The Westlock Pee Wee Tier 2 Warriors were a little rusty against the Spruce Grove Chiefs last Saturday afternoon after having had two weeks off.
The Warriors faced the Chiefs in an exhibition game at the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre, dropping the tilt 7-3.
“We hadn’t played for a couple weeks, so we came out slow,” coach Shane Boulerice said. “After the first period the boys started playing a little better, but we still didn’t have the effort we needed to win a hockey game against a team like that.”
The Chiefs came out strong, notching three goals in the first 10 minutes of the game, with the Warriors only finding the back of the net once near the end of the period.
Going into the second with a 3-1 deficit proved to be a challenge, and the Warriors gave up another three goals but only scored two.
The third period saw the Warriors up the defence a bit, holding the Chiefs to just one goal for a 7-3 final.
The loss was a good learning experience for the club, Boulerice said, as it highlighted some of the areas they need to focus on.
“There’s always something to work on. We need a little bit more on our forecheck, and we just have to start learning how to pick up the men and play better defence in our own end,” he said.
Although the Warriors are winless so far this season, they have been very competitive throughout.
“We haven’t won a game, but we tied a game with the one team that moved up to Tier 1,” he said. “That was Stony Plain. We tied them 4-4, then after that game they moved up to Tier 1 so I was very happy with that outcome.”
With about half the players on the team in their first year at the pee wee level, Boulerice said there is a pretty tough learning curve being introduced to body contact for the first time.
All told, however, Boulerice said he’s seen a lot of positive effort from the boys and sees a lot of potential.
“Right now my goal is to be a .500 team, and hopefully by January I think we will give every team a good run for their money,” he said.
“We just want to get a couple wins and get some confidence. That’s what we need to get a little bit more out of them.”
