On an offensive night of goals galore, the Lloydminster Bandits were talking about defensive diligence.
Therein is the latest lesson plan for the junior B Bandits, who ripped the winless Vegreville Rangers 11-3 at home Saturday night after edging the St. Paul Canadiens 1-0 on the road Friday night.
Read more: Bisons hand Bandits their first setback
With an 11-3 record, Lloydminster is among the top teams in the Northeastern Alberta Junior B Hockey League, but coaches and players alike believed the Bandits needed to refocus after a recent bump in the road.
“We had a hot start, and then in a five-game stretch, we dropped three of them, one very lopsided,” coach Josh Dudding said after Saturday’s victory at the Hub. “So, it gave us a bit of a gut-check. For a team that’s very offensive-minded, it was a very good lesson that if you don’t take care of your own zone, it doesn’t matter how gifted you are, you’re not going to win the game.
“That was the focus all week in practice — let’s get back to playing below the puck, playing good, hard, defensive hockey, and goals will come as you get your chances.”
The goals came in spades against hard-luck Vegreville (0-13), which has lost twice in Lloyd in two weeks by a combined score of 20-5.
One of the Bandits’ top scorers, assistant captain Jayden Plamondon, also underlined the team prioritizing defence of late.
“I didn’t make that game (in St. Paul), but I was glad to see we shut them down defensively,” said Plamondon, who was busy with work duties Friday but returned to the lineup Saturday.
“I talked to a bunch of guys and they said we just played really well in the D zone (against the Canadiens). And that’s what we need. We need to focus on that end more than the O zone.”
Plamondon has seven points in his past five games, including a goal and an assist in Saturday’s big win over Vegreville.
He believes that the Bandits’ decisive losses to the Vermilion Tigers and Wainwright Bisons in October were part of the learning curve for a solid Lloydminster team that is still taking shape.
SHOOTING FOR FIRST PLACE
“We’ve got a new team,” said Plamondon, 21. “Everyone is just trying to get used to each other. Those games will happen. We’ve just got to turn it around and win our series against the top teams to try to get first (place).”
As of Wednesday, just three points separated the three front-runners. Vermilion (12-2) had two more points than Lloyd and three more than Wainwright (9-1-3).
Dudding and his coaching staff wanted to shake up Lloyd’s lines recently as they created new combinations.
“For the start of the season, we had pretty steadily four sets of lines, and then after that tough stretch, we’ve been mixing things a little more often, just to find some extra chemistry, if you need it at times,” Dudding said.
“Also, just to teach these guys, it doesn’t matter who you play with, you play the same way and that chemistry will build.”
One of the new combinations Saturday put Plamondon between Aidan Martens and Cash Parkin. They combined for six points, as Parkin scored twice, while Plamondon and Martens each contributed a goal and an assist.
Cole Kelly, with four points, and Jace Gunderson also scored two goals each, while Bronson Parker collected a goal and three assists and Cayden Wildeman added one of each. Cohen Aultman also scored and Kade Dennett and Colten Gargus picked up two assists each.
“It was nice for us to put some points on the board, put some pucks in the net, for a few guys that feel a little snake-bitten and a little frustrated,” Dudding said. “So, it’s always nice to see those guys score some goals, especially coming off last night, a tight, close-checking 1-0 win.”
Shae Stewart blocked 21 shots in Lloyd’s net Saturday, while Rangers workhorse Andrew Bezaire made 35 saves, despite giving up 11 goals.
The rout over Vegreville was well-timed for a Bandits team looking for a breakthrough, after a tight game at St. Paul the night before that belonged to the goaltenders, Boston Carter of the Canadiens and Haden Heide of the Bandits.
“We had quite a few chances (Friday),” Dudding said after Saturday’s game. “Cohen Aultman had about five or six close chances, last night, that either hit a nob of a stick or hit a post, so it was good to see him get one early tonight.
“Same with Cash (Parkin). He was the one who put in a beautiful shot last night for the 1-0 win. He put up a couple of more goals tonight. It’s always good to see that.”
Friday’s game at St. Paul was delayed briefly because the Bandits were stuck in Lloyd at suppertime, while their bus waited to get past the scene of a traffic accident on a snow-covered highway.
Opposing goalies Heide and Carter were in fine form. Heide stopped 23 shots for his second shutout and sixth victory this season, while Carter blocked 28 of 29 shots.
“Their goalie had one heckuva game — can’t say enough about that,” Dudding said about St. Paul’s Carter. “And then, Heider kept us in it. They had just had as many chances, just as many post and out, crossbar and out, so it was good to come out of there with a 1-0 win.
“Depending on if you didn’t have two goalies playing the way they did last night, that could have been an 8-7 game.”
The lone goal-scorer, Parkin, also tipped his hat to Carter and the Canadiens.
“The goalie stood on his head,” he said. “They played great. They’re a physical team.”
Speaking of goalies, it’s difficult not to empathize with Bezaire, who has tended goal for 10 of Vegreville’s 13 losses. He faced 50 shots on Oct. 25 when the Rangers lost 9-2 in Lloydminster.
“Definitely, Veg has had some close games with Wainwright and with Vermilion, and he’s been in the net both times,” Dudding said of Bezaire. “He’ll steal a game for you.
“You definitely feel for a team that’s still searching for that first (victory). But for us, chasing down that No. 1 spot. I’m hoping we’re not the team that gives it to them.”
DEPTH COMES TO BANDITS’ AID
The Bandits are carrying a 25-man roster, and Dudding has tapped that depth during a recent spate of injuries. He also believes extra bodies are useful at the junior B level, because of the players’ work and school commitments, and because some of them live outside Lloyd and travel on winter roads some nights.
The Bandits are on the road for two games this weekend — Friday against the Cold Lake Ice (7-6) and Saturday versus the Killam Wheat Kings (3-10).
The following week, Lloydminster plays three home games in as many nights from Nov. 20 through Nov. 22 — against Vermilion on Thursday, Wainwright on Friday and St. Paul on Saturday.
“So, that’s going to be quite a gauntlet of a weekend,” Dudding said about the three-in-three stretch. “A very, very tough one at home.”
Read more: Bandits go 1-1, Tigers set pace
