Bow Valley Bantam AA Timberwolves continued their South Central Alberta Hockey League (SCAHL) regular-season with an impressive 7-1 win over Red Deer Steel Kings on Oct. 25 at Spray Lakes Sawmills Family Sports Centre.
The team, which went into the game having lost two of their last three made a statement to the rest of the league that they are only getting better as the season progresses.
“We’ve had a little inconsistency game in, game out this season,” said Timberwolves head coach Tyson Soloski. “Today was one of our best performances.
T-wolves came out of the gates early, with Dean Olenyk scoring from a wrist shot within the first four minutes of the game. Both teams settled into a back-and-forth rhythm for most of the first period, which was broken when Ty Parker scored a power-play goal, doubling the Cochrane team’s advantage going into the second period.
Steel Kings pulled one back on the power-play early in the second before T-wolves stepped up and smashed the visitors, with Olenyk scoring his second of the game, before Nicholas Dobson, Curtis Scott, and Francesco Perkovic all chipped in to make it 6-1.
The visitors came close to scoring a second early in the third period with a shot going tantalizingly over the crossbar, before T-wolves regained control. A slap shot into the bottom right corner by Samuel Kroon made in 7-1 for the home team despite being outshot 30-28 in the game. The Timberwolves swarm proved too much for the frustrated Steel Kings, as T-wolves looked almost without weakness throughout. In particular, the penalty kill and power-play looked very impressive.
“Our team is solid from top to bottom,” Soloski said. “We’ve done a lot of work in practice, and the kids have improved a lot.
“Normally, we struggle in the first period. Today, we came out really good and set a tone for the entire game.”
T-wolves currently sit third in the North Division, but Soloski feels there’s still a lot more to come from his team.
“The sky’s the limit for these guys,” Soloski said. “There are a lot of good attitudes here.
“These players are willing to listen and easy to teach.”
Timberwolves (4-3) next host Okotoks Oilers (4-2-1) Oct. 30 at Cochrane Arena. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m.
