BARRHEAD - The Barrhead U18-1 Steelers' path to the provincial championships was cut short after they lost to Edson Octane Controls in the second round of the North Eastern Alberta Hockey League (NEAHL) playoffs 4-3 in a two-game home and home total point series.
In the first game on March 1, the Steelers pulled off an upset, winning 3-2 on the road, despite being drastically outshot 50-24, thanks in large part to the goaltending of William Bain, including 17 out 18 third-period shots.
Providing the scoring for the Steelers was Tanner Harrison, who scored late in the first period with an assist from Kruze Hiemstra; Levi Devries, with an assist from Harrison with about six minutes to go in the second period; and Connor Kalmbach less than a minute into the third period with an assist going to Cash Gibert.
In the second March 2 home game, Edson shut out the Steelers 2-0, again outshooting their opponents by a two to one ratio 36 to 17. Dallyn Petiot was the Steelers' starting goaltender.
Going into the series, the Steelers were the underdog. Edson finished the regular season in first place with 18 wins, two losses, and a tie compared to Barrhead, which finished in the middle of the pack with a record of 7 wins, 10 losses and 1 tie.
Although, the Steelers record did not match up with the Octane Controls, in the three regular season games, Barrhead defeated Edson in a close 4-3 late season matchup. In the other two games, the Steelers were also competitive losing won 4-1 in late December and 5-4 in early January.
Barrhead made it to the second round, defeating Wainwright in a similar two-game series.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
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