Tight passes and cool thinking propelled the Westlock Bantam Warriors to a 8-4 win over the New Sarepta Eagles on Jan. 29 at the Rotary Spirit Centre in Tier 3 of Bantam 1660 Hockey League action.
Coach Rocky Zeise said the win is the perfect way to rebound after back-to-back loses tot Camrose and Vegreville, who lead the league in a first-place tie.
“We had a couple of tough loses [the previous weekend], so it was nice to get a win against the fourth place team,” Zeise said.
“They didn’t want to lose, that’s for sure. They worked hard; they’ve been working hard on their special teams and puck movement the last couple weeks of practice and it’s starting to pay off. They move the puck well and they’re taking control of the game.
“It was nice to see them play with confidence.”
Things started slow for the Warriors in the first. The boys gave up an early goal at 17:43, but fought back quickly for a goal of their own. A face off deep in Warriors territory opened up a breakaway and several minutes of hard skating.
The struggle paid off late in the period as James Oloske caught another snap goal out in front of the Eagle’s crease.
“Once the game started getting a little more intense, they brought us to the table and we showed them we could keep up,” Zeise said.
The Warriors kept New Sarepta’s netminder busy, moving into the second, with clear pressure. Goal three for the Westlock squad threw the Eagle’s goalie into a dramatic set of splits, but the effort wasn’t enough.
Robert Zeise’s quick glove in net held the Eagles at bay.
By the end of the second, the gap had widened to 6-4 for the Warriors, giving the squad some time for target practice to end the game with a four-goal lead.
With a playoff berth all but secured, Zeise said the most important thing for the boys will be to maintain focus.
“If we can get wins against Leduc and Barrhead, then we can secure third place and play against a little lower end team going into playoffs,” he said.
“They want to keep up with the body contact, keep up with the physical game. We’ve been holding onto the puck too long and we didn’t have that drive, whereas [Friday] the boys were really driving and getting in there and were hungry for that puck.”
The rest will be up to the boys.
“It’s up to the kids. They’ve got to bring it to the table every game and play hard. It’s all up to them in the end.”
