A large X marks the front of the Xtreme’s jerseys, but now that Airdrie is No. 1 in the divisional standing, that X has become a target.
The Red Deer Rebels White was the first team gunning for the X-Men, as they beat the Xtreme 4-2 at the Ron Ebbesen Arena on Dec. 12. Tyler Wong had both Airdrie goals and Christian Fitzgerald took the loss in net.
“Red Deer probably played the best that we’ve seen them all year,” said Xtreme head coach Terry Keogh. “They really took the game to us, but there probably was a little bit of leftover from the day before. We had our opportunities to win the game, although from a work ethic standpoint, I was disappointed. We certainly didn’t play as well as we’re capable of.”
The Xtreme (13W-6L-1T) was able to split its weekend games, however, as it beat fellow division-rivals the Medicine Hat Hockey Hounds 6-3 at the Ron Ebbesen Arena on Dec. 11.
Wong and Connor Boyd both had two goals, while Colby Chartier and Marshall Burr added singles. Malcolm Walilko earned the win in net.
“We played strong and took the game to Medicine Hat,” Keogh said.
“But we let up a bit once we got a comfortable lead and we weren’t playing as well as we could have. We let them score three goals and weren’t too happy about letting Medicine Hat do that.
“We’ll also definitely be working on our power play this week, as we’re not moving the puck nearly enough. We’re playing as individuals, rather than using the other guys on the ice, so we’ll work on that,” he said.
The Xtreme will travel to Ft. Saskatchewan and Lloydminster for a pair of road games this weekend. It will be the team’s final two games before the Christmas break and its next important divisional game will be against Lethbridge on Jan. 2.
“The positive thing about this weekend is that it’s road games and we’re staying overnight,” Keogh said.
“It will give us a chance to work together and for the team to be together from Saturday morning until late Sunday evening, at the rink, on the bus. We need a little bit of that. It’s going to be good to get away.”
