The Olds Grizzlys snapped their 12-game winless skid on Friday with a 3-2 victory over the Calgary Canucks in Alberta Junior Hockey League action.
The win at the Olds Sports Complex was the team's first since defeating the Canucks on Oct. 26 in overtime. During the winless skid, the team lost twice in shootouts and once in overtime.
“It was obviously a nice feeling. The first one in a long time,” said Brett Hopfe, the team's interim head coach. “The guys played with desperation. I think in some of the other games that we've played, I don't think there's been that level of desperation and guys just had enough of losing and it showed,” he said.
The Grizzlys got off to a rough start, getting scored on only 17 seconds into the game. That goal was then followed up with a 2-0 marker by Jordan Eddy mid-way through the first before the Grizzlys got on the board when Tanner Dunkle scored with nine ticks left on the clock in the first.
The Grizzlys added two powerplay goals in the second from Chris Stachiw and Bart Moran to conclude the scoring.
The victory celebration was short-lived however, when the Grizzlys made the trip to Spruce Grove Saturday to take on the league's best team, losing 9-1. The Grizzlys got into penalty trouble in the first period and the Saints made them pay, scoring five powerplay goals. The Saints scored four more times over the next 36 minutes before the Grizzlys got the final goal of the game off the stick of Scott Antonsen on the powerplay.
“Obviously our penalty kill let us down. You look at that game and we're not supposed to win that game anyways if you look at the standings. We'll just forget about it and worry about (Monday),” Hopfe said.
Many of the penalties against the Saints were due to undisciplined plays, something Hopfe said the coaching staff stressed before the game.
“We took some very selfish penalties I felt, and I let the guys know that. You can't kill off selfish penalties, that's the problem. You can kill off hard penalties but you can't kill off selfish ones,” he said.
The Grizzlys will be going hard this week, playing four games in five days. They were scheduled to start yesterday (Monday) with a game in Calgary against the Canucks, followed by a game tonight in Okotoks against the Oilers. The Grizzlys then return to the Sports Complex for games Thursday against the Bonnyville Pontiacs and Saturday against the Lloydminster Bobcats. Hopfe said the grueling schedule is something the players will have to get used to if they hope to go on to higher levels in their hockey careers.
“When you play this many games in a row, it takes a toll on your body, so they've got to realize they've got to get the adequate rest that's needed and make sure they drink plenty of fluids. It's something they're going to have to get used to if they want to go on further,” he said.
"The guys played with desperation. I think in some of the other games that we've played, I don't think there's been that level of desperation and guys just had enough of losing and it showed."Brett Hopfe, interim head coach, Olds Grizzlys
