Bandits split on road
By Robb Fenton
There was some good news and some bad news this past weekend.
The good news, the Lloydminster Bandits learned a lot about their team. The bad news, they suffered their first regulation loss and only second loss of the season.
The Bandits split a pair of games this past weekend, hammering the Killam Wheat Kings 7-3 Friday, before falling to the Cold Lake Ice 5-4 Saturday, on the road.
“I definitely thought on Friday we played very well in Killam. It’s always a tough place to play, they play a pretty physical game so you have to keep your emotions in check there,” Bandits head coach, Joe Young said.
“Sometimes it gets a little out of control, but I thought going into that building for the first time this year, some of the guys didn’t know what to expect and they got a good dose of reality within the first five minutes.”
It was a game where the veterans stepped up for the Bandits as they got goals from returning players, as well as some physical play that proved they aren’t going to be pushed around.
“They were trying to run around and take liberties with us. One of their guys hit our guy from behind and Lenny Thunderchild challenged him to a fight and it seemed like we played a lot better after that,” Young said.
There are a few places in the league that home ice is a big advantage and Killam is one of them.
Young knows from his time in the NEAJBHL that if you can pick up a win and put in a good effort on the road, it is a big boost to the team.
“Anytime you can win in tough places like that it’s a good team builder for everybody. It raises the confidence and sometimes it can get to the point where it’s frustrating to play and you have to bear down and stick with the game plan and we did that,” Young explained.
Devin Swyripa scored the lone Bandits goal in the first, while Lenny Young, Colby Gervais and Stuart Poulin all scored in the second.
The Bandits sealed the win with three goals in the third; Young with his second, captain Ian McAllister’s 16th of the season and defenceman Todd McNaughton finished off the scoring.
Jess Hnatiuk picked up the win, making 14 saves as the Bandits outshot the Wheat Kings 35-17.
The following night, the Bandits just seemed to run out of gas.
“I thought we played pretty good that game. We were short three of our regulars and we had one defenceman go down in the first, so we were pretty shorthanded that game, but I thought the guys in the lineup played extremely well,” Young said.
“They worked hard and it’s just unfortunate in third we started running out of gas.”
With three games in the next week, two against top contenders, it is very important that the Bandits get back on track and quickly.
In no way are they pushing the panic button, but at the same time, they need to be playing their best hockey against their toughest opponents.
“They are definitely important, we have to get back in the winning track here. We’re playing Saddle Lake and Vegreville, two teams that are right there with us, so we need to regroup here, get everyone back on the same page and have good, consistent efforts for the three games coming up.”
Friday, the Bandits (10-1-0-1) host the Saddle Lake Warriors (8-3-0-1) and Saturday they welcome the St. Paul Canadiens (2-10-0-0), with puck drop set for 7:30 p.m. both nights.