Only one team showed up to play sixty minutes, said Winston Lapatak, the Saddle Lake Warriors’ GM of the team’s defeat last Sunday afternoon at the hands of the Killam Wheat Kings.
The Warriors played the first of two home games at Frog Lake’s new arena on Jan. 16, and would tumble with a 8 – 2 loss. In the first period, both teams were tied at 2 – 2. The Wheat Kings had scored the first two goals, but the Warriors’ Jared Cunningham and Myles Baptistes replied with two of their own at 7:59 and 7:12 respectively in the period. Cunningham’s goal was unassisted while Cory Hunter assisted with Baptistes’ goal.
The Wheat Kings hit back hard, scoring six unanswered goals in the remaining two periods to end the game at 8 – 2.
“(The team) left the goalie to fend for himself, and we ended losing,” said Lapatak, adding, “The boys had no fuel in their tank, due to extra-curricular activities in the evening (before)… they didn’t prepare and focus, and it was reflected in the score.”
Things, however, were closer in the Warriors’ Saturday away game against the Vermilion Tigers. Both teams were tied 5 – 5 at the close of the third period, pushing the game into overtime.
Unfortunately, the Warriors went home with only one point after the Tigers’ Brendan Payne scored in overtime to end that game at 5 – 6 in favour of the Tigers.
“(The team) played really well on Saturday … they deserved better than one point,” said Lapatak, adding, “If we were more disciplined, we would’ve won that game.”
He also wasn’t pleased with one of the Tigers’ goals, which he thought was controversial after the referee counted it even when the net came off its mooring.
“The referee said that the puck was in the net before it came off, so they counted it,” explained Lapatak, adding, “Otherwise we would have had the two points from that game.”
The Warriors will face off against the Rangers at home on Friday at 8 p.m., and will go up against local rivals the Canadiens in St. Paul on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The team will play its second home game in Frog Lake against the Cold Lake Ice on Feb. 6.
