All aboard, for the bus to Calgary. For the second time in two years the Barrhead Steelers Midget A hockey team will move on the represent the town in the Provincial Midget Hockey Championship Tournament. Last year the Steelers won the provincial championship tournament competing in the B division. This year they will be competing in the stronger A division.
The Steelers qualified for the tournament despite losing the final game of a home and home total point series, Friday, Feb. 27, by a score of 6 to 4.
The Steelers were able to advance to the championship tournament on the strength of their previous game. Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, Feb. 24, the Steelers defeated the Wolverines by 6 to 2. In a home and home total point series, if both teams are tied with one win, the winner of the series is the team that scored the most goals. The Steelers defeated the Wolverines by an overall score of 10 to 8. See story below for more details on Tuesday’s game.
The Steelers got off to a strong start taking a 3 to 1 lead on goals by Brayden DeRudder, Zac Laun and Tanner Whiting.
In the second period a desperate Whitecourt team stormed back scoring four answered goals, dominating the period not only on the scoreboard, but on shots on net, time in the offensive zone and overall play.
However, by the start of the third period the Steelers gained their equilibrium back and played Whitecourt to a draw, both in terms of play and on the scoreboard exchanging goals. The Barrhead goal was by Zac Laun, his second of the game.
Jason Murrell, Steelers Head Coach said coaching staff emphasized to their players before the game not to take their opponents lightly.
“Whitecourt is a AA team and have been playing AA level hockey all year, and they have two or three really good players,” he said, adding that for the most part the Steelers were able to contain the damage they were able to do. “We bent quite a bit, but in the third period the boys shut them down.”
Murrell said despite their best efforts, it was hard not to think about the large four goal cushion the team had earned in their first game and that it might have played a small factor in the team’s performance.
“It’s always in your head, in the back of your mind, you’re up by four goals, three goals and then two,” he said.
As for how Murrell feels about qualifying for the Provincial Championship Tournament for the second straight year, he said the team feels just great.
“It has been a long frustrating year for the team. We weren’t able to play in a league so we played in as many exhibition games and tournaments that we could,” he said. “The word I would use for the boys is resilient, they didn’t play many games and practiced a lot, but they were able to pull it through in the end. I am really proud of the boys.”
Murrell said the team also wanted to thank all the fans for their support, saying a large contingent of fans travelled to Whitecourt on Tuesday to cheer them on.
“The fans have been craving Steelers hockey all year and they showed up in droves tonight to support us once again.”
The three-day Provincial A Midget Championship Tournament begins on March 19 in Calgary.
In other news the Bantam Barrhead Pirates also qualified for provincials by defeating a team from Drayton Valley in a two game total point series last week. The Bantam A Provincials will be held on March 12 to 15 in Devon.
