The Westlock Warriors Senior ‘AA’ hockey team sits at 2-2-0 in the North Central Hockey League after splitting two games over the weekend.
On Nov. 1, the Warriors played at home against the Drayton Valley Wildcats, winning 6-2. On Nov. 2 they were in Devon to take on the Barons, a game they lost 6-3. Friday night’s game saw the Warriors knock off the previously undefeated Wildcats.
“They gave us a really good gauge of where we are,” said Warriors coach Joe Kuhar after the game.
The Wildcats got out to a strong start, he said, and provided the Warriors with a tough and physical match.
After a rough opening half period or so, Kuhar said the game settled down into the kind of defensive game the Warriors enjoy, complete with strong puck pressure in the offensive zone as the Warriors control the play and wear down their opponents.
“That resulted in goals and the rest is history,” he said.
The Wildcats opened the scoring, taking a 1-0 lead at 9:58 of the first period.
That lead lasted until the 17:04 mark, when Evan Kuhar scored for Westlock to tie things up 1-1. Alex Belzevick and Tanner Sohn had the assists.
However, that tie didn’t last the period, as the Wildcats scored with 25 seconds to play to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
In the second, the Warriors took over the game, notching three goals to take a 4-2 lead into the second intermission.
Derek Koizumi opened the scoring at 4:51 to tie the game 2-2. Dave Carr had the lone assist.
Koizumi scored to put the Warriors up 3-2 at 14:34. Ricky Wong and Zac Schram had the assists.
Martin Clausen put Westlock up 4-2 at the 18:50 mark, with Mike Podruzny drawing the assist.
The third period saw the Warriors continue to pull away.
At 2:17 Mike Ivey scored to put the home side up 5-2. Clausen and Evan Kuhar notched the assists.
The final goal of the game came at 17:58, off the stick of Paul Ivey, making it 6-2. Kuhar and Mike Ivey had the assists.
Saturday night, the Warriors were not able to keep the momentum from Friday going, losing to the Barons 6-3 on the road.
“It was a hard fought battle,” coach Kuhar said.
He added it was the Warriors’ defensive play that had a hand in the result.
“We have to clean up our defensive coverage for sure,” Kuhar said. “Our goaltender played well last night, but we need to help our goaltenders out. We believe our goaltending is solid, our defensive play not so much.”
Having a .500 record through four games shows the Warriors can compete with the top teams in the league, he added.
