After the first game of the Saskatchewan Hockey Association (SHA) two-game total-point provincial final series, the Estevan Power Dodge peewee A Vipers find themselves in the same situation they were in last year and are counting on a similar result.
The Vipers lost 3-0 to the Saskatoon Comet Fury at the Civic Auditorium on Thursday and will need a four-goal win over the Comet Fury at Saskatoon’s Harold Latrace Arena when the teams meet again in Game 2 tonight. Last year in the SHA final, the Vipers fell 4-1 in the first game at Saskatoon before coming back to beat the Comet Fury 8-3 at home in the second.
“It’s a two-game total-point series, so now that we’ve seen them once we know what to expect,” said Vipers coach Chad Farr. “We know the structure that they want to play against us and the forecheck and the intensity that they bring. We just have to step up.”
Both teams came out strong on Thursday with the Comet Fury seeming to take control after a Vipers’ opening rush pinning Estevan in their zone for stretches of play and testing netminder Chloe Sorenson with shots from in close. The Comet Fury got on the board four-and-a-half minutes into the second when Sydney Mercier drove down the wing before firing a shot top corner blocker side on Sorenson.
Saskatoon’s Shelby Lacoursiere made the score 2-0 a little over two minutes later when she poked in a rebound, which was followed by a power-play marker by Paris Oleksyn 10:51 into the second. The Vipers pushed back in the third trying desperately to even the score, but couldn’t get one past Comet Fury goalie Janae Neufeld.
“We were here last year and ended up on the other end of the spectrum,” said Comet Fury coach Jody Baun. “We came in with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder I guess and realized we had to play 60 minutes in order to come out of here with a win.”
Farr said they got pinned in their zone at points in the game because their defencemen were throwing the puck up the wall with no wingers awaiting a pass, so if they can shore up that defensive zone breakout they’ll be successful. He said they basically lost one period of hockey in the game and will use a full 60-minute effort in Game 2 to get the comeback.
“If we play three periods of hockey we got a chance,” said Farr. “We win each period by one goal and it’s as simple as that. We’re not in a big hole here, so we can do this.”
