Midget AA Blues net two wins

The midget AA Stettler Legion Blues completed another successful weekend in the North Central Minor Hockey Association, with a pair of victories that included a 5-3 win over the front-running Olds Mustangs on Friday night in Stettler.

The Blues were also at home Sunday when they doubled Red Deer 8-4 at the Stettler Recreation Centre.

The clash with Olds on Friday night was a statement game for both teams. The last time we met, we beat them 8-7, so Olds wanted to come out in this game and prove our last game was just a fluke and that they were the superior team.

For us, we wanted to come out and dominate, to show Olds that we can control the game from start to finish. Last time, we let them back in the game and they capitalized, put us on our heels and clawed their way back. This time, we wanted to dictate the pace and not allow a moment of hope to develop in their minds.

The second shift of the game saw Stettler jump out to an early lead, as Mike Neumeier cashed in a Kelly Coppock feed. Stettler extended the lead to two goals when Nick Yaschuk made an incredible feed to Micah Croker, who deposited the one-timer in the back of the net. Finally, near the end of the period, Coppock undressed the Olds netminder on the power play to put Stettler up by three going into the second period.

The start of the second saw the Mustangs climb their way back into to the game as their potent power play scored the team’s first goal. Then, Olds capitalized on a defensive miscue as an Olds player was left unattended at the edge of the crease.

Unlike last time these two teams met, Stettler took back control of the game again as Coppock’s slick stickhandling allowed him to slip a neat backhander past the bewildered Olds goalie to re-establish a twogoal lead. Then, with time ticking down in the period, Croker beared down on a one-timer feed from Logan Davidson to put the home squad up by three.

The third period saw Stettler run into a bit of penalty trouble and, once again, Olds capitalized on a power play chance halfway through the period to put the Mustangs within two goals. This time, Olds couldn’t solve goaltender Mack Schell. Time and time again, he turned aside wave after wave of attacks, as Olds pushed to tie the game.

When the final buzzer rang, Stettler not only claimed a 5-3 victory, but also eked one step closer to catching Olds in the standings.

While hosting Red Deer on Sunday, the Blues tried to keep the ball rolling after the strong game Friday. The first period saw sluggish action as both teams traded goals during an early Red Deer power play. Davidson stole the puck in the Red Deer zone and deposited it past the Red Deer goalie for the first goal of the game, only to see Red Deer answer 14 seconds later. With time ticking down in the period, Stettler grabbed a one-goal lead as Braden Bowie put the puck under the crossbar.

More listless play defined the second as the home team squandered the one-goal lead, as Red Deer tied the score at 4-4. Bowie, with his second of the night, and Croker scored for Stettler.

In the third period, Stettler came out and controlled the play, and led the game by two goals after the halfway mark. Coppock and Neumeier tallied the home team’s markers. As the period wound down, Stettler put another two past the Red Deer goalie. Neumeier scored his second of the game and Clinton Allen rounded out the scoring for the Blues, as they went on to capture an 8-4 victory.

This game was tough to watch in the first two periods. We had no jump, and we definitely didn’t play our brand of hockey. We were on our heels and no one seemed to want to step up and lead the team. Josh McCallum made some nice saves early to keep it close, but it took us two periods for us to find our legs.

Even though we only really played 20 minutes Sunday, it was still nice to see these guys bear down and put the game away. That’s one of the good qualities these guys have — regardless of how they’ve been playing, they always seem to step up when they need to.

The key now is to instil that effort through the entire game … every game. We can’t be satisfied with our successes. We have to always want more.

Even with the additional four points from the weekend, Stettler still finds itself trailing Olds by six points. Stettler, which was scheduled to host Castor last night, had two games in hand on Olds.

The Blues were just two points ahead of third-place Ponoka. The playoff push is still very much on as three teams vie for the coveted first-place position.

Stettler visits Sylvan Lake on Saturday. The Blues also begin their provincial zone playdowns this weekend, with a game in Camrose on Sunday and Game 2 set for Stettler next Tuesday at 7:45 p.m.