The 100 Mile House Wranglers lost their season opener to the Osoyoos Coyotes and a thriller overtime match against the Revelstoke Grizzlies on home ice last week.
The Wranglers lost to the Coyotes 3-2 on Friday, Sept. 20 and 5-4 against the Grizzlies in an overtime shootout loss. Wranglers head coach Levi Stuart said that it was a disappointment that the Wranglers could not come out of either game with a win, however, he noted that it was still a "very good start" for the team.
"We felt like we were the better team for the majority of both games," Stuart said. "In every situation, whenever the other team scored the goal, we were right back at them - and those are always good moments to see that we have good push back."
The game against the Coyotes, held on Sept. 20 at the South Cariboo Rec Centre, started off with Coyotes player Russell Weatherhead scoring with 2:17 left in the first period, assisted by Mason Rudolph and Kaelen Halowaty on a power-play goal after Wranglers player Grayden Ewing was given a minor penalty for cross-checking. This was the only power-play goal the Coyotes had in five chances throughout the game.
In the second period, Osoyoos extended their 1-0 lead to a 3-0 lead when Dexter Materi scored within the first minute of the second period, and Kaelen Halowathy (assisted by Mathieu Lessard) scored with 12:31 left. However, the Wranglers showed signs of life when Nelson Webster, with an assist by Brodie Gohmann, scored to make it 3-1 with 8:31 left in the period.
In the third period Wrangler Jaden Rusznak scored a powerplay goal with the assistance of Landen Janz and Gohmann. However, there would be no comeback, as the Coyotes managed to shut the Wranglers down to secure a 3-2 win.
The next day, the Wranglers faced off against the Revelstoke Grizzlies, the reigning KIJHL champions. Over the last five seasons, the Wranglers have won four times against the Grizzlies and lost 14 times, along with two overtime losses. During Saturday night, however, they were the Grizzlies' equals.
The scoring started with a powerplay goal from a penalty taken by Wranglers player Kayden Stark on a high sticking call - with Grizzly Diego Smith scoring the goal, assisted by Jake Neufeld and Jacob Smith. However, the Wranglers struck back with their own power-play goal soon after thanks to Wrangler forward Nash Hilworth, with an assist from Gohmann and Jaden Rusznak to tie the game at 1-1. The first period came to a close as Jake Phillips-Watts scored another goal for Revelstoke, assisted by Diego Smith and Jacob Smith.
In the second period, the defending KIJHL champions saw a team they have all but dominated over the last several years dominate them back. Although the Grizzlies did have several chances, the score sheet saw two goals by the Wranglers - the first came around 15:56 to go in the second period, with Parker Bronson scoring, assisted by Aydan Wang. The second came around 1:04 remaining with Hilworth scoring his second goal of the night, assisted by Nelson Webster and Bronson. This gave the Wranglers a 3-2 lead going into the final period.
However, that lead would not be held for long. With 7:11 remaining in the third, the Grizzlies scored, with Jake Phillips-Watts putting it past Wranglers goaltender Michael Malinowski, asisted by Jacob Smith and Weston Field, tying the game at 3-3. The Wranglers soon retook the lead with 4:35 left in the period, with Kole Duquette scoring, assisted by Grayden Ewing and Dawson Harden, making it 4-3.
Yet, even that one-goal lead for the Wranglers was not safe when the pendulum swung back to the Grizzlies with Markus Thompson scoring with 4:13 left to go, making it 4-4. The deadlock persisted, necessitating an overtime period, where there were several chances on both sides to end it. However the game was ultimately decided in a shootout.
It took four rounds, but the Grizzlies won the game as Faris Meddeb scored past Malinowski, while Grizzlies goaltender Ryder Ponto stopped Wrangler defenceman Dawson Harden to secure the 5-4 victory.
Stuart said that the Wranglers need to not allow something like that to occur again, noting they need to work on securing and protecting a lead.
"The big thing is, is being able to lock down a lead once we have it, we have to work on - once we have the lead in the third period, especially with the last 10 minutes, finding a way to lock it down and not allow games, like the Revelstoke game, to go into extra time," elaborated Stuart.
The Wranglers will now embark on a road trip which will see them face off against the Creston Valley Thunder Cats at the Johnny Bucyk Arena in Creston at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 27, the Fernie Ghostriders at the Fernie Memorial Arena at 7 p.m. Mountain (6:00 p.m. PST) on Sept. 28 and finally the Kimberley Dynamiters on September 29 at 3 p.m. MST (3 p.m. PST). Stuart noted that all these teams are highly competitive.
"We expect, you know, nothing but hard fought battles."
