The Barrhead Steelers go into the New Year sporting a perfect 12-0-0 record, thanks in part to a dominant performance.
On Dec. 21, the Steelers defeated the Fort McMurray Junior Oil Barons in midget action at the Barrhead Agrena.
The first period got off to a strong start spending much of the opening minutes in the Fort McMurray zone.
However, the Steelers’ momentum stalled after Fort McMurray took a four-minute penalty for contact to the head. In the first two minutes of the period, Barrhead failed to get any real pressure on the opposition goaltender as the Oil Barons were able to ice the puck on multiple occasions.
With a little more than half of the penalty finished Barrhead called a timeout.
“I’m not sure why, but it didn’t look like we were prepared. For whatever reason, we weren’t focused. Maybe they were thinking about getting a visit from the big red guy [Santa Claus],” joked head coach Alan Measures. “But whatever it was when play resumed they got a little more serious.”
With a just under a minute left in the penalty, the Steelers broke the stalemate with a goal by Jeremy DeVries, assisted by Brendan Bujold and Colton Bondarchuck. Before the end of the period, Barrhead would increase their lead on goals by Landon Petiot, assisted by Luke Szybunka and an unassisted marker by Bujold going into intermission leading 3-0 and outshooting their opponents 17-7.
In the second period, the Steelers once again dominated play holding the edge in puck position, chances and shot on net, as well as the scoreboard with a goal from Brayden Bain, assisted by Devyn Kerr and Petiot.
In the final frame, the Steelers cemented their victory with goals by Bujold, assisted by Bondarchuck and DeVries, and a power play marker by Luke Szybunka, assisted by Dylan Stoik and Owen Weeks.
Colton Griffiths stopped 16 shots for the shutout.
“We played a good game, but at times we got away from our systems and while that didn’t hurt us tonight, in late January and February when provincial playdowns and league playoffs begin that could be a problem. That is why we want to stop those things as soon as we can so that we don’t develop any bad habits,” he said, adding he is confident the team will stay on track. “They are a really good group and work hard, but sometimes we need to remind them to stay focused and play our systems.
