Another strong win has the Barrhead midget ‘AA’ Steelers heading up to Slave Lake in March for the Midget AA Minor provincial tournament.
Taking on the Spruce Grove PAC Saints in front of a home crowd Feb. 15 at the Agrena, the Steelers came away with a 5-3 win. Coupled with their 8-2 win in game one of the series in Spruce Grove a few days earlier, there was no question the Steelers deserved to be the team to represent Zone 3 in Slave Lake.
Having a six-goal lead in the two-game, total-goals series put the Steelers in a bit of an uncomfortable position early Wednesday night, said coach Greg Schmidt.
“They were playing a bit like they were trying to protect the lead early,” he said. However, after a while they managed to get their rhythm back and take control of the game.
The game started a bit rough for the Steelers, as they found themselves trailing 1-0 less than six minutes into the first period. Connor Tiemstra would tie things up 1-1 at the 12:20 mark, but the Saints would pot one with 46 seconds to play to take a 2-1 lead into the dressing room after 20 minutes.
In the second, things went more to the Steelers’ liking. Spencer Voight opened the scoring for his team only seven seconds in, tying things at 2-2. However, the Saints fought right back with a goal of their own at 2:04 to retake the lead.
Not to be denied, the Steelers answered right back at 4:48 when Tiemstra notched his second of the game to make it 3-3. A Thomas Strawson goal at 15:12 gave the Steelers their first lead of the game, 4-3, which they took into the second intermission.
The third period saw only one goal, despite a plethora of powerplay opportunities for both teams. That goal came off the stick of the Steelers’ Brandon Whiting, and gave the home side the insurance it needed to guarantee its spot in the provincial tournament.
Schmidt said after the game that the penalty trouble the Steelers found themselves in was a bit of a problem, but overall their discipline was good. Speaking about their 8-2 win in game one of the series, Schmidt said the Steelers played “fantastic” in controlling the tempo.
“We totally dominated them and shut them down,” he said, adding that it seemed about three-quarters of the game was played in the Saints’ zone.
In their final regular season game, the Steelers travelled to Morinville to take on the SHC Mustangs.
Needing a win to clinch first place overall in the Northern Alberta Midget AA Hockey League, the Steelers turned on the offence and routed their opponents 12-2.
The win gives the Steelers a 23-7-2 record for 48 points, claiming the league’s regular season title by one point over the Northeast Panthers.
Up next for the Steelers are the playoffs. However, coach Greg Schmidt said with winning their division and the league, the team has a bye in the first round.
