The Saddle Lake Warriors lost two of their first-round playoff games against the Lloydminster Bandits over the course of two days.
The Warriors lost by a single goal in its game in Lloydminster on Saturday, with a final score of 5 – 4, followed by a bitter 6 – 2 loss at Saddle Lake on Sunday evening.
In Sunday’s game, the Warriors’ Jared Cunningham drew first blood and energized the crowd at the Manitou Kihew arena by putting in the puck at 9:49 in the first. However, the visiting Bandits replied with one of their own 25 seconds later.
However, the home crowd celebrated about four minutes later after a goal sneaked in on the right side of the Bandits’ goaltender, courtesy of the Warriors’ Cole Steinhauer, with assists from Cory Hunter and Darian Cardinal.
“It was good … it’s the right spot,” said Warriors’ coach Stan Olson on Steinhauer’s goal, adding, “You can’t score if you don’t shoot, and I think we aren’t shooting enough.”
For the rest of the game, the Warriors team looked slow and tired compared to the visiting Bandits, which resulted in the Bandits scoring four unanswered goals – one in the first, another in the second and two in the final period.
The Saddle Lake crowd also grew quieter in the middle of the second period, and with the impending loss inevitable in the final minutes of the third, one could have heard a penny drop in the arena.
Steinhauer, who scored the second goal for the Warriors, said although his goal was nice, the team unfortunately didn’t do well in the rest of the game. “We need to keep working.”
“We’ve got to win three out of five no matter what,” said Olson on the Warriors’ upcoming games, adding, “The longer (the series) goes, the better it will be.
“We have plenty of chances, but we aren’t putting them in the net, and it’s starting to haunt us in games like this one.”
The Warriors will meet the Bandits next at Lloydminster on Wednesday evening, and then will welcome the Bandits back to home ice on Friday evening.
