In a mid-week rivalry matchup, the Saddle Lake Warriors hosted the St. Paul Canadiens on Wednesday evening. The Warriors came close to ending the Canadiens’ season-long undefeated run, but St. Paul held on to win 5-4.
St. Paul got on the board early, just 32 seconds into the game, when Roddy MacDougall snuck the puck past Warriors’ goalie Caleb Virgo for the first goal of the game. The Canadiens doubled their lead just over a minute later when Damon Roy dropped to one knee to send a blistering one-timer into the net.
The Warriors got a few shots on net during the next 10 minutes, but were unable to mount an effective retaliation until just over four minutes remained in the period. Kevin Krengnektak fed the puck to a wide-open Silas Makokis right in front of the net. Makokis put the puck high in the net to grab Saddle Lake’s first goal of the night.
But the Canadiens struck back quickly, and Arron Gagne got a shot on net that bounced off Virgo’s stick, over his shoulder, and into the net to restore St. Paul’s two-goal lead.
The Canadiens opened the second period with a goal courtesy of Elias Chaulk as he deeked through two Saddle Lake defencemen to face Virgo one-on-one. The Warriors got into a bit of penalty trouble late in the period, and Jonas Whitford took a hooking minor that led to a power play goal for St. Paul, scored by Dyson Roy. The Warriors returned the favour with a goal of their own from Preston Sparklingeyes in the final two minutes of the period.
That late second period goal seemed to breathe new life into the Warriors. Just when they seemed out for the count, they came out hard and played like an entirely different team. The Warriors took the Canadiens hard against the boards, and fought hard for every loose puck.
Their hard work and rough play style paid off with the prettiest goal of the season, for either team. Krengnektak grabbed the puck in the Warriors’ end and sprinted down the ice, winding his way through three Canadiens players before beating Brayden Evans high on the blocker side on a breakaway, bringing the score to 5-3.
The Warriors put themselves within a single goal just a minute and a half later when Whitford took a hard wrist shot from the circle to Evans’ left, burying it in the net. The Saddle Lake crowd was louder than ever, and a frustrated Canadiens team looked helpless against the Warriors, who seemed to be out for blood.
But despite relentless effort and determination, Saddle Lake could go no further, and the Canadiens just barely kept their winning streak alive by holding out to win 5-4.
The Warriors showed that, despite their record this season, the team poses a threat to even the best teams in the league. Saddle Lake Coach Darren Reid explained what they have to do to make every period like their third period on Wednesday night.
“I’ve said it a thousand times, to the boys and to the public, it all comes down to mentally preparing for the game. We tend to come out slow against teams that we know are great times, like St. Paul. And that’s what we did. We came out slow tonight, and St. Paul got a couple of quick goals on us because of it.”
“We need to stop letting other teams dictate the pace of the game. The Canadiens are a great team - one of the best I’ve seen in years. They’re skilled, they’re quick, and they’re coached exceptionally well. But that doesn’t mean that they are in charge. We need to come out and play every period like it’s the last period. We need to play like we know we can. We need to play to win.”
With the win, the Canadiens’ record goes up to 9-0-0, while the Warriors fall to 2-9-0. But regardless of records and the outcome of games, one thing is certain: When St. Paul and Saddle Lake meet, it’s bound to be a thrilling 60 minutes.
It took some hard work, but the Saddle Lake Warriors did in fact better their record over the weekend, with a double overtime with the Vegreville Rangers on Saturday night, in Saddle Lake.
The game was another close one, with both teams seeing just over 50 shots on goal throughout. Saddle Lake found the net first, taking a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period with a goal by Kevin Krengnektak.
The Rangers tied the game up early in the second period, but the Warriors battled back with Devon Cardinal-Jackson netting a goal near the end of the period, putting the score at 2-1 heading into the third.
The third period gave the Warriors a chance to extend their lead with another goal by Krengnektak, and Silas Makokis again assisted. But, the Rangers dug deep and found the net twice to push the game into over time.
The first overtime period didn’t see any scoring, and a second overtime period was required. At just 10 seconds in, Makokis would get himself another point on the night, along with the game-winning goal. Krengnektak and Cardinal-Jackson assisted the winning goal.
Virgo stopped 48 of 51 shots on net through the night. The Warriors sit in last place in the league, but have been making steady progress as the season moves forward.
The St. Paul Canadiens extended the team’s perfect season one more game on Saturday night when the team hosted the Lloydminster Bandits. The Bandits led the game 2-1 at the end of the first, with the Canadiens’ goal being scored by Ryan Rancier.
The second period saw Canadiens’ Braydon Burak and Brodin Ference each add a goal to the scoreboard, and St. Paul took the lead for the first time in the game.
The third period then saw the Bandits tie the game up early on, 3-3, but late in the period, captain Zach Sylvestre would find the net, and give the Canadiens the lead once again. Zach Bendall solidified the win with a goal of his own with just over 30 seconds left on the clock.
Although he didn’t net any goals of his own, Ryley Wozniak found himself assisting in three of the five Canadiens’ goals on Saturday night, which made him the night’s leader for points.
The St. Paul Canadiens still sit in first place in the league, with 10 wins, and zero losses.
