WESTLOCK – The Westlock Senior ‘AA’ face a stiff test in their North Central Hockey League home opener this coming Saturday night when they take on the best regular-season club in the NCHL last year who not only won the ‘AA’ provincial title but were the team that knocked them out of last year’s playoffs, the Lacombe Generals.
Captain Mike Ivey said they’re looking forward to facing the Generals, a club they had a degree of success against in 2021-2022, going 1-1 against them in the regular season, while falling 3-1 in the league semifinal series, a bittersweet result that included a heartbreaking 7-6 OT loss in Game 1. Game time for the Oct. 1 tilt at the Rotary Spirit Centre (RSC) is 7 p.m.
“We know what they bring. They’re strong and big and skilled and have a good goalie. But we’re excited because this gives us a bit of a chance to redeem ourselves from last season,” said Ivey Sept. 25. “It’ll be a great hockey game and a really good test for us.”
Over the weekend the Warriors split a two-game, home-and-home exhibition series with the Devon Barons. In their Sept. 23 match-up at the RSC, the Barons wasted little time and scored the first goal only 15 seconds in and went on to post a 5-3 victory in a game Ivey unabashedly called “sloppy.” The next night in Devon, the Warriors flipped the script and tightened up on defence to grind out a 2-1 win.
“There was a lot of rust to be shaken off so it was good to have those exhibition games. By the second game we were a lot more sound and more crisp. Guys were starting to get their legs back and making better decisions with the puck,” said Ivey. “For sure we weren’t perfect in Game 2, but we’re happy with the result.”
Following the home opener, the Warriors hit the road for back-to-back weekends against Fort Saskatchewan and Bonnyville, then return to the RSC to host the Kings Saturday, Oct. 29, at 8:30 p.m.
