The Barrhead Midget Renegades played a tough game against the Leduc Roughnecks over the weekend, and succumbed to the powerful plays of their opponents with a loss of 5-2.
The Renegades were off to a shaky start in the first period. Leduc landed three goals by the time the period was over, and Barrhead left the ice down 3-0.
Four minutes into the second, the Barrhead boys were attacked and scored on again.
Finally, with three minutes left in period two, Barrhead began to fight back. Renegades player Tyler Nickolson, assisted by Keegan Wolkowski, fired a shot on Leduc’s net and scored Barrhead’s first goal of the game.
Still down 4-1 in the third, the Renegades picked up their game again. They played hard defensively, determined not to let Leduc land another successful shot on net.
At the seven minute mark, Nickolson powered down the ice and scored his second goal of the night for the Renegades, assisted this time by Jesse Steele.
Things were starting to look up for Barrhead, as the game sat at 4-2. However Barrhead’s second goal sparked more aggressive playing in the Leduc team.
Unable to keep the puck out of their end, Barrhead fell victim to the attacks of the Roughnecks. With shot after shot fired on net, Leduc eventually scored another goal with just over one minute left in the game.
As time ran out, Barrhead left the ice defeated with a score of 5-2.
Renegades coach Al Starman said the boys played solidly for the most part in the second and third period. However the goals scored on the Renegades in first period had dire consequences for the Barrhead boys.
“We got in a hole of three nothing, and it’s hard to come back from that,” said Starman.
The coach added Barrhead’s nine penalties also stood in the way of getting to their end goal: coming out of the game on the winning side of things.
Despite a rocky game on the weekend, Starman said in the few games he has coached so far this year, the boys have come a long way.
“They’re going to gel as a team, hopefully before the end of the year,” he said. “We have to get them all on the same game plan. They just need fully focused play for 60 minutes.”
Starman said the boys have probably won about one third of their games. However if the Renegades are able to come together as a team in the near future, he believes they have a good run at playoffs.
The Renegades next play Fort Saskatchewan Tuesday night. The Barrhead boys are back at home this Saturday, when they play Millet, then are off to play Sturgeon on Sunday.
