Westlock's Tier 2 Pee Wee Krusaders got a well-earned notch in the victory column after defeating the first-place Devon Drillers 5-4 last Monday night at the Jubilee Arena.
Coach Blaine Morgan said despite some tense moments during the game, it says a lot about the Krusaders' skill that they were able to overcome such stiff competition – the Drillers are placed first in the division.
"They've just been rolling over some teams,” he said of the Drillers. "It was a good effort by our boys.”
The Krusaders took an early lead, with Daniel Lategan slipping one in after about five minutes of play.
They held on to the 1-0 lead until, with three minutes left in the period, the Drillers took the lead with two goals in quick succession.
Their comeback was quickly quashed, though, as with about a minute left in the first, Josh Nicol evened the score at 2-2.
The Krusaders again took the lead when Jason Morgan scored halfway through the second period. The Drillers again tied things up after a few more minutes, but a late-period goal by team captain Adam Hardinge meant the Krusaders went into the third with a one-goal lead.
They extended that lead to two goals when Lategan scored his second goal of the game with just five minutes left in the period.
The Drillers were able to score one more goal to narrow the Krusaders' lead to just one, but they were unable to get the tying goal as the Krusaders held on to earn the win.
"With two goals up with three and a half minutes left, I thought we were okay,” Morgan said. "When they scored, I got a bit worried.”
Hardinge said he was pleased with how he and his teammates handled the game, saying they worked hard and put in a good group effort.
"We just need to keep working hard all three periods and not panic in the third,” he said.
He conceded he was a bit nervous when the Drillers scored their fourth goal late in the third, but the hard work he spoke of paid off as the Krusaders were able to hold on to the one-goal lead for the win.
