After riding high at the beginning of January, the Airdrie Lightning AA midget boys’ team was brought back down to Earth with a pair of humbling defeats Jan. 20 and 26 in the South Central Alberta Hockey League (SCAHL).
After riding high at the beginning of January, the Airdrie Lightning AA midget boys’ team was brought back down to Earth with a pair of humbling defeats Jan. 20 and 26 in the South Central Alberta Hockey League (SCAHL).
The Lightning fell 6-3 on the road against the Lethbridge Hurricane Hounds Jan. 20, before suffering a heavy 8-1 defeat at home to the South Conference-leading Medicine Hat Hounds Jan. 26.
According to Lightning head coach Sean Gilbert, Airdrie’s struggles in the last two games were partially due to the absence of some key third-year players, who were missing due to high school diploma exams.
“We were missing five starters last game against Lethbridge and five starters again today,” he said, following the 8-1 loss to Medicine Hat. “Those five players that were missing really make a difference – you win and lose hockey games as a 19-man unit.”
Despite the recent setbacks, Gilbert is confident his team can turn around its performances for the final 10 games of the regular season, before the SCAHL playoffs are held in Lacombe, March 7 to 10. He added Airdrie was coming off its best play of the 2018-19 season before the recent losses.
“We’ve gone into a two-game slide, but before that, we were on a five-game unbeaten streak,” he said. “The guys are coming together and doing well.”
The Lightning (8-13-3) will be back at home Feb. 2 to lock horns with the North Conference-leading West Central Tigers. Puck drop is at 4:15 p.m. at the Ron Ebbesen Arena.
Bisons secures crucial win
The Airdrie Bisons AAA midget hockey team’s playoff chances took a big step forward Jan. 27, with a crucial 6-5 win over the Okotoks Bow Mark Oilers.
Airdrie and Okotoks went into the contest in sixth and seventh place, respectively, of the Chrysler South Division of the Alberta AAA Midget Hockey League (AMHL). With only the top six teams from the south qualifying for post-season, the result was huge in terms of the two teams’ playoff hopes.
The game was close throughout, with Airdrie leading by just a single goal after each period. Forward Ty Mueller secured the win for the Bisons with a game-winning snipe in the third period.
Now boasting a 15-12-3 record, with just four games left during the 2018-19 regular season, the Bisons will head north Feb. 2 and 3 for road games against the St. Albert Nektar Data Systems Raiders and the Fort Saskatchewan Boston Pizza Rangers.
Xtreme turning season around
With back-to-back home wins Jan. 26 and 27, the Airdrie Xtreme has pulled itself off the bottom of the Ram South division of the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League (AMBHL).
After defeating the Lethbridge Val Matteoti Golden Hawks 2-1, the Xtreme followed up the win with a 4-3 victory over the Leduc Woodbend Oil Kings the following afternoon.
The two games marked Airdrie’s first wins in the AMBHL since Dec. 8, 2018.
The positive weekend improves the Xtreme’s 2018-19 record to 9-14-3, with seven regular-season fixtures remaining.
Airdrie will visit Medicine Hat Feb. 2, to take on the Southeast Tigers. The team will be back home the following afternoon to play the Calgary Flames at the Ron Ebbesen Arena, with a 1:30 p.m. start time.
