Battle for third starts at 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Civic
Coming off a 7-6 OT win over the Onion Lake Border Chiefs on Nov. 30, the Lloydminster Classic Oilfield Junior B Bandits had a hard time swallowing Sunday’s 7-1 beatdown by the St. Paul Canadiens, but there’s still plenty of hockey to play this season.
The Bandits, playing out of the North Eastern Alberta Junior B Hockey League, are currently tied for third with the Vermilion Tigers, right behind the Wainwright Bisons and the first-place Canadiens.
“Sunday was an eye-opener for the boys,” said head coach Jason Ross. “We didn’t play up to our capabilities by any means. It was one of those games you just have to write-off.”
Sunday was the Bandits’ third meeting with the Canadiens, beating them once and losing twice.
“When we do show up, we do compete with them, for sure,” said Ross.
Third place will be decided tonight at the Centennial Civic Centre as the Bandits host the Tigers at 7:30 p.m.
Looking across the board, things are starting to heat up in the league with roughly 15 games left to play, something Ross is excited to see.
“The top five or six teams in the league can beat anyone on any given day, really,” said Ross.
“This last week, it was proven the two teams at the bottom of the standings are just as capable of beating anyone as well, with Onion Lake taking us to OT and Vegreville beating Vermilion … all in all, it’s a pretty well-rounded league with good competition top to bottom. This is good to see as competition only makes us better.”
Ross also explained the league itself has seen growth over recent years.
“It’s a competitive league and it’s only getting better every year,” he said.
“There’s a few kids in the league this year that have WHL and Junior A experience.
“It’s becoming a much more well-rounded league and gives kids options to play and move on with school or work lives if they’re not chasing that dream anymore.”
When it comes to goal scoring, four Bandits are among the league’s top 25 scoring leaders with Joel Webb fifth overall with 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points, Jayden Plamondon sits sixth with 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points, defenceman Kade Dennett is 17th with 12 goals and six assists for 28 points, and Kosten Eaton sits 24th overall with nine goals and seven assists for 16 points.
“We got some good goaltending and a really good group of ‘04s we brought in last year that are now a year older and more experienced; they’re enjoying hockey and our record shows it,” said Ross.
“This is also the organization’s first winning season in a long time for this point in the season, so hopefully we can get some people out to cheer the boys on and make our way through playoffs.”
One big improvement Ross and fellow coaching staff have seen in recent weeks is the boys’ ability to work as a team.
“We’ve got a great room,” said Ross.
“All the guys like each other, they all go to bat for each other, and that’s throughout the entire 25-man roster.
“It’s a great room and it shows on the ice.”
The puck drops at the Civic at 7:30 p.m. tonight as the Bandits battle the Tigers for third place.
