.”
But even though the Aces have the advantage, they’re not looking past the first round just yet.
“In this league, anyone can beat anybody,” he said.
Game 3, if necessary, will be held at the Multiplex on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
