Barrhead Steelers are on a winning roll. But that doesn’t mean Steelers’ fans can sit back comfortably and enjoy the ride.
There are far too many bumps, twists and turns for that. Far too many surprises.
Friday night’s game against Devon Midget at the Agrena was a typical example.
The Steelers took home fans on a rollercoaster journey that saw them start slowly, pulverize their opponents in the second period, then end up clinging on for an 8-7 victory.
Still, a win is a win – and the Steelers are now getting used to that winning feeling. It shows in their body language, in the way team-members interact, in a certain swagger.
Coach Daniel Lefebvre has a word for it: swag.
“We have now gone four games without losing,” he said. “You can see we’ve got some swag.”
The first period on Friday saw momentum switch back and forth. Despite a sluggish start, the Steelers found themselves ahead at 19:15 with a Brett Bujold goal. Tyson Chizma and Cole Walker provided the assists.
Devon then hit back with three unanswered goals through Rick Chorzempa, Kenton Barry and Clayton Spencer.
The Steelers responded at 7:12 with a strike by Chizma, assisted by Scott Westerlund and Bujold. Corey Mercier then tied the game up at 6:19.
The second period pretty much belonged to the Steelers as they put five past their opponents. The goals came from Mercier (18:57), Josh Perdaems (6:03), Leslie Ziese (4:19), Grayson Mills (3:42) and Mercier (2:17). Devon scored twice through Barry and Michael Weisgerber.
After such an effort, the final period proved a bit flat. Instead of pushing forward, the Steelers let Devon creep back into the game. Spencer made it 8-6 at 10:19, while Austin Cunningham created some nerve-jangling moments for home fans when he scored at 4:08.
Steelers’ fans sighed with relief when the final buzzer sounded.
Lefebvre found plenty to admire in the Steelers’ overall performance, despite the slow start.
“I was really pleased with our power play,” he said. “It’s above average and is certainly better than what I have seen this season. As for our penalty kills, I was also fairly pleased with that part of our game.”
Lefebvre said after the first period he had asked his side to keep the puck down.
“We managed to do this in the second period and played really well,” he said.
One of the areas that still needs addressing is communication, he added.
“We are still too quiet, although we are improving,” he said. “It is something we are working on in practice.”
Lefebvre said he was encouraged by the way the Steelers were improving game by game.
“We are definitely better than when we started,” he said “I would say we have improved in every department of our game.”
The victory follows a Nov. 30 7-3 win against Devon and a 4-2 defeat of Vegreville Midget A Wranglers.
The Steelers next face Ponoka Midget Wolves on Friday at the Agrena.
Meanwhile, Barrhead Renegades had a tough weekend. After a 5-5 tie at the Agrena against Riviere Qui Barre on Saturday night, they went down 5-3 to Westlock Midget at the Rotary Spirit Center on Sunday.
