A place in the provincial championship tournament is on the line for the Airdrie Xtreme this afternoon, as the U15 AAA boys' hockey team gets set for game three of their best-of-three series against the Calgary Bisons.
Though Airdrie beat the Bisons 4-1 in the series opener on March 16, the Calgary team got the better of the Airdronians in their own barn, beating the Xtreme 6-2 in game two in Calgary on March 19.
The 1-1 tie in the series means the two teams will return to the ice for an all-deciding battle at the Ron Ebbesen Arena this afternoon, with puck drop set for 1:30 p.m.
The winner will advance to the Alberta Elite Hockey League's (AEHL) U15 AAA provincial championships next week, which will be hosted in Fort Saskatchewan. The tournament will feature the top two teams from the AEHL south division, the top two teams from the north division, and the host Fort Saskatchewan Rangers. Airdrie was the first-place team in the south division in the regular season, boasting a 30-3-1 record.
"We're a little bit down but the Bisons played pretty good," said Xtreme captain Wyatt Pizarczyk after Saturday's game at the Cardel Rec Centre in Calgary. "We're ready to come back hard tomorrow and get the win."
With their own season on the line, the Bisons jumped out to a 3-1 lead on Saturday in the first period and extended that lead to 5-2 in the second frame. Airdrie's goals came from Morgan Page and Aaron Sawatsky.
The hosts put the game early to bed in the third period, with Jackson Schneider scoring a quick goal in the second minute of the final stanza to bring Calgary's lead to four.
The Xtreme fought hard to come back in the contest, but were not able to put the puck in the net.
"Game one, we showed up to play," Pizarczyk said. It just shows that we are the better team when we come out to play. Today we just didn't, so we'll just work on things we need to do better before tomorrow to make sure everything is good to go before tomorrow."
Saturday's game was played in front of a sizeable attendance of more than 300 fans. Pizarczyk said it was thrilling to play in front of such a large crowd, and he hopes to see a similar showing in Airdrie this afternoon.
"It's great. Every single play you make, people are cheering loud," he said. "It's been the most fun hockey I've played."
Xtreme head coach Tyson Soloski said the loss on March 19 was "a lesson learned" for the players, who will be eager to earn their revenge in game three. He said the team didn't execute their game plan as well as they normally would.
"We have to give [the Bisons] a lot of credit," he said. "They came out really hard and played hard from the first puck drop. We weren't fully prepared from puck drop and they took it to us. We're excited to come back tomorrow and play a good game, and come prepared.
"I think it will be a different story come tomorrow."
