The old adage says close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, but those in attendance at the Barrhead Agrena will say it was close.
On Friday, Jan. 9 the Barrhead Steelers lost 4 to 3 in an exhibition game against the Prince George Cougars in AA Midget action.
The Cougars opened the scoring at the five minute mark of the first period. The Steelers quickly responded however, scoring less than 30 seconds later on their first shot on net with a goal by Brayden De Rudder.
The Cougars continued their offence, scoring their second goal of the game just past the half way mark of the period.
Once again the Steelers responded in short order, scoring a power play goal less than two minutes later, after Prince George defenceman Austin Crossley, took a hooking penalty.
The Steelers wrapped up the period with a late period goal by Tanner Whiting, who scored with a minute and a half left in the opening frame.
At the end of an evenly played first period the Steelers led by one goal and out shot their opponents by 12 to 11.
In the first half of the second period the Steelers continued to be evenly matched, equally exchanging scoring chances. However in the second part of the period the Cougars took control and hemmed the Steelers in their own end. At the end of the second period the Cougars scored two unanswered goals to take the lead. Shots for the period were 10 to 9 in favour of the Steelers.
In the third period, continued their territorial dominance with majority of the play being in the Steelers zone out shooting them 21 to 9.
However, late in the period the Steelers made it interesting and just about tied the game, after the Cougars took a hooking penalty with two minutes left in the game. With just over a minute left in the game the Steelers pulled their goaltender, giving them a two man advantage, but the Cougars were able to weather the storm.
Steelers coach Jason Murrell said thought his team played very well, especially considering the circumstances.
“I am very proud of the team. They played extremely well against a strong AA midget calibre team,” he said, adding that Prince George is known for having a strong minor hockey program.
Making it more difficult, Murrell said is the fact the team does not have a lot of game action under their belts. Because of a communication issue this year the Steelers find themselves without a league to play in.
“We practice twice a week, but without any teams to play against it is hard to stay sharp,” he said.
Murrell said since the start of the hockey season has been limited to playing in the occasional tournament and exhibition games. So far this season the Steelers have played in two tournaments and one other exhibition game in early October.
“I did have two other exhibition games lined up in the New Year, but the teams both cancelled,” he said. “It is hard to find teams to play, they are all busy playing in their own leagues or are preparing for provincials.”
The next time the Steelers will compete is in the tournament the team is hosting starting on Saturday, Jan. 31.
