WESTLOCK — The AA senior men’s Westlock Warriors went into the weekend in the top spot in the North Division standings of the North Central Hockey League (NCHL) and looked to hold onto first place after back-to-back games Saturday night Jan. 20 and a Sunday afternoon tilt Jan. 21.
The Warriors faced the Bonnyville Pontiacs Saturday night in a tough back-and-forth game on the road that saw both teams take a two-goal lead at some point over the 60-minute matchup and needed extra time, with the Warriors squeaking out a 6-5 overtime win. On Sunday, Westlock welcomed the Camrose Bruins for an afternoon make-up game that was re-scheduled from Jan. 13, due to extreme cold that weekend.
Warriors head coach Rod Kaliel said he likes what he’s seen from the team and their efforts, posting an 8-5-0 wins and losses record as of Jan. 20
“Overall, I would say that we’re satisfied with the season that we’ve had so far,” said Kaliel. “We’ve had a few ups and downs and we’ve had a few tough losses that we had to learn from, but all in all we’re sitting in a good position if we finish strong, to finish near the top of the north division which would set us up for a good playoff position.”
As of Jan. 20, the Warriors had three regular season games remaining, including the afternoon game against Camrose at the Rotary Spirit Centre on Sunday with the next two also at home against the Devon Barons Jan. 27 and the Bonnyville Pontiacs return to finish out the regular season on Feb. 3.
NCHL playoffs begin the weekend of Feb. 9 and Kaliel said the team has been fairing well this season, although some players have been bitten by the injury bug.
“Injury-wise, we’ve been fairly good. We’ve been able dress a full roster for every game, but we have lost two guys to injuries so far with broken bones so they’re possibly out long-term,” said Kaliel, noting both players are forwards.
Goaltending has been a strong point for the Warriors this season. Something they hope continues into the post-season. The Warriors now have four goalies on the roster, including: Lars Kaliel; Spencer Hutson, who just signed to be the team’s third goalie; affiliate goalie Royce Watson from Westlock, who played with the Beverley Warriors; and Keegan Richards, who rounds out the netminders this season.
“We have four goalies to draw from going into the playoffs to finish the year,” said Kaliel. “We’re happy with the goaltending we’ve been able to get from the games this year. That gives us some confidence going into playoffs, that we’re set up for a good run.”
