Junior B Heat Bounce Back; Win Big Over Vermilion

The Lakeland Junior B Heat returned to action on Monday night. The Vermilion Roar were the opponent at the R.J. Lalonde Arena in Bonnyville. The Heat won the game 13-6 in a feisty affair. This is the Cave Inspections Post-Game Report.

Second Chances Cost Heat

The game started with good chances both ways. Just over four minutes in, David McCrae scored the opening goal for the Vermilion Roar. Colby Bowman scored the second goal for the Roar three minutes later. The Heat cut the lead to 2-1 on a huge goal by Issac Brown at 7:35. Brown’s goal is all the scoring the Heat would get in the period. The Heat seemed to be forcing second chances in the period which gave the Roar three breakaways in the period. Colby Bowman scored another goal to give the Roar a 3-1 lead. They would ride the lead into the intermission.

“We’ve been talking about [energy on the bench] a lot at practice. We came out flat last time, and it ended up being our first regulation loss of the season. The boys kinda looked down in the dressing room at first, so we tried to get more fired up. Not working out the way we want to, but we’ll try to change that.” Donovan Bibeau said in the first intermission.

Heat Offense Comes to Play

Ethan Brown scored the opening goal of the second period. The Heat were within one goal for all of 43 seconds. David McCrae scored his second goal of the game to restore a two goal lead. Donovan Bibeau and Brae Howatt scored back to back goals to finally tie the game. The Roar grabbed the lead for the final time at 15:42 on a goal by Cameron Webb. The Heat ran the score board throughout the second period. Mitchell Bibeau scored the tying and go ahead goals in the second. Issac Brown, Justin Hodinsky, and Brae Howatt all scored goals to finish the period up 9-5.

The second period was also a rough period. Rookie Manson (Manny) Ballash dropped the gloves against an older opponent in Colby Bowman. Both got a five and a game for fighting. Cole Kulczycki also got a five minute major and ten minute misconduct for a big hit that was called for tripping.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d0i5wZD_GI

Heat Keep Playing

Tarras Hodinsky scored the first goal of the third period for the Heat. After being down 3-1 at the end of the first, the Heat had managed to double up on the Roar. Cameron Zelisko got an unassisted marker past Ty Hansen halfway through the third. A minute later, Isaac Brown scored his hat trick goal. The Roar netted their final goal of the game off the stick of David McCrae. The final goal of the night was scored by Cole Kulczycki, who had a lot of young fans in the stands. Kulczycki experienced a rough third period as the Roar attempted to get revenge for his hit in the second period. The game finished 13-6 in favour of the Heat.

“You know we playing a little selfish with the ball, we got lots of hardwork, but lots of individual hard work. Second period that turned around, our guys started playing hard and as a team. Defensively running, and playing through the play. Not playing part way, but all the way through each play and loose ball. And it turned around from there, and [we] never looked back.” Head Coach Dennis Hodinsky said post-game.

Heat Have One Game Left

The final game of the regular season schedule will be played on Wednesday, June 28. The Junior B Heat host the Vermilion Roar at the R.J. Lalonde Arena. Game time is 7:30 p.m.