The 100 Mile House Wranglers followed up an overtime loss to the Spokane Braves with a comeback victory against the Beaver Valley Nitehawks this past weekend.
The Wranglers faced off against the Braves on Friday, Dec. 13 at the South Cariboo Rec Centre where they lost 4-3 in an overtime shootout and beat the Nitehawk 6-5 on Sunday, Dec. 15. Wranglers head coach Levi Stuart said both games tested his team and got them some points on the board for the quest to make playoffs.
"(Friday) was just not doing things the right way and not being able to hold a lead down. There were a couple of tough bounces but we got to find a way that when we do get a lead to lock it down and not let it go into extra time," Stuart said. "That's just cleaning up a few things defensively and making sure we're taking care of things in front of our own net."
Friday night's game against the Braves started off promisingly with the Wranglers following up an early goal by the Braves with three unanswered goals in the first period scored by Jaden Rusnack, Grayson Ewing and Everett Boutcher respectively. However, the Wranglers were unable to hold onto this lead with the Braves putting persistent pressure on the net, scoring in both the second and third periods to force the game into overtime.
Throughout the night, especially in the third period, a string of penalties for roughing and interference dragged the Wranglers down and helped the Braves stay in the fight. Neither team proved able to score in overtime, with the game ultimately being decided by a shootout which the Braves won after an unlucky puck bounce prevented Wrangler forward Nelson Webster from scoring. Stuart noted that his players put a lot of pressure on themselves in big moments like shootouts and it's tough when they can't capitalize.
"Spokane is a team that's really rolling right now and has won four out of their last five games and they showed it when they played us. Our guys just weren't quite ready and didn't quite start on time," Stuart remarked. "It took us a little too long to get going, get in the swing of things and play the right way."
Despite this loss, Stuart said his team remained confident even on Sunday when they went down 5-3 to the Nitehawks by the beginning of the third period, he noted that Beaver Valley is currently one of the better teams in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. The Wranglers' ultimate victory, Stuart remarked, shows his team's resilience and unwillingness to give up.
"We always continue to fight and believe. The boys were positive on the bench and fully believe we can come back from anything," Stuart said. "It was good to see them rewarded for their hard work."
Wranglers captain Ethan Davey proved crucial in leading his team to victory, scoring four of the team's six goals and assisting another. Stuart remarked his team took advantage of several power-play goals during the game to help tie it up.
"Obviously Ethan Davey led the charge with four goals and one assist. A big night for the captain and even before he started scoring goals he was doing things the right way and being a leader."
With these two games under their belt, the Wranglers have only two final games before the end of the year. On Wednesday, Dec. 18 they travel north to face off against the Quesnel River Rush before returning to 100 Mile House on Friday, Dec. 20 to take on the Kamloops Storm. Stuart noted both he and the team are eager to take both teams on.
"We're hopefully going to be able to ride the momentum of that last wind there and continue to play. Quesnel has been doing really well and Kamloops has been doing really well," Stuart remarked. "They're two tough teams and two tough games. They've both played us really tight throughout the year and we're looking forward to the challenge and hopefully be able to hand them a couple of losses. We lost both of our last games against those two teams. We're looking for a little redemption there."
