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Midget Wolves win first round of provincial playdowns

While the Fountain Tire Midget A Wolves lost a league game over the weekend, they also cleared the first round of provincial playdowns.
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Justin Hall of the Fountain Tire Midget A Wolves makes a shot on goal but couldn't make the mark Friday

While the Fountain Tire Midget A Wolves lost a league game over the weekend, they also cleared the first round of provincial playdowns.

Their league game was Friday, Jan. 15 at home against the Battle River Knights where the two teams faced off in a heated match that saw the Knights coming on top 4-2. Assistant coach Kelly Jones said the two teams have had a strong rivalry with Ponoka having defeated them earlier in the season.

Missed shots and a frustrated team hurt their chances of winning the game. “We had lots of chances and couldn’t convert on opportunities,” explained Jones.

In the second period, the Wolves were down 3-0 and they put in extra effort to score although it was some minutes before any action came about. Braeden Korchinski scored shorthanded after almost 10 minutes of play with an assist from Kolby Rattray. Following this goal, the Wolves had several opportunities with five on three due to penalties but they were unable to capitalize on these chances.

Trash talking and heated play appeared to be the outlook of the game. Jones believes trash talking helped the Wolves lose their concentration.

“That was part of their (Knights) game plan from the start and it worked,” suggested Jones.

Lewis McDowell scored Ponoka’s second and final goal of the game. The Wolves season record is 5-11-2 and the team sits fourth out of five.

Playdowns

Playdowns against Wetaskiwin the next day was a better performance.

The Wolves won 12-2 and because Ponoka won by a goal difference of 10, it negated the need for a second game.

Jones said the players learned a lesson from their Friday game to just go out and play solid hockey. “It was fun to watch from a coaching perspective.”

Rather than respond to jibes, the players focused on the game and came out better for it. Ponoka plays Lacombe next and Jones expects it to be a good series considering both teams won and lost a game against each other in regular season play.