The 100 Mile House Wranglers put on a show this weekend, winning one game and losing another in overtime shootouts.
On Friday, Dec. 1 the Wranglers beat the Golden Rockets out in a nail biter 4-3 victory while on Saturday they lost out to North Okanagan Knights 4-3 after the Knights clawed their way back from a three-point lead. Wranglers head coach Dale Hladun said while there is still room for improvement he’s happy his team is winning games again.
“At the beginning of the season we lost a lot of one-goal games and now it’s one-goal games but we’re getting points in them at least,” Hladun said. “The next phase is we’re going to win a lot of one-goal games and that’s where our kids have to buy in defense and discipline away from the puck. We are going to take penalties but we don’t need to take as many as we have been.”
On Friday the Rockets took an early lead scoring the first goal of the night within the first minute. 100 Mile Wrangler Ethan Davey answered this goal minutes later keeping the game tied going into the second period.
In the second period, Golden took charge of the period scoring two goals which was answered by another goal from Davey. By the time Davey tied the game in the third period the air in the rec centre was electric with fans cheering and gasping as both teams nearly broke the tie.
In the shootout, Zachary Gull and Luken Murray ultimately secured the victory for the Wranglers. Hladun said Wranglers goalie Ivan Tolsma kept them in the game throughout the night.
“Obviously we’re happy with getting a victory against Golden. Golden worked pretty hard, that was a tough game for the kids,” Hladun said. “We’ve got to learn how to lock down games but we’re coming along. I really like the direction the kids are moving along.”
Against the Knights the Wranglers dominated early on with Kaden Stark scoring a goal in the first period. In the second period, the Wranglers widened their lead to three with goals from Nathan Bohmer, who Hladun described as a warrior, and Davey both scoring. Hladun noted Davey scored four goals over the weekend, one of them a hat trick, which has made him one of the team’s “shining stars.”
“On Saturday’s game we came out and ran show for the first period, we were all over North Okanagan and outshot them 18 to five in the first period,” Hladun said. “In the second period it was the opposite, they outshot us 17 to seven and we did score a couple of goals but so did they. We had a three-goal lead but they kept clawing their way back.”
Throughout the second and third period, the Knights scored three unanswered goals, tying the game. When the game went to an overtime shootout it was the Knights, not the Wranglers, who snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
Hladun said he was frustrated by the amount of penalties his team took on Saturday. While some penalties his team deserved, there were a few he questioned. As an added irritation the Knights who are “no angels” gave the Wranglers only one power play opportunity near the end of the game.
Now with a few more points under their belt, Hladun said the real test will be this weekend as the Wranglers return to home ice to face the Revelstoke Grizzlies. With back-to-back games scheduled for Friday, Dec. 8 and Saturday, Dec. 9 the Wranglers plan to treat the weekend like the playoffs.
“We have to really see how our systems are and how strong they are because Revelstoke is going to push us. We do well against them it’s a sign of confidence for all of us,” Hladun said. “The boys are chomping at the bit to play them.”
