The Lloydminster Bandits of the North Eastern Alberta Junior B Hockey League scored 18 goals over the weekend in 120 minutes of hockey.
A 6-3 loss to the Vermilion Tigers on Nov. 7 didn’t deter the boys from burying the Vegreville Rangers 9-1 on Nov. 9 and the Cold Lake Ice 9-2 on Nov. 10.
For first-year head coach Josh Dudding, the team’s success can be partly credited to a longstanding on-ice relationship.
“Most of this team’s been together for three seasons, and I’ve been on the bench with them as an assistant coach for two of those seasons,” explained Dudding. “When Jason Ross and Lenny Young stepped away, I took the head coach position for this year and years forward.”
Dudding commented on his team’s performance last weekend, saying it’s great to see hard work paying off.
“It’s hard to pinpoint one area for the key to success,” said Dudding. “For the guys, after the loss to Vermilion, we came in, and the mould of this weekend was, let’s play a group of 20 guys, not 20 individuals, and I think we showed that.”
Bandits' Bench
When it comes to certified beauticians, there’s no shortage on the Bandits’ bench.
Captain Joel Webb is second in league points with 17 goals and 15 assists in 13 games for 32 points. Kade Dennett is tenth overall with nine goals and 11 assists in 13 games for 20 points; Silas Reeds is eleventh overall with four goals and 16 assists in 13 games for 20 points. Jayden Plamondon sits 18th for points with seven goals and nine assists in 13 games for 16 points.
“Webb is a very vocal guy,” said Dudding. “You probably can’t find another guy in that room who wants to win as much as he does.”
“Our leadership group is Webb, Plamondon, Reeds and Dennett. We talked with them over the summer to see what they wanted from this season. The message was, ‘We want to win.’”
Dudding explained the team has taken tough lessons to the chin over the past three seasons. He also noted a lot of success that keeps building.
The Bandits host the Onion Lake Border Chiefs at the Civic Centre tomorrow night (Nov. 15) at 7:30 p.m.
The Bandits are in St. Paul on Nov. 16 to play the Canadiens.
Read more: NEAJBHL: Tigers take 6-3 win over Bandits
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