The Westlock Senior Warriors’ winless streak hit three Saturday night, with a disappointing 5-2 loss to the first-place Devon Barons at the Spirit Centre.
It wasn’t for lack of effort, however, as the Warriors came out strong in the first period of North Central Hockey League action. They just got into some penalty trouble with quite a few questionable calls going against Westlock, to the obvious dismay of the more than 100 fans.
”Unfortunately, we’re never going to win a game with the ref not on our side like that, and that’s something that’s happening time and time again,” coach Joe Kuhar said.
The first period saw the Warriors give up three unopposed goals, all the while struggling against some questionable calls that all went in favour of the Devon Barons.
Kuhar didn’t take the often one-sided refereeing quietly, though, sharing his thoughts with the ref after yet another missed call early in the second period. “Unfortunately, myself as the coach I wanted to make a statement and it cost us a bench minor, and we gave up a goal,” he said.
The referee obviously didn’t get the message, though, with Warrior Zac Schram suffering a flagrant trip in the neutral zone with just over three minutes in the period.
When the referee failed to call it, he made his thoughts on the matter known, earning a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, two 10-minute misconducts and a game misconduct.
Westlock’s Derek Kolzumi didn’t let being short-handed slow him down, though, giving the Warriors their first goal of the game just seconds later. The Barons responded in kind, though, scoring another one on the power play to make the score 5-1 after two periods.
The Warriors came out fighting in the third, outscoring their opponents 1-0 with Mike Ivey finding the back of the net off a pass from Evan Kuhar, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit.
The Warriors will look to get back in the win column this coming Friday, Nov. 29, when they host the Athabasca Aces. Game time is 8:30 p.m.
