A strong effort by the Barrhead Midget ‘AA’ Steelers didn’t result in a win Nov. 13 at the Agrena as the team failed to hold on to a two-goal lead after two periods and had to settle for a 3-3 tie with the Spruce Grove Saints.
“The biggest letdown was our powerplay,” said co-coach Trevor Whiting.
A stronger powerplay would definitely have helped the Steelers, who had many opportunities to score with the man advantage as the Saints took 68 minutes in penalties to the Steelers’ 12.
In addition, the Steelers carried the play all game long, outshooting their opponents 29-17.
“We deserved a better fate,” Whiting said.
The game started slowly for both teams. Through the first 14 minutes of play, neither team was able to penetrate the other’s defence.
That all changed at 14:23 of the first when the Saints opened the scoring.
With the deadlock broken, the Steelers joined into the goal party when Brett Bujold scored at 17:58 on assists by Spencer Voight and Colton Properzi.
Shots in the first were 10-8 for the Steelers.
In the second, the Steelers kept bombarding the Saints’ net. They threw 15 shots at Spruce Grove goalie Jesse Fontaine, beating him twice. Jake Chizma scored at 2:00 from Brandon Whiting and Bujold to give the Steelers their first lead of the game.
Connor Tiemstra upped the lead to 3-1 with his goal at 12:58. Austin Caldwell and Nolan Schmidt got the assists on the goal.
Steelers goalie Brandin Mast turned aside all three shots he faced.
In the third, things started to unravel for the home side. Not only did the Saints outshoot the Steelers 6-4 in the period, but two of those shots found their way past Mast.
The first came at 16:32, cutting the lead to 3-2. The second came with only 16 seconds left in the game, after the Saints had pulled their goalie for an extra attacker.
With just 16 seconds remaining on the clock, neither team was able to get the tiebreaker before time expired, ending the game in a 3-3 tie.
After the game, coach Whiting reiterated that the Steelers deserved better given how they outplayed the Saints for the majority of the game, but that the lack of an effective powerplay hurt the team’s chances of pulling out a win.
Sunday’s tie may have been a win that got away from the Steelers, but on Saturday they weren’t going to let the home crowd go home disappointed.
Hosting the Sherwood Park Sandy’s Oilers, the Steelers overcame two periods of even play with their opponents to emerge with an 8-4 victory.
The Steelers jumped out to a 1-0 lead only 1:10 into the game. After the Oilers tied it at 11:38, it took Barrhead only 20 seconds to retake the lead.
In the second, the Steelers made it 3-1 two minutes in, but saw that lead cut in half at 5:32. At 9:30 the Steelers retook their two-goal lead, only to see it evaporate after the Oilers scored at 10:34 and 11:17 to make it a 4-4 game after 40 minutes.
But in the third, the Steelers came out roaring, firing 19 shots at the Oilers’ goalie, and scoring on four of them and turning the game from an even affair into a laugher.
With a 1-0-1 record during the brief homestand, coach Whiting said he felt it was a very positive weekend for the team.
“They play well as a team,” he said. “It was a great team effort. I’m proud of the boys, they’re playing great hockey.”
