OLDS — Olds Grizzlys Junior A hockey players will have a major challenge on their sticks this Friday and Saturday when they host the league-leading Grande Prairie Storm for two back-to-back games at the Sportsplex.
Game time for both encounters is 7 p.m.
The Grizzlys were sitting in fifth place in the six-team Viterra South Division as of Monday, Oct. 28. At that point they had a 7-6-0-0 record for 14 points in 13 games, while the Storm's record was 11-1-1-1 for 24 points in 14 games.
Grizzlys head coach Brad Tobin was asked what the team needs to do in order to beat the Storm.
In a text, he said they have to be aggressive.
“We need to play physical, especially in our defensive zone and on the forecheck," Tobin wrote.
“We need to create traffic in front of their goaltender and win that space for rebounds; simplify our approach in the offensive zone, (get) pucks on net and crash the net.”
On Friday, Oct. 25, the Grizzlys dropped a 3-2 decision to the Fort McMurray Oil Barons in the Sportsplex.
As of Monday, that left them three points behind the Drumheller Dragons and only one point ahead of the cellar-dwelling Drayton Valley Thunder in the AJHL South.
Neither team was able to score in the first period.
“We) could’ve had a couple goals in the first period,” Grizzlys head coach Tobin wrote. “Two pucks that were sitting on the goal line, a crossbar and a breakaway.”
The Oil Barons broke that deadlock at 3:26 of the first period.
The Grizzlys tied it up though when Esteban Labelle scored his second game of the season at 15:54 of that frame.
He was assisted by Michael Albert and Hunter Motley, who was acquired a few weeks ago from the Whitecourt Wolverines for future considerations.
The Oil Barons restored their lead just 14 seconds into the third period, then padded their lead at 4:19.
Jonathan Doucette of the Grizzlys cut the lead to 3-2 with a powerplay marker at the 12:15 mark, assisted by Bailey Shortall. However, that’s as close as they could get.
“We clawed back into it, making it 3-2; had our chances late but couldn’t find the net,” Tobin wrote.
Ben Dardis went the distance in net for the Grizzlys, stopping 27 of 30 shots on goal. The Grizzlys fired 36 shots at Fort McMurray netminder Vincent Filion.
The Grizzlys were one for four on the powerplay. The Oil Barons were one for five.
