WESTLOCK — The senior AA Westlock Warriors extended their winning streak to three games during their home-opener on Oct. 14 after downing the Morinville Kings 8-2 in their home-opener Saturday night at the Rotary Spirit Centre.
Despite a slow start against the Kings with just one goal from defenceman Tyler Kampjes nearly nine minutes into the game, the Warriors turned up the heat in the second period and took a 2-0 lead just past the two-minute mark in the frame with a goal from forward MacKenzie Mindus.
Although Morinville cut that lead to one soon after with a power play marker, Westlock answered right back almost two minutes later, scoring three more times including a power play goal of their own seven minutes into the period. The home team added goals from forwards Scott Ivey with the man advantage, Blair Boulerice and Caleb Griffin to make it a 5-2 game for the Warriors after 40 minutes.
Head coach Rod Kaliel said they were “really happy with the turnout” for their home opener and had “great support from the community” that night.
He pointed out the hot start to the Warriors season is the best streak they’ve had in quite some time.
“I don’t remember the last time that we were 3-0, so I’m really happy with the start,” said Kaliel, noting a slower pace to the start of their home opener.
“We got things rolling in the second period and overall, I was happy with the game. We had some really good offensive showings from some key players,” he said. “Keegan Richards did really well in his NCHL debut and Blair Boulerice and Caleb Griffin both scored their first NCHL goals.”
The Warriors dominated the third frame and shut down the Kings’ offence, as Westlock was the only team to score in the final 20 minutes, getting goals from defencemen Kyle Dronyk and Jake Chizma and Warriors’ captain Mike Ivey to make it an 8-2 final score.
Special teams played a role as the Warriors went one for seven on the power play while Morinville was one for five.
“We’ve been able to (work on) our special teams in practice,” said Kaliel. “I’ve been satisfied with how it’s been performing. There’s a few things we can sharpen up but we definitely got off to a good start.”
The Warriors outshot the Kings 45-27 and rookie goalie Keegan Richards made 25 saves on the night. Westlock also swept the three-star selections with Richards named the third star, captain Mike Ivey the second star and Kyle Dronyk the first star of the game.
The Westlock Warriors are back at home for their next matchup on Friday, Oct. 20 when they welcome the Devon Barons to the Rotary Spirit Centre. The puck drop is 8:30 p.m.
