BARRHEAD – The Barrhead U18 Steelers had little trouble dispatching their Mayerthorpe Mustang rivals 6-3 at home on Feb. 3 as part of a Northern Alberta Interlock (NAI) League Tier 2-3 Black Division matchup.
However, it was the Mustangs that opened up the scoring seven minutes into the first period on an unassisted effort by Logan Hornsby.
Barrhead forward and assistant captain Kayden Rentz responded for the Steelers scoring on the power play at the 11-minute mark. Captain Cohen Dancause received an assist on the play.
The period ended with the teams deadlocked 1-1, but the Steelers held a definitive advantage in time in the offensive zone as well as on the shot clock outshooting their opponents 15-6.
It did not take long for Barrhead to break the tie, scoring just short of two minutes into the second frame on a goal by Tayson Hallock, assisted by Tyler Erickson.
At about the halfway mark of the period, Barrhead's Miller Ferguson extended the lead when his shot from the top of the two circles eluded Mayerthorpe's goaltender Jaxson Moon. Pruess and Jack Wilson received assists on the play.
The second period ended with Barrhead up 3-1n and a 27-12 shot advantage.
Barrhead started the third period quickly when Preuss, with the help of Kyle De Vries and Rentz, scored on the power play 22 seconds into the period.
The Mustangs would narrow Barrhead's lead when Jared Maskowitz, assisted by Hornsby and Parker Arnell, scored halfway through a four-minute double minor power play at about the 12-minute mark of the period.
But Barrhead got that goal back at about the 16-minute mark of the period, when Ferguson scored his second goal of the game, with Rentz and Jett Parks receiving assists. The Steelers would score their final goal with 3:42 left to play on a marker by Erickson, assisted by Hallock and De Vries.
Mayerthorpe's Parker Arnell would score the Mustang's final goal with an assist from Van Werenka.
William Bain went the distance for Barrhead, stopping 24 out of 28 shots for the win.
Head coach Steven Kaplan was pleased with his team's effort saying Mayerthorpe is one of the team's rivals in the Black Division, sporting almost identical records. Going into the game Mayerthorpe had a record of 8 wins, six losses and one tie compared to Barrhead's 7 wins, 5 losses and two ties. It is worth mentioning that one of the Steelers' ties was against the Mustangs.
"It was a physical game, and the boys had a lot of energy, and we were in control the whole way," he said.
Kaplan attributed the extra jump, at least in part, to a recent change in the practice schedule. He added their normal schedule had been to practice Thursday nights, but they were finding that sometimes for the Friday night games, the team was a bit flat due to a bit of fatigue, so they decided to move the practice to Wednesday evening.
Kaplan and team manager Nate Wilson said the Steelers' attack was well-balanced, with scoring opportunities coming on the rush and through their work down low.
"We've been emphasizing the forecheck and working on our speciality teams, especially the power play, and the work paid benefits for us tonight," Kaplan said.
He also noted that his player’s played a very disciplined game, adding although the game was physical, they played very clean.
“We only took one penalty and that was more accidental,” Kaplan said. In the third period, Rentz was called for kneeing when he went in for a check but inadvertently made contact with a Mayerthorpe player’s knee.
The Steelers have four games left in the season, with a pair of games against Fort McMurray and one against Red Water all on the road, before ending their season at home against Mayerthorpe on Feb. 19. It is also a fundraiser with the Barrhead U13 Bulldogs collecting money for the Barrhead Animal Rescue Society (BARS).
