The Westlock Bantam Warriors were poised to represent Zone 3 at Bantam ‘D’ provincials, but a 5-2 OT home loss on Feb. 8 cut those dreams short.
Ahead in their Zone 3 provincial playdown series against the Mayerthorpe Mustangs after a 5-3 road win in Game 1, the stunning 5-2 OT home loss in Game 2 resulted in the Mustangs galloping off to provincials by one goal margin.
“It was a good game and a hard-fought series,” said coach Rocky Zeise.
“It’s always disappointing, but as long as the kids left it all out there on the ice, that’s all you ask for.
“They win as a team and they lose as a team, and today we came up short and that’s the way hockey is.”
With Mayerthorpe ahead 4-2 after the final buzzer in Game 2, the series was locked at 7-7, meaning overtime was required to determine a winner.
Less than two minutes into the extra frame, it was Mayerthorpe that capitalized on a power play opportunity, and ended the Warriors’ provincial hopes.
“The kids played hard and played their hearts out in Mayerthorpe and it was one shot, one goal is what it took to win the series in the end,” Zeise said.
The Warriors put up the game’s first goal off the stick of Keenan Fortier, but the Mustangs responded with two late period tallies to lead 2-1 after the first.
“It was a bit of a slow start,” Zeise said. “They definitely came on a bit stronger in the beginning. Once we got our bearings, it evened out.”
Westlock tied the game 2-2 early in the second frame, but it was short-lived. Ten seconds later, Mayerthorpe scored the first of back-to-back goals to lead 4-2 and tie the series.
“We had a little penalty trouble in the second, some of the kids got down, a couple got worn out,” Zeise said.
“It just kind of set everyone back.”
A conservatively played third period from two exhausted squads yielded no goals, despite a number of prime scoring chances both ways, sending the series to overtime.
“There wasn’t much gas left on any team. Everybody was done.”
Goalie Robert Zeise turned aside 41 of 46 shots sent his way in the loss.
“Robert had a really good game, lots of shots on their power play,” the coach said. “He did really well. They all did good.”
Zeise said with provincials over, the team will now focus on winning a league banner.
