The 100 Mile House Wranglers were unable to break their losing streak last weekend but aren’t giving up just yet.
The Wranglers were shut out 5-0 on the road by Kamloops Storm Wednesday, followed by a narrow 4-3 loss to the Chase Heat on home ice Friday before losing 6-3 Saturday to the Sicamous Eagles.
Head coach Dale Hladun said despite the losses it was a morale boost for the team to get points on the board again, especially at a home game.
“I was pretty happy with the efforts of our kids. We lost 4-3 but we hadn’t scored a goal in quite some time and to get three in a game was a pretty big accomplishment for this season’s team,” Hladun said. “Sometimes when your season isn’t going well it’s easy to pack it in but the kids didn’t and that’s the key.”
On Wednesday, the Wranglers held their own against the Heat throughout the first period of the game, with neither side gaining the point advantage. This was secured by some impressive goalie work by Jesse Schindel in two back-to-back powerplays in Chase’s favour. Hladun said he was happy with Schindel, who gave them a chance to win.
In the second period, Chase scored early with a powerplay goal and secured their lead minutes later. However, Ethan Sanders got the Wranglers on the board with a goal five seconds into a Wrangler powerplay, electrifying his team.
Chase responded with another two goals, until Bryce Burnett assisted Sanders in scoring another Wrangler goal, keeping them in the fight. In the third period, Burnett scored but Chase ultimately shut down the Wranglers’ hopes of tying the game and forcing them into overtime.
“It was good to see Ethan Sanders, Jace Myers and Bryce Burnett clicking. We’ve been trying to make them our top line and they’re starting to get some good chemistry now. What Bryce and Ethan have been doing really bodes well for the future of the club.”
Saturday’s game against Sicamous, meanwhile, was a “must-win” for the Wranglers and Hladun said they, unfortunately, came up short. Reid Stumpf and Tyler Lalikeas especially brought their A-game to the ice and were warriors for the team.
There’s still a chance the Wranglers could make it into the playoffs, but Hladun said it would mean them winning all their upcoming games, and the Eagles losing all of theirs. He’s now turning his focus to building next year’s team and finding its leaders among his current players.
Hladun said while he had a great group of players to work with, he was largely all alone in mentoring them. In the past, he’s been able to rely upon assistant coaches and veteran players to help him. He intends to bring on an associate coach next year.
“There wasn’t a lot of strong voices in the dressing room this whole year so the young guys just go with what they know,” Hladun said. “The kids tried but I think they needed more guidance than they got.”
The Wranglers play three at-home games this week against the Eagles Wednesday and back-to-back against Chase Friday and Saturday.
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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