Generating scoring chances hasn’t been an issue for the Battlefords Sharks so far this season.
Finding the back of the net has proven to be another issue entirely for the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League team.
The Sharks fell to 0-6-0-1 for the season this weekend as they suffered 3-0 and 6-3 losses to the Regina Rebels at the Battleford Arena.
“Having trouble scoring was the story of both games and it’s been the biggest issue for us here as of late,” Sharks head coach Gary Berggren said.
“We had a lot of chances on Saturday but we were unable to score. On Sunday, the Rebels took the play to us for most the game until we started to push back at the end.”
After falling behind 4-0, the Sharks roared back in the third period Sunday as they scored three goals in a two-minute span.
Jordan Klubida led the way in the three-goal outburst as she found the net twice and made a slick pass to Ashlee Wolfe to get the hosts within a goal.
“It was very exciting to watch that happen,” Berggren said. “I told the girls after the game that the 10 shifts that we had in that span was probably the best 10 shifts that we’ve had all year.
“We were really taking it to Regina and they were on their heels trying to stop us. That’s how we need to play all of the time.”
After calling a timeout, the Rebels stopped the Sharks comeback bid a few minutes later as Samantha Sichkaruk slid the puck past netminder Chloe Burt.
“I just told the girls that we needed to settle down and relax out there,” Rebels head coach Mark Merk said. “I felt like we still had control of the game, but we were starting to panic out there.
“Once we got back going, the girls were able to execute their game plan once again.”
Jenna Merk led the way up front for the Rebels Sunday with two goals and an assist. Lauren Focht had a pair of goals in the victory.
The Sharks outshot the Rebels by a 38-23 margin Saturday, but were unable to solve netminder Katheryn Neigum.
“We really controlled the game from the start,” Berggren said. “We were outplaying them and we had many scoring chances, but we just didn’t score.”
Ally Kosteniuk had a pair of second period goals for the Rebels while the other goal came from the stick of Sickaruk.
“This was a very important weekend for us,” Merk said. “We have three players away this week at the Under-18 Nationals in Regina and our leading goal scorer (Kennedy Bobyck) has been unable to play in the last couple of games.
“We have a lot of depth on our team, however, and we were able to work through those challenges. I think we’ll have a very strong team once we get everyone back in the lineup.”
The Sharks will look for their first win of the season this weekend as they travel on the road for a pair of games with the Weyburn Gold Wings.
“Weyburn’s a young team that works really hard,” Berggren said. “We must be prepared for that when we head down there.”
After a weekend off, the Sharks will return to the Battleford Arena on Nov. 26 to face the Swift Current Wildcats.
