The Barrhead Steelers took their first step towards returning to the provincial Midget A championships on Jan. 29, easily dispatching Spruce Grove (SG880) 4-0 at home in the first round of provincial zone qualifiers.
It was the second game of a total-point series, with Barrhead previously beating Spruce Grove 8-2 on Jan. 19.
With Spruce Grove now out of the way, the Steelers will next advance to the final qualifying round, which will determine who represents Zone 3 at the Provincial Championships in Strathmore in late March.
Last year Barrhead won the provincial silver medal.
Landon Petiot put Barrhead on the scoreboard early scoring an unassisted goal just two minutes into the game.
Brendan Bujold added to the Steelers’ lead by scoring a short-handed unassisted goal just over midway into the period.
The period ended with the Steelers leading 2-0 and having a 17-7 shot advantage.
In the second period, Barrhead continued their strong play dominating Spruce Grove territorially as well as in offensive chances.
At about the five-minute mark of the period, it looked like Spruce Grove might have a chance to get back into the game when the Steelers received a two-minute minor penalty for roughing.
However, any momentum they might have gained was snuffed out by a strong penalty kill by Barrhead, which netted them two or three scoring chances. That included a breakaway by Bujold, who shot the puck wide after coming in from the right face-off circle.
About three minutes later, the Steelers yet again extended their lead on the two-man power play with a goal by captain Owen Weeks, assisted by Colton Bondarchuk and Jeremy DeVries.
Unfortunately for Barrhead, a few minutes later, they were not able to capitalize on a five-minute penalty opportunity when Spruce Grove’s Kolby Crowe received a major for charging as well as a game misconduct for a late, heavy hit on Steelers Siraj Assaf at their blue line.
The period ended with Barrhead leading 3-0 and having a 15-8 shot advantage.
In the third period, the Steelers cemented their victory when DeVries deposited the puck into the unguarded side of the net after Spruce Grove’s goaltender let out a large rebound on a shot from Colton Bondarchuk. Justin Haltiner received the second assist.
Goaltender Brandon Meier stopped 22 shots for the shutout.
Head coach Allan Measures said overall was happy with his team’s effort, adding Spruce Grove had a better effort than their previous match-up.
He added the score could have been more lopsided if the Steelers had just had a bit more finish.
“We had a lot of chances, but for whatever reason, they just didn’t go in for us. Maybe we are saving them for the next series [against Drayton Valley]. I hope so,” he joked.
Usually in provincial playdown the time between games is not as long. When asked if it was difficult to keep the team focused because of the long break between the two games, Measures noted they played two league games in between.
Although the schedule for the next round of provincial playdown games haven’t been released, it must be completed by Feb. 18.
He added it has been difficult as a coaching staff to find ways to help the players and the team improve, because in the majority of the games, their opponents haven’t challenged them.
“There is a tendency for any team to play to the level of your opponent and that is when bad habits can creep into your game,” he said, adding that is why he plans to ramp up practices.
“My philosophy is that by the end of January you should know the system, so starting next week we are going to push them a little harder so we are ready for the tougher competition we expect to face, not only for the league playoffs but provincials, if we are fortunate to make them.”
The club’s next league home game is on Friday, Feb. 8 at 8:30 p.m.
