Barrhead Steelers can’t stop winning.
At the Agrena on Friday night, they thumped Stettler Legion 5-1 to extend their winning streak to seven.
How distant seems that 5-0 loss to Edson at the beginning of their North Central Minor Hockey League campaign.
Yet a run of victories can prove dangerous to those who begin to see it as a right, to those who believe a game is won before going on the ice.
In the first period against Stettler, the Steelers appeared to adopt that mindset.
They were slow to get going, unlike their speedy opponents who were fired-up from the start.
That said, the Steelers still managed to grab the lead at 4:17 with a goal by Koby Adams, helped by Eric Schmidt and Nic Murrell.
At the break, the coaching staff told the Steelers to emerge from their slumbers, begin skating, puck deep and get busy forechecking.
The coaches’ words produced the desired effect in the second period. Even though Stettler equalized at 12:17 through Zack Werbowesky, the Steelers now meant business.
They regained their advantage at 8:34 through Eric Schmidt, and went further ahead at 7:08 when Nic Murrell netted, with assists from Nick Perdaems and Nathan Schmidt.
The Steelers were now in complete control. The pattern continued in the third period. Perdaems scored at 17:05, assisted by Bujold and Zak Laun, before Declan Kummer completed the demolition job, firing into an empty net at 2:30.
Assistant coach Greg Schmidt said the Steelers had to earn their victory after a slow start.
“I think we were a little sluggish to start with.,” he said. “We are on a pretty good winning streak and the boys maybe took it a little for granted tonight.”
Schmidt praised Stettler for their speed.
“You have to give those guys a lot of credit,” he said. “They are a quick team – one of the quickest teams we played this year. They are very good in the neutral zone.”
Schmidt said the Steelers were told to “crank it up” after the first period, and start getting pucks in deep. It resulted in a vastly improved second period, which they dominated.
“I think our confidence is high right now,” Schmidt said. “The boys are playing some pretty good hockey. Since the start of the season, they have improved, that’s for sure.
“They’ve come together as a group and tonight they spread the scoring out well. We had five different scorers.”
The Steelers are next in action on Saturday, playing Innisfail Kinsmen Flyers at the Innisfail Arena. On Dec. 1, they play Stettler again in another away game.
