It was a difficult final weekend of the season for the Westlock senior ‘AA’ Warriors, as they dropped both games they played.
The weekend started with a 5-4 loss to the Devon Barons on home ice on Jan. 25, and was followed by a 7-3 loss on the road to the Slave Lake Winterhawks.
The two losses mean the Warriors finished their inaugural season with a 9-9-0 record, putting them in third place in the North Central Hockey League’s North division.
By finishing in third place, the Warriors have earned a playoff matchup with the second-place Morinville Kings, continuing what has become a “rivalry.”
“It’s going to be high paced and high action,” said Warriors coach Joe Kuhar.
“It’s going to be a real close-fought series. Everybody understands and knows what it takes to play playoff hockey, so we’ll see our guys coming out with full guns.”
The playoff schedule has not been determined yet, Kuhar said.
Saturday night’s 5-4 loss to Devon was really two games in one.
The teams played a scoreless opening 16 minutes before the Barons got on the board with just over three minutes to play. A second Devon goal with 46 seconds left on the clock sent the visitors into the first intermission up 2-0.
In the second, the Barons struck early to increase their lead to 3-0. Two more goals made it 5-0 Devon with just under six minutes left in the frame.
That’s when the Warriors started to turn it on.
At 16:54, Evan Kuhar scored to cut the Barons’ lead to 5-1, with Alex Belzevick and Mike Ivey notching the assists.
Only seven seconds later, Ivey scored, cutting the deficit to 5-2 and sending the Warriors into the second intermission down only three. Belzevick and Kuhar had the assists.
Once the third started, the Warriors continued their offensive play. Ivey scored his second of the game only nine seconds into the frame, making it 5-3. Belzevick and Kuhar once again assisted on the goal.
Ivey’s hat trick goal made it 5-4 at 7:17, setting up more than half a period of one team fighting for the tying goal and one with no intention of letting that happen.
Kuhar and Tanner Sohn drew the assists.
In the end, despite countless attempts and playing with six attackers after pulling their goalie, the Warriors were unable to pot that fifth goal and watched Devon disappoint the home crowd by skating off with the win.
Following the game, coach Kuhar said the Warriors simply didn’t bring the intensity early and started skating too late.
“If we had another five minutes, we probably would have pulled out the tie or even the win,” he said.
Coach Kuhar credited Ivey’s work and that of his teammates with pulling the team within one goal, adding it was nice to see Ivey break out with three goals.
He added the game didn’t mean much to the Warriors, but that it did for the Barons, who locked up first place in their division with the win.
Sunday’s game in Slave Lake did not go as well as the Warriors would have hoped, Kuhar said.
“They just came a little harder at us than we were ready for,” said the coach. “They had never beaten us, so they wanted to win.”
