The 100 Mile House Wranglers are back in the saddle following back-to-back victories last week.
On the road, the Wranglers defeated the Chase Heat 4-3 in an intense game before returning to home ice for a convincing 5-2 victory over the Castlegar Rebels. Head coach Dale Hladun said these victories are a morale booster for the team after two weeks of sickness, injury and losses.
“I’m really happy for the kids to have victories. They’ve been playing good despite adversity and competing so well in every game but we just haven’t gotten the result of a win (until now),” Hladun said. “You can see them improve every game and like I’ve been preaching to the guys they will be the feel-good story of the season.”
Hladun said that if there’s any team in the league who knows how to score at least one point in a game, it is the Chase Heat. Despite the Wranglers ultimately winning he said the Heat kept the pressure up till the end and nearly took them into overtime.
On Saturday night, Hladun said the team started slow and didn’t quite follow his strategy in the first period. Although Ethan Sanders was able to score a goal, the Castlegar Rebels responded with a power play goal tying the game and outshooting the Wranglers by the period’s end.
“We spoke with the kids and changed things up. We had our defencemen pinching harder, our forwards going harder and it’s like we took the game over,” Hladun said.
While the Rebels scored first in the second period the Wranglers went on to dominate the ice with four consecutive goals scored by Andrew Teare, Owen Johnson, Sanders and Keagan Landry.
Hladun said he was especially impressed by Sanders, the Wranglers’ captain, in the last few games. Sanders has elevated his game to a level that other players want to follow and with seasonal allergies no longer impacting him, Hladun is confident he will only elevate it further.
“Now he’s got wind and energy and he’s been fantastic for us.”
An unsung hero on the team right now, in Hladun’s eyes, is forward Jack Mulder. Hladun said he’s relentless in practice and brings a “game-breaker” energy to the ice.
This weekend marked the first time twins Andrew and Derek Teare played with the Wranglers. Despite the fact they’re still learning their new teammates’ names, Hladun said they’re a welcome pair of smooth skaters.
Hladun said one thing he is trying to impress upon his players is that hockey is not a game of immediate results. Building up a team and an individual’s talent takes time and there are going to be setbacks. That being said Hladun is “really happy” with the progression of the team.
“The kids are learning the value of being a five-man unit. There are still some guys, and I watch, where there are four guys sticking to a system and another guy out there playing rec hockey,” Hladun said. “We got to break those mustangs yet.”
The Wranglers return to home ice this Friday to face the Sicamous Eagles at 2 p.m. and the Princeton Posse at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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