The Lloydminster Bandits made an emphatic early statement as they opened their Northeastern Alberta Junior B Hockey League regular season in style.
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In a rematch of last season’s finalists, the Bandits defeated the perennial-champion Wainwright Bisons twice last weekend — 3-2 in overtime Saturday at Lloydminster and 4-3 in a shootout the night before at Wainwright.
When long-serving captain Joel Webb scored with two minutes remaining in overtime Saturday, the Bandits capped a perfect script for their first official game at their fancy new home, the Cenovus Energy Hub.
“It’s definitely not gone unnoticed that it’s a privilege to have the opportunity to play here and to have our own (dressing) room,” said Lloyd coach Josh Dudding. “The boys can’t be more excited, with a good crowd in our first game.”
In front of 600-plus fans, the Bandits delivered the goods in their Hub debut, rising to the occasion after the pesky Bisons forced OT on a Tanner Werenka goal with just five minutes left in regulation time.
Wainwright has set the league’s standard in the past decade, so even September victories over the Bisons are cause for celebration.
“We’ve matched up against these guys for the last few years and it’s always been a battle,” said Dudding, whose Bandits lost to their rivals in a six-game final last March.
“They’ve been the best team for the last eight years in a row, so whenever you can get one past them, it’s a big accomplishment. I like it.
“It’s a little bit of a personal thing for me, as well. I played my junior years in Wainwright, so it’s a little bit of a second home for me. But it’s always good to get the win.”
A week earlier, Wainwright opened its season with a 2-1 loss to the visiting Vermilion Tigers.
SETTING THE TONE
The intensity and physicality exhibited this past weekend would indicate the Lloyd-Wainwright rivalry is alive and well.
Webb, a fourth-year forward now in his third season as the Bandits’ captain, can appreciate the heated hockey between the relatively close neighbours, at least geographically.
“It’s nice to set an environment in this building,” said Webb, 21. “There’s no culture here (in the Hub) yet, and it’s nice to set the tone coming out of the gates. That’s two wins against — it sucks to talk about it — the team that beat us in the finals last year. But a little animosity between us, and that helps to bring out the energy when it comes to big moments like overtime tonight and the shootout like it was (Friday).
“You can tell that we played each other in the finals last year, because that intensity is still there. Even though we’re still getting started, maybe a little bit out of shape, but that intensity is still there. Guys want it as badly as ever.”
Webb wanted the puck on his stick in OT and rookie Cohen Aultman obliged with a deft pass to set up the winning goal. Maddux Woodbury also assisted on the game-ending play.
“You just start seeing red in a moment like that,” Webb said. “You see the play forming and I just took off and was screaming for it. Cohen made a great pass. From there, it was all eyes to the net.”
Webb sprung loose and broke in alone to beat Bisons goaltender Ryder Zubiak high on the blocker side.
“I’ve missed more than my fair share of breakaways in this league, so I’m happy to say I’ve learned a thing or two,” said a smiling Webb, nearing the 200-point mark in his junior B career.
Webb even played a couple of games with the Bisons a few years ago as he graduated from U18 AAA hockey. He also had stints with Saskatchewan junior A teams before settling in with the Bandits at home in Lloydminster.
He leads a captaincy group that includes fellow overagers Jayden Plamondon and Kade Dennett, along with 19-year-old forward Corvan Stewart. Veteran goaltender Shea Stewart — Corvan’s older brother — rounds out Lloyd’s four overagers, or 2004-born players.
“For me, I came up with the 04 group, as I call them, so this is the first year where that group is now overagers, and we can only carry four,” said Dudding, who spent two years as an assistant coach before becoming head coach last season.
“We have 15 new guys in that room, so we’ve had quite the changeover, and it was nice to have some time (in the pre-season) for the guys to gel and kind of get the season going.
“You can’t ask for a better first weekend. The Bandits this year are going to be a hard-working, hard-nosed team, for sure.”
The Bandits showed that tenacity when it counted most in Saturday’s clash at the Hub. Jace Gunderson was one of those warriors, blocking a shot that stung in overtime. Gunderson also was roughed up early in the third period — when Bisons catalyst Ryker Singer was penalized for charging — but the Lloyd veteran bounced back and threw a big hit in the late going.
The Bandits were shorthanded for the first minute of overtime as Bronson Parker’s hooking penalty carried over from the third.
Parker, on the power play, and Adryan Bugiera also scored for Lloydminster. Bugiera and Dennett each had two-point nights for the Bandits, while rookie goaltender Haden Heide made 28 saves to post his second win in as many days.
The Bisons’ Zubiak blocked 29 shots in Saturday’s game.
John MacNeil – Meridian Source
Wainwright forward Braden Aker scored the game-opening goal on a first-period power play, writing history as the first junior B scorer at the Hub. Later in the period, Parker netted Lloyd’s initial goal in the new arena.
LOCAL BOY HEIDE A NET GAIN
In making a favourable first impression as a Bandit, hometown netminder Heide showed he was fresh from a junior A tryout with the Waywayseecappo Wolvernies in Manitoba. Not to mention his experience from last season in British Columbia with the KIJHL’s Chase Heat and Castlegar Rebels, and previously with the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats.
“He’s a heckuva goalie,” Dudding said of the 19-year-old Heide. “He’s had some junior A experience in the last season and decided he wanted to come home and play. We were more than happy to see him come home. He grew up playing with a lot of guys in that room, so he’s a familiar face. He’s definitely a great goalie.
“So, now we pair him with Shae (Stewart), an overager. This is Shae’s fourth season. We feel we’ve got one heck of a one-two punch in net.”
Heide’s on-ice readiness contributed to the Bandits’ decision to start him in both games last weekend.
“He’s been on the ice a ton over the summer,” Dudding said. “That’s why we went with Heide for the weekend.
“Shae and Corvan are big farmers (near Spiritwood, Sask.). Shae hasn’t had the opportunity to be on the ice as much as he probably would like, being in a combine and things like that. It’s a big operation for a 21-year-old kid. All the props to him.”
Parker, a defenceman from the same area of Saskatchewan as the Stewarts, played in the KIJHL last season.
The Bandits’ lineup includes another Parker, Colton, a former U18 AAA Lloydminster Lancers’ forward from Maidstone, Sask.
Colton Parker played U18 AAA baseball this summer with the Zone 7 Sun Devils in the Saskatchewan premier league.
With a 25-man season-opening roster last weekend, Lloydminster was carrying two goaltenders, eight defencemen and 15 forwards.
The Bandits visit the St. Paul Canadiens (1-1) at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday (Oct. 4) and the Vermilion Tigers next Thursday (Oct. 9).
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