John Wilmshurst | Special to the 51暗网
By every metric, the Leduc Roughnecks should have rolled over the Jasper Bantam Bearcats after rolling into town last Sunday. Jasper is a tier two team in the Northern Alberta Interlock League. Leduc is tier one. Leduc arrived with a full roster of 20 or more players and could roll three full forward and three defensive lines. On Sunday, Jasper was missing three players from a 13-man roster rolling two forward lines and one and a half defensive lines. And at least four of Jasper鈥檚 skaters were sick. At the end of the game, Leduc had outshot Jasper 33 - 32. On paper, this game was a blowout for Leduc before the first puck was dropped.
But the math doesn鈥檛 account for the heart. The Bearcats showed up to the rink on Sunday determined to not let the ledger win, dug deep and just played hockey. This was no more evident than the breakout games that were played by a few players, and simply outstanding play by kids who didn鈥檛 make the scoresheet.
The Bearcats got off to a quick start, pulling out to a two nothing lead in the first six minutes of play. Sebastian Golla scored both Jasper goals, one five-hole along the ice and the second high blocker, but was just getting started as he figured in on every Bearcat goal on the afternoon. At the other end of the ice, goaltender Donovan Fawcett was his usual composed (albeit vocal) self, making some tough stops, including foiling a two on none Leduc breakaway. Donny was solid, and was being helped by the likes of Ty Crozier with an outstanding defensive play to block a Leduc centering pass. Ty had a fantastic game, continuing to improve his offensive skills with an aggressive forecheck and an impressive record in the faceoff circle. At the end of the first period, Jasper was being outshot 13 - 11, but held a two to nothing lead.
Leduc scored early in the second, taking advantage of an offensive zone giveaway and blasting the puck past a sprawling Donovan. A couple of minutes later though, Golla regained Jasper鈥檚 two goal lead with a sharp angled shot. Jacob Bartziokas almost extended the lead to three with a beautiful blast from the point that took a miraculous save from the Leduc netminder to keep out of the net. Getting the three-goal lead was left up to Rowan Koss, scoring his first Bantam goal in the regular season, stuffing the puck past the Roughneck goaltender on with great second-effort. Besides getting this goal, Koss really stepped up his play during the game, making plays and scoring. MVP on Sunday for sure.
As the second period drew to a close, Jasper had to kill off a five on three situation for a full two minutes, but managed, and carried a four to one lead into the second intermission.
In the third period, the players on Jasper鈥檚 short bench were clearly becoming exhausted, taking voluntary short shifts and backing off on the forecheck. Nevertheless, Jasper鈥檚 blueliner Michael Hayashi kept denying Leduc offensive zone entry and Donovan was standing tall between the pipes. Golla netted his fourth of the game for Jasper鈥檚 sixth goal and then Dexter Fawcett made a slick play to get in front of the net behind a pre-occupied Leduc defense to pot Jasper鈥檚 seventh on the afternoon. Bartziokas pulled a Bobby Orr in the late going, charging down the ice and labelling a slapper from inside the blue line that would have found top stick side had not the top of the Leduc goalie鈥檚 stick gotten in the way.
The unlikely score at the end of the game was Jasper 7, Leduc 1, proving once again that the game is played on the ice, not in the hallways.
This weekend, Jasper plays again at home against Devon. The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., on Saturday, but team mangers are seeking an alternative ice time to accommodate Devon鈥檚 travel. So, consult the arena schedule for final game time, and I鈥檒l see you in the stands.
