Ice drop two games over weekend

The Cold Lake Jr B Ice dropped two games over the weekend with 4-3 decisions against Lloydminister and Vegreville. Head Coach of the Ice, Scott Hood says the club had some great moments throughout the week; however by Sunday evening it was evident the club will have to work on their endurance.

Saturday 

“It could’ve went either way. We had a good game and played hard,” says coach Hood of the match against the Lloydminister Bandits. “We’re chasing Lloyd for fifth, right now, and we fell a few points back.” The Ice sit two points behind the Bandits with 32 points to the Bandit’s 34.

The Ice opened up the scoring in the first with a goal from fan favourite line, Jason Hamilton, with assists to Curtis Witney and Steven Kufflick. Lloyd fired back and advanced out of the period with three goals to make a 3-1 game at the end of 20.

Brody Rosychuk came out firing in the second and put one in at 2:07 thanks to a beauty of a helper from captain, Curtis Witney. Lloyd again responded with a goal before the end of 40 minutes, to make it a 4-2 game.

The Ice would gain some ground in the third, but it wasn’t enough to secure the win.  Curtis Witney put in the third goal of the evening for the Ice, after being set up by Jason Hamilton.

“We turned it up a notch in the second and third and had lots of chances; but we just could bury them,” as the coach explains, Cold Lake had 39 shots to Lloyd’s 27; but weren’t successful against the Bandit’s netminder, Danton Brooks.

Sunday

“It was embarrassing, we didn’t play at all,” head coach of the Ice, Scott Hood, was unimpressed with the squad on Sunday evening; after the team dropped a 3-0 lead heading into the third. “Veg’s a hardworking team and they gave it to us.”

The Ice opened up the game on Sunday with a pair of back-to-back goals just over halfway through the first period.  Alex Antal from Donavan Bibeau at 13:24, followed up by Jason Hamilton from Curtis Witney at 14:04. With the early lead in the game, the Ice continued their dominance over the Rangers in the second, with a goal from Nathan Pliska (assists to Jean-Guy Boisvert  & Shane Whitney).

Things unraveled for the club in the last 20 minutes, says the coach, “it was a terrible game on our part. Guys weren’t being themselves and they need to take a hard look in the mirror or we’ll be out in the first round (of the post-season).”

Vegreville dominated the third period and stole the game from the Ice with four goals in just over ten minutes of play. Hood says there’s not a lot he can take from the game into this week’s practice, “nothing really. It’s the same stuff, we’ve got to fix before heading into Wainwright.” The Ice are set to meet the top team in the Northeast Alberta Jr B Hockey League (NEAJBHL), the Wainwright Bison Wednesday evening at 8:00 pm at Imperial Oil Place.

We’ve been talking about the same things for 32 games now. It’s effort. It’s keeping it simple. It’s getting pucks deep. – Scott Hood Head Coach Cold Lake Jr B Ice