The Sherwood Park Crusaders are holding steady in fourth place following a two-game weekend that saw games split with the South.
Friday kicked the weekend off with a game seeing the Cru (10-6-0) duke it out with the Olds Grizzlys (7-9-1), leading to a 5-3 victory on the local side.
Cody Bardock started off the scoring for the Crusaders in the first period, which was followed in the second block by three Cru goals from Sean MacTavish, Blair Mulder and Mike Berry.
The Grizzlys managed two consecutive goals to narrow the gap to two points, but an Arthur Gordon goal late in the second, followed by a scoreless third period, led the Crusaders to a 5-3 victory.
Special teams were strong on the day, with the Cru killing all five of their penalties, while scoring on two of six power play opportunities.
It seemed Sunday’s game versus the Calgary Canucks (8-9-1) would take much the same route as that against the Grizzlys, but a strong first period was followed by lackluster play.
Less than one minute into the opening block, MacTavish scored to make it 1-0, which was followed by a goal from Andrew Taverner.
A 2-0 lead heading into the second period looked promising for the local skaters, but was answered by three consecutive Canuck goals and a scoreless third period to hand the Crusaders a 3-2 loss.
Locker room shuffle
The Crusaders have dealt with a case of too many cooks capable of filling the kitchen.
Captain Eric Liknes has been out for the Crusaders since mid-September, when he suffered internal injuries, resulting in an absence that may last until mid-December.
As a result, Mulder was named team captain.
“In the interim, we thought it was really important to have a captain,” Crusader head coach and general manager Tim Fragle said.
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