And in the white, black and yellow corner, the Steelers … in the blue, the Trackers.
Welcome to Friday Night Fights at the Agrena. Are you ready? Let’s get ready to rumble!
Okay, this wasn’t boxing – nobody threw any punches – but it was the hockey equivalent of two evenly-matched opponents slugging it out.
A 6-1 score may suggest something else, that this was a hopelessly one-sided affair, that all the action was at one end, that the NE BC and Yukon Trackers were outmatched, and that the Barrhead Midget ‘AA’ Steelers were simply too hot to handle.
However, only the last part of that sentence is correct, for Friday night’s spectacle was tough, bruising, uncompromising and utterly compelling.
Steelers coaches Greg Schmidt and Trevor Whiting rated their team’s performance the best this season, particularly given the quality of opposition.
Schmidt praised the intensity of the Steelers, which they maintained through the match until the final buzzer and boded well for Saturday’s confrontation with Whitecourt Ford Mustangs.
“We played very well. This was a really physical skate as well,” he said.
“Offensively and defensively we played well tonight,” said co-coach Whiting. “It was a good all-round team effort.
“This was certainly our best performance this season, and it came against a very good team. I thought their goalie had a very good game.”
In the first period, the Trackers seemed if anything the hungrier of the two teams, taking the fight to the Steelers, out-muscling them in tackles.
The Trackers looked good coming forward, passing with speed and accuracy, their defence and offence linking well.
Just when it seemed the first period would end in stalemate, the Steelers scored with a spectacular breakaway goal, Jake Chizma running from well within his half to the mouth of the Trackers’ net and firing home the puck.
With less than three minutes of the period left, it was the boost the Steelers needed before going into the break.
At the start of the second period it was clear the Steelers were now fully charged up.
They were the ones winning most of the one-on-one skirmishes, scrapping for every half chance and using the walls intelligently to retain possession, get out of potential difficulty and create offensive opportunities. Their power play was clicking, suggesting this was something they had worked on in practice.
The Steelers’ new intensity was rewarded at 13:54 in the second period when Connor Tiemstra scored after a furious goalmouth scramble.
Even with a two-goal advantage, however, the Steelers maintained their concentration.
Dayne Wingrove got the Steelers’ third goal at 4.47 and Jonathan Cyr the fourth at 1.41 to cap a superlative period, each strike being celebrated enthusiastically, a mark of respect for the opposition and the importance of victory.
To their credit, the Trackers never lost heart. They always looked a capable side and kept testing the Steelers’ defence. A goal or two at this late stage and a comeback could not have been ruled out.
But with neither side dominating the opening of the third period, the game drifted well beyond the Trackers’ reach.
After Austin Caldwell scored at 9:12 and Dayne Wingrove got his second at 7:16 Steelers’ fans could finally sigh with relief.
The scoreboard showed 6-0 and although the Trackers got a consolation goal when Jade McMullen knocked one in at 1.47 the match was over.
Schmidt admitted that he had called for more aggression after the first period.
“We were getting knocked about a bit and I said we had to get more physical,” he said. “In the second period we won pretty much all the battles and along the walls. To be leading 4-0 was huge.”
Schmidt and Whiting were impressed with the Steelers’ power play and the number of offensive opportunities created.
“It gives a lift going into tomorrow’s game. Hopefully, it will translate into goals,” said Schmidt.
Well, it was always likely to be this way.
After Friday night’s slugfest, Saturday’s trip to the Whitecourt Ford Mustangs seemed like a sideshow, despite being a contest between the top two in the West Blue division.
Nursing bruises and a few injuries, the Steelers found it difficult to reproduce the burning intensity displayed against the Trackers.
Nevertheless they had enough firepower and reserves of energy to come away with a 5-4 victory and avenge a 4-0 home defeat to Whitecourt a few weeks ago.
Spencer Voight and Brandon Whiting scored in the first period to put the Steelers 2-1 up at the break.
In the second period, Lowell Knapp found the net at 7:20, with neither side able to dominate.
It was 3-3 going into the third period. Dayne Wingrove scored at 11:0 to put the Steelers ahead again and Whiting’s second goal at 1:40 sealed the result.
“It was a close one,” said coach Greg Schmidt. “It was a little bit of a letdown after yesterday, but the right result.
“We didn’t show the same intensity today, but that was only to be expected. We were nursing a few injuries after last night.”
The Steelers have little time to recuperate, for on Tuesday they are in action again in a road game against St. Albert Crusaders.
After that, they will have the Christmas holiday to get back to full fighting fitness.
“It will be nice to have a bit of a break,” said Schmidt.
The Steelers now have 32 points, after 15 victories, three losses and two ties.
