Westlock’s Senior Warriors fell 6-2 at the hands of the Morinville Kings on Saturday, Dec. 19.
It was the team’s third-straight loss and keeps them in the cellar of the North Central Hockey league North Division with a 4-8-0 record.
Despite the final score, coach Joe Kuhar said the team played well but were unlucky.
“It’s disheartening of course, Especially when we out worked and outplayed them and out shot them,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s our bounces again, we can’t just seem to find the back of the net and their bounces go in the net.”
The Warriors got the first goal of the game early in the opening stanza thanks to Karmen Ward with help from Christopher Brand and Michael Ivey.
Morinville went on to score two more in the first but Westlock responded four-and-a-half minutes into the second thanks to Ivey and Brand again.
Kuhar said that the strong start showed what his team is capable of.
“It’s nice to see that,” he said. “It was positive and the work ethic was all there.
“From that point guys realize that can do it and start off on a positive note and I think that was encouraging from what we have seen earlier this year.”
But in the latter half of the second and the third it was all Morinville, who went on to the 6-2 victory.
Even though the Warriors sit bottom of the division, there’s still a chance they can make the playoffs.
They currently have eight points, while second and third last respectively — Slave Lake and Whitecourt — have 10. The Warriors take on both those teams early in the New Year and Kuhar says they are must-win games.
“They’ll determine where we are at the end of the day,” he said. “They are very critical.”
Last Friday’s home game against Edson was postponed due to bad weather and the Warriors also have Tofield at home to round out the regular season.
“The last four games in our opinion are something we can win all four. We truly believe that. It’s just a matter of coming prepared and playing a full 60 minutes.”
The club’s next game is set for Jan. 8 in Whitecourt.
