The Airdrie Xtreme advanced to the second round of the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League (AMBHL) playoffs by defeating the Lethbridge Golden Hawks in two straight games last week.
The Bantam AAA team will now face the Medicine Hat Hockey Hounds in round two, beginning at the Moose Rec Centre in the Gas City on Feb. 24. Game two is set for Airdrie’s Ron Ebbesen Arena, Feb. 25 at 7:15 p.m.
Game three, if necessary, would take place back in the Hat on Feb. 26.
Head coach Terry Keogh said he and the players are happy to move on from the first round this year, after losing to Red Deer in the opening post-season series a year ago.
“They were very happy and it’s a big confidence boost, not only for the guys from last year, but for this year too,” he said. “We got some playoff experience. They were pretty anxious to find out who we were playing next.”
Airdrie beat the Hockey Hounds, which placed first in the AMBHL’s Ram South Division, 9-2 during the teams’ last meeting on Feb. 4 in Medicine Hat. The Xtreme lost 4-2 to the Hounds on the road, Nov. 5, as well as 6-2 at home on Oct. 2, so Keogh knows it will be a tough series.
“They like to play physical in their own end, so puck movement will be key to thwarting that,” he said. “But their defencemen are a little bit slower, so, with our speed, we’ll work a bit more on chipping the puck past them and trying to out skate them.”
Even if the series goes to a deciding third game, it will be completed in less than 48 hours. Having three potential post-season games in quick succession can be a challenge, Keogh said, making game one all the more essential.
“It’s certainly a concern with three games in that short of a time span,” he said. “The first game will be extremely important for us, because it will be in the wee hours of the morning before we’re home Friday night to regroup for Saturday.”
In the series victory over Lethbridge, Airdrie had a 4-1 home win on Feb. 16 and a 4-2 road win on Feb. 18. Tristan Thompson had two goals in game one, while Ryan Barrow, on a beautiful series of moves, and Ryley Smith added single.
Netminder Ryan Ternes made 34 saves for the win.
“That’s the second time in two weeks he’s had a goal like that,” Keogh said of Barrow’s first-period highlight reel marker. “You just kind of shake your head. He probably could have beat the goalie on the second move, but just to make sure, he makes that third move – pretty impressive.”
Xtreme captain Marshall Burr did not suit up in the first game, as the result of a nagging shoulder injury, but returned for game two in Lethbridge and will play against Medicine Hat.
“He’s back at 100 per cent,” Keogh said. “He wasn’t quite there yet on Thursday (Feb. 16), so rather than risk it and lose him for the whole playoffs, we decided to sit him out one more game and give him a couple extra days rest.”
In game two, Chad Harrison scored twice and Adamu Tanaka and Thompson each had one. Ternes made 35 saves in goal.
“We dominated the first period, even though we were down 1-0. We let down a little bit, but fought through the second to regain our momentum. Then we scored three times in third,” Keogh said. “We tried as best we could to keep all the shots coming in from the outside, which is a sign of good defence.”
