Despite being down two games to none after 7-1 and 4-3 (overtime) losses to the Brooks Bandits over the weekend, the Olds Grizzlys were brimming with confidence heading into Game 3 of their Alberta Junior Hockey League semifinal series Monday night.
“We've got nothing but confidence from here on out just because of how we played that (second) game. We deserved to win it and the stats didn't show in my mind how the game went. The work ethic was second to none. I couldn't have asked for anything more,” said Brett Hopfe, Grizzlys head coach.
Hopfe said the Grizzlys had many chances to win the game but couldn't get the winner in regulation. Olds was outshot 51-27, but kept the Bandits at bay while they were on the power play, going zero for seven. The Grizzlys went one for six with the man advantage.
“In an overtime-type game, anything can happen,” he said.
In Game 1, Hopfe said the power play was the key difference, with the Bandits capitalizing four times on 12 chances, while the Grizzlys went zero for two. Being down 5-1 after two periods, the Grizzlys responded with rugged play in the third, not backing down from any challenges. The two teams combined for 108 minutes in penalties in the final frame.
“To me, it's not a fair game to judge, and in the third period there, we wanted to set a tone for the next game and I thought we did that extremely well and it carried over to our next game,” Hopfe said.
The Grizzlys were without Jordan Kancsal and Ty Morgan for Saturday's game due to suspensions each received in Game 1. Morgan was due to return to the lineup Monday while Kancsal received a three-game suspension after retaliating with a slash of his own following a two-handed attack. Dana Lattery, the Grizzlys' assistant coach, was also suspended for two games following the conclusion of Friday's game for getting into an argument with fans. Hopfe said he thought security near the bench wasn't as good as it could have been.
"In an overtime-type game, anything can happen."Brett Hopfe, head coach, Olds Grizzlys
