By Nathan Kanter

AAA Sharks split weekend with Melville despite lack of jump

Dec 18, 2017 | 11:00 AM

Thanks to a strong goaltending performance from Haylie Biever, the Battlefords AAA Sharks did not leave Battleford Arena empty handed following a pair of home games this weekend.

Despite a lack of energy in their step, the Sharks split the weekend series with Melville, winning 3-2 on Saturday and falling 5-0 on Sunday.

“This weekend just didn’t have the jump, didn’t have the energy that we had last weekend, and it really does make a huge difference,” Sharks head coach Gary Berggren said following Sunday’s loss. “Yesterday there were quite a few times where we thought the puck was in the net and [Biever] had it. When a goalie is making those saves, it’s nice to see.”

Biever made 35 saves on 37 shots on Saturday for her first career midget AAA win, as her club was outshot 37-22.

The win was the Sharks’ fourth of the season in 20 games.

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Madison Sansom had the game-winning-goal early in the third period, her fifth tally of the season.

“We’ll take all the wins we can get,” Berggren said. “They’ve been though to come by this year. There were games that we’ve played really well and we lost. So this weekend, obviously, getting a win was great.”

After a valiant effort last weekend against the defending champion Prince Albert Northern Bears, where the Sharks lost by one goal in the final minute, it was tough to see them take a bit of a step back right before the Christmas break.

“We didn’t have the energy and when you don’t have the energy, it seems like everything is off,” Berggen said of this weekend. “You don’t forecheck as hard and then it’s easier for them to break out, and it’s easier for them to make passes, and then all of our passes are off, and all of our chances were a step behind. All the plays are off.”

Melville has two defencemen in the top-10 in league scoring among ‘D’, and Berggren said that’s one of the things that makes them tough to play against.

“They get a lot of offence from their defence,” he said. “They’ve got some defence that really shoot the puck well, so it creates rebounds and traffic in front. A lot of their goals come from that.”

Melville entered the third up just 1-0, but quickly scored a shorthanded goal and then added another to take a 3-0 lead just 5:09 into the final frame.

Berggren said the shorthanded goal was really a dagger.

“Momentum like that, especially when we were having trouble creating offence, [was tough],” he said. “We just couldn’t recover. We just couldn’t get our energy level up to where it needed to be.”

The Sharks currently sit in seventh in the standings with their 4-16 record, the same spot they finished last year. They have already played 20 of 28 games this season, the most of any team.

The team will hold their annual alumni game this Thursday at Battleford Arena.

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @NathanKanter11