Jayden Plamondon gets one of many breakaway opportunities on the Killam Wheat Kings on Sunday night at the Civic Centre. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
It was a big weekend on home ice for the Lloydminster Bandits after back-to-back wins over the Vegreville Rangers and rival Killam Wheat Kings.
The boys put away 17 goals while allowing only five throughout 120 minutes of hockey, securing a three-point lead over the Vermilion Tigers for third in the North Eastern Alberta Junior B Hockey League (NEAJBHL) standings. Third may be acceptable for some, but the Bandits have their sights set higher.
“We’re three points ahead of Vermilion right now but they’ve got the game in hand on us now, and we host them Thursday (tonight), so Thursday is the tell-tale,” said Bandits head coach Jason Ross after Sunday’s win over the Wheat Kings.
“Third will be nice, but we’re still trying to track down the top two, our goal is still to finish in the top two, so we’ll see how that goes.”
Ross also noted some teams in the NEAJBHL skated throughout the Christmas break, the Bandits, however, had been off since Dec. 15.
“All-in-all, first game back yesterday against Vegreville and today against Killam, who’s one of our arch rivals for the last couple of years, we always have physical games against them,” said Ross.
“It was a good weekend for us.”
Saturday night saw the Bandits steamroll the Rangers 10-2 with 61 shots on goal for the Bandits over the Rangers’ 19.
The Rangers may have been the first to light the lamp at 8:14 in the first, but Bandits Jayden Plamondon and captain Joel Webb each capitalized before the end of the period.
Vegreville got their second goal 37 seconds into the second period making it a 2-2 game, but Webb wasn’t having it and got his second of the night (with an assist from Plamondon) at 1:14. Bandits Jace Gunderson and Maddux Woodbury also got rubber to twine before the end of the second for a 5-2 game.
The third and final frame was all Lloydminster, who was able to score another five goals before the final buzzer for a 10-2 win. Kade Dennett, Silas Reeds, Kosten Eaton got one each, with Plamondon getting his second of the night. Webb also completed a hat trick.
Sunday’s 7-3 win over the Wheat Kings saw Bandit Ben Rawluk strike first just over five minutes into the first period, which was followed by a Jayden Plamondon goal a few minutes later, making it a 2-0 game going into the second.
Killam’s Kyler Bergseth got the Wheat Kings on the board 28 seconds into the second frame, lighting a fire in the bellies of the Bandits, who scored three more goals before the end of the period. Ethan Jubinville-Morin, Brayden Edwards and captain Joel Webb each got one for the home team. Killam’s Kobe Charchun also got a goal in the second, making it a 5-2 game after 40 minutes.
The Bandits, clearly motivated as well as dominant, got two more goals in the first half of the third off the tape of Ethan Jubinville-Morin and Joel Webb, a second of the night for both forwards. Killam’s Jordan Gagnon made it a 7-3 final with a late goal in the third.
For Webb, who’s currently fourth overall in scoring throughout the league with 21 goals and 18 assists in 22 games for 39 points this season, the weekend success couldn’t have come at a better time.
“We’ve got to be firing on all cylinders right now, and going into playoffs, this is exactly what we’re looking for. We’ve only got nine games left in the regular season and want to keep building, so this is a good sign,” he said on Sunday.
Looking at remainder of the regular season, Ross is also hoping to see the boys continue the momentum they’ve been building as “The games only get tougher from here on in.”
“You start thinking about playoff hockey now, as opposed to three weeks from now,” he explained. “We’re going to play like we’re in playoffs now and get the intensity up so when playoffs do roll around, our intensity level’s already there.”
Webb echoed his coach, thinking ahead to tonight’s game as the Bandits host the fourth-place Vermilion Tigers (13-6-1) for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop at the Civic Centre.
“The momentum is huge,” said Webb. “We’ve got Verm, who’s right with us in the standings, and St. Paul, who we’re looking to catch next weekend. We’re hoping to snowball and keep snowballing; keep that forecheck going and score a lot more goals.”
It would also appear the Bandits aren’t the only ones playing playoff-style hockey, as Webb noted the speed of games has been increasing every week.
“The intensity is really up, and it’s fun to play with,” said Webb. “Coming back from Christmas, you need that motivation with all the turkey in ya. We definitely skated the turkey out of us at practice this week, and that helped us this weekend.”
The Bandits special teams have also been coming alive as of late with a 28.24 powerplay percentage and 78.50 per cent on the penalty kill, something Ross is happy to see.
“We pressure loose pucks, right? It doesn’t matter if we’re short-handed or not, we try and keep things tight in our own end, and when we get a chance, we’re going to look for goals,” he said.
After tonight’s homer at the Civic against Vermilion, the Bandits will head to St. Paul to face the Canadiens on Jan. 13 before taking on the Cold Lake Ice on Jan. 20. The boys then return to home ice on Jan. 21 to host St. Paul before hosting the Onion Lake Border Chiefs on Jan. 26 for their final home game of the regular season.
The Bandits final regular-season game is scheduled for Feb. 10 in Vegreville.
