Holding their opponents to a combined three goals in two weekend victories, the U18 AAA Lloydminster Lancers accented defence to gain their necessary four more points to qualify for the Alberta Elite Hockey League playoffs.
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Anything less would have left the Lancers out of the post-season dance for the third time in as many years.
Instead, they bumped the Leduc Oil Kings for the sixth and final playoff position in the North Division, courtesy of Lloyd’s 4-1 win over the host Sherwood Park Kings on Sunday and a 3-2 victory over visiting Leduc on Saturday.
The Lancers took a 3-0 first-period lead in the first period Saturday and shut the door after the Oil Kings replied with two goals of their own in the second.
In the dying minutes, Lloyd’s penalty-killers kept Leduc at bay, typifying the defensive diligence that stood tall on the weekend and in so many other games during the season.
In front of a 35-save performance from goaltender Asher Ammann, the Lancers’ penalty-killing unit didn’t leave anything to chance as it negated a hooking penalty in the final three minutes of regulation time.
The likes of forwards Logan Flewell, Josh Frazer and Carson Mazzei, along with defenceman Rhett Romanchuk, led the penalty-killing efforts down the stretch to keep the Lancers’ playoff hopes alive into the final day of the regular season.
“I was really proud of how the boys battled today,” Lloyd coach Chris King said after Saturday’s game.
“We scored three early, and then did not score for a while. Earlier in the year, as you said, we would have tightened up.
“I thought we did a great job in our D zone and kept the play in their zone, where they couldn’t really get a lot of high-opportunity chances.”
Going into last weekend, the Lancers still had work to do to qualify for the playoffs, but they embraced the opportunity.
They considered themselves fortunate just to be in that position in late February, said King, in his first year as Lloyd’s coach.
“The talk was, ‘If I told you at the beginning of the year, we needed to win two games to get into playoffs, would you take it?’ The boys said, ‘Yeah, of course.’
“We knew what we had to do. We’ve played really good hockey for probably eight weeks now, earning (20 of a possible 28 points) and it’s still really tight. We’re doing what we can.”
Their weekend heroics pushed the Lancers into a first-round playoff date with the North Division’s third-place St. Albert Raiders. That best-of-three series was scheduled to open Wednesday night in St. Albert. Game 2 goes 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Hub in Lloydminster, with a possible third game set for 5 p.m. Sunday in St. Albert.
Frazer, Romanchuk and Brody Sunderland gave Lloyd the early 3-0 lead against Leduc. It was a two-point game for Romanchuk, who overcame pain in the third period and got back in the fray in the critical minutes. Brock McDougall, with his 26th in his 27-goal season, and Kade Harstad scored for Leduc. Owen Prasek made 36 stops for the Oil Kings.
Romanchuk, a third-year defenceman, was among eight senior Lancers recognized in a pre-game ceremony. That group includes goaltender Ammann, D-men Ace Brewer and Denton Setzer, and forwards Flewell, Mazzei, Ty Domshy and Kelton Doolaege.
After Saturday’s season-saving victory on home ice, coach King saluted his Lancers for their defensive awareness, especially the less-heralded penalty-killers.
“You can’t speak enough about guys like Frazer and Mazzei, out there killing penalties and taking the tough shifts,” he said. “Mazzei took a lot of the draws for us in the D zone today and made sure that we were responsible in our D zone.
“Those guys, they don’t always light up the scoresheet, but they’re so integral to the success we’ve had in the second half.
“When you look at some of those hard-working shifts from Domshy and other guys, that’s what makes you a tough team. You can have all the talent in the world, but you’ve got to have some guys that do the work.”
One of those gritty performers is graduating forward Flewell, who was all smiles as he posed for keepsake photos after Saturday’s final regular-season home game. The Paradise Valley native sensed special qualities in this group of Lancers.
“Once we got into our little groove here, we started to fly around a little more and we definitely started to gel as a team and started winning a lot of games,” Flewell said. “It’s been a good run.
“It was a pretty good week of practice. We were flying around pretty well and we had a lot of fun, which is always a good thing. We did that kids’ program (an instructional camp) all week, so a couple of us would go out every hour or so with all the little kids. That also went over well. It got me out of school for one day, so that was pretty good.”
These are exciting times for the likes of Flewell, an E.H. Walter senior student whose provincially ranked high school basketball team is waiting for his services. Not to mention the Lloydminster Bandits, the junior B hockey club just beginning its playoff run.
“It’s kind of nerve-racking, realizing I’m about to graduate, so I’m trying to keep hockey going as long as possible,” he said with a smile. “If our time is cut short with the Lancers, hopefully I get to go out with the Bandits and have a lot of fun with them, too.”
All four of the semifinalists in the Northeastern Alberta junior B league — Lloydminster, Vermilion, Wainwright and Killam — are poised to add Lancers if they become available. In similar fashion, the junior A Lloydminster Bobcats are expected to add at least a couple of Lancers to their AJHL roster if that opportunity arises.
Opportunity continues to knock for the Lancers and their persistent penalty-killers, as evidenced in their pivotal win last Saturday.
“Yeah, I love penalty-killing,” Flewell said. “I love being able to get that puck and just fire it down the ice free.
“They rely on us three — me, Frazer and Mazzei. If we get a penalty, us three just go on the ice, because we know we’re going to go. We go out there and we do a good job.
“I missed an empty-netter at the end, but we still won.”
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