The Airdrie-Cochrane (AC) Avalanche’s quest to reach the AMMHL playoffs was firing on all cylinders over the weekend, as they leapfrogged to fourth in the South Division with a comeback win, and a draw.
Avs (11-7-4) hosted CNHA Blazers (6-12-3) on Jan. 2 at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre looking to shake off the rust after the holiday break. Blazers went up 3-0 in the first period as Avs had some trouble finding their feet.
However, a team that looked like it was still suffering from a turkey hangover must have had their can of spinach between periods, because Avs came out in the second period invigorated.
Forward Keenan McElroy scored a brace to put the home side within one goal.
George Reed and Ben Davison assisted.
The home side then continued their momentum scoring three in the third period through Reed, Kory Zinck, and Austin Wong to gain a 5-3 lead (Wong, Zinck, Eric Van Tetering, Luke Jensen, and Justin Berube had assists).
Blazers scored a late consolation goal but it was too little, too late as Avs ran out 5-4 winners.
“We started off a little shaky, but we got our ground after the first period,” Avs head coach Kenton Levesque said.
“We were very happy with how relentless and resilient we were. We haven’t missed a beat over Christmas break which was a really good sign.”
After going 3-0 down, did Levesque think that his team were going to have a lot of work to do to get back to the level they were at before the holiday break?
“The message in the dressing room was that everyone just had to play as a team,” he said.
“People were trying to be individuals, but once we started moving the puck, and trusting one another, we took over.”
Avs continued their form when they hosted Rockyview Raiders (9-4-7) on Jan. 3.
In a tight-fought game, the two teams fought to a 3-3 draw. Josh Kroon, Wong, and Davison scored the goals for Avs.
Kroon, Wong, Van Tetering, Ryan Ries, and Cole Reinhardt all had helpers.
“It was just a great hockey game,” Levesque said. “Probably the best and fastest one we’ve played to date. It was awesome to be a part of.”
The Cochrane-based team next plays SEAC Tigers (3-18-2), a team that is one of the bottom feeders in the South Division.
“We haven’t had the best luck against the bottom teams in our division this season,” Levesque said.
“We know from experience that we can’t take anyone lightly. We’ve just climbed to fourth in the division, and we want to keep going up.
“So, hopefully we can test (Tigers) this coming weekend and pick up two points.”
The Avs-Tigers game will be played on Jan. 9 at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre. Puck-drop is 4:15 p.m.
