Sign up for the battlefordsNOW newsletter

Outlaws headed to provincial ‘A’ final

Mar 13, 2017 | 12:00 PM

While the town is in the midst of Kraft Hockeyville 2017 voting, the Wilkie Outlaws men’s senior team has advanced to the finals of the ‘A’ provincial bracket after a 5-4 win over Kindersley on Saturday.

With the win, Wilkie swept Kindersley 2-0 as they won 7-4 in game one. It was the first time in these provincials that the Outlaws won in two straight, something that coach and defenceman Derek Keller said had to do with familiarity.

“We knew exactly what we were going to be up against,” Keller said of the Kindersley Red Lions, whom Wilkie defeated in the semifinals of the Sask West Hockey League playoffs not long ago, although the teams were not exactly the same. “We showed up and were ready to play both games.”

Saturday’s game was everything a fan could have asked for, other than perhaps overtime. There were multiple lead changes and the game-winning-goal was scored not long before the final buzzer.

Kindersley opened the scoring, before Wilkie netted three straight. Then Kindersley came back from 3-1 to tie it 3-3. The Outlaws would go ahead 4-3 after that, but Kindersley notched a shorthanded goal to tie it 4-4.

In the end, Wilkie was the last team laughing, thanks to a power play goal from Garrett Cameron with just over two minutes to go in regulation.

“Every team is so evenly matched that every time you get an opportunity on the power play, you’ve got to make the most of it,” Keller said. “Not being stagnant and standing around [on the power play], that’s something I’ve been really stressing to the guys – is getting a lot of movement. I think it causes confusion with the penalty killers.

“Basically movement and net front presence have been the two keys that we’ve been trying to drive home the last two, three weeks.”

Thanks to winning on Saturday, the Outlaws have a six-day break before their next game, which will be game two of their league finals against Macklin on Friday. They currently lead that best 3-of-5 series 1-0.

Winning in two straight at provincials also means one less game has to be played, which is key at this time of year.

“We’re starting to get a little banged up. We’ve been playing a lot of hockey,” Keller said. “This six days off is big for us just to regroup and let some wounds heal.”

In the ‘A’ provincial final, Wilkie will be going up against last year’s champions, the Bethune Bulldogs.

Although they are from south bracket, meaning Wilkie hasn’t played them head to head, Keller said he is a little bit familiar with the team.

“I know a fair amount of their guys,” he said. “I’ve played against them, whether it’s junior hockey or summer hockey, and a couple of their guys are actually from Wilkie so we have a pretty good idea of what to expect.

“We know we’re going to definitely have our hands full. They’ve got good forwards, they have really strong defence and they picked up a goalie this year that played for the Huskies a couple years ago. There are no weaknesses on this team.”

The schedule for the finals is not set yet, but the best 2-of-3 series has to wrap up by March 31.

With this run to the finals, Keller said the team is in high spirits.

“This is why you play, right?” he said. “The atmosphere around the team, in the locker room, is a real positive one. It’s a real confident one and I think the town is starting to get real excited too.

“This time of the year, everybody is having fun.”

 

Nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

@NathanKanter11