The coaches agree it could have been a win, but overcoming a 2-0 deficit to pull out a tie was a pretty good result for the Westlock Midget Warriors last Sunday afternoon.
The Vegreville Wranglers really made the Warriors work for it, but a pair of unanswered third-period goals left the two teams on even footing for a 2-2 finish at the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre.
Head coach Tom Hardinge said he felt as always that the win was possible, but the Warriors were facing the added challenge of a particularly short bench.
“We had a short bench today — a couple injuries and a couple guys holidaying,” assistant coach Doug Schiller said. “Our older players were gone, so we had a bunch of young ones out there today.”
Things started out slow, with the teams deadlocked until the Wranglers scored with just one minute left in the first.
The Warriors were unable to answer that goal, giving up another late in the second period.
Things turned around in the third with Ryan Archer getting Westlock on the board about eight minutes in.
“It just really lifts their spirits, and they start playing better too,” Schiller said. “They get into the game.”
Another big difference in the third, assistant coach Dave Vandeligt said, was that the Warriors started to play more aggressively.
“They were hitting a little better, getting a little physical,” he said. “They were hitting more and skating faster.”
Andrew Vandeligt scored the tying goal with about six minutes left to play, but despite some great scoring opportunities on the power play late in the third, the Warriors left with a tie.
The team is making some improvements, but Hardinge noted there is still a ways to go.
“We’ve got to just get them working as a team. And we’ve got some injured guys we’ve got to get back, and some guys that are away,” he said. “We’ll bring it together. It will all happen.”
