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Sharks can’t solve Rebels; now winless in 4

Nov 27, 2017 | 4:00 PM

Scoring seven goals in two games this weekend wasn’t enough for the Battlefords AAA Sharks, who lost 5-3 and 7-4 to the Regina Rebels in a doubleheader at home.

The losses drop the Sharks record to 3-13 this season.

“There’s little things we’re doing that seem to make us lose games, like taking poor penatlties,” Sharks head coach Gary Berggren said after Sunday’s loss. “The message is to keep bringing the same intensity… but some of the mental things that we’re doing, focus on some of those things to get us on the right side of the win column.”

Berggren felt the Sharks played quite well on the weekend.

On Saturday, they were up 3-1, but then those bad penalties led to a 3-3 tie. Rebels forward Jenna Mark then scored the game-winning-goal with just 50 seconds left in regulation.

On Sunday, the Sharks worked hard to claw their way back from a 3-0 deficit after 20 minutes. A flurry of second period goals for both sides resulted in a 5-4 Regina edge after 40 minutes. Unfortuantely, the Sharks couldn’t score on any of their 12 third-period shots and the Rebels added a pair to make the final 7-4. Regina’s Ally Kosteniuk registered six assists in the win.

“They ended up putting the puck in the net more than we did and it wasn’t for a lack of chances,” Berggren said of Sunday’s performance. “We had lots of chances. Even in the first period, we hit the crossbar twice and had a breakaway that probably should have scored. If we score on some of those chances, it’s a different game.

“Defensively, we struggled a little bit in our own zone but the weekend went well in terms of effort.”

The Sharks had to play down three defencemen on Saturday and down two ‘D’ on Sunday, due to injuries and a suspension. That certainly made the games more of an uphill battle.

“I’m not saying that’s why we lost but the matchups are tougher then,” Berggren pointed out. “It’s tough to match lines and have a good grasp on things when you have players that are not used to the league.”

The Rebels notched a couple of power play goals over the weekend, while the Sharks had four in the two games.

Berggren said he was happy with the chances generated on the man advantage, but not so satisified with his penalty kill.

“The [power play] really turned around in the last few weeks,” he said. “We’re getting consistent chances on the power play. That really is helping but now our penalty kill, it’s always been good, and lately it’s not as good.”

Battlefords will have this coming weekend off, which is important because they are hoping to get defencemen Kalli Hiebert and Keera Tiringer back from injury for the following weekend. Goaltender Chloe Burt is also hurt, but is expected out until after Christmas.

The Sharks return to the ice Dec. 9 at home versus the defending champion Prince Albert Northern Bears.

 

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @NathanKanter11