The Sherwood Park Crusaders will look to get December off on the right track when the visit the Whitecourt Wolverines Thursday night at the Scott Safety Center. However, it won’t be easy as the Cru have yet to pick up a victory this season on the road versus the Wolverines.
Sherwood Park has had a lot of time to prepare for this contest. The Crusaders are coming off a disappointing 6-2 loss to the Drumheller Dragons, a loss that saw the Dragons score 20 seconds into the contest and exploding for 4 goals in the 2nd period.
“The 2nd period and for the first time this year our Penalty Kill wasn’t at our standards.” Said Crusaders GM and Head Coach Tim Fragle.
The Dragons were 2 for 6 with the man advantage an both Power Play goals came in that 4 goal 2nd period.
On the positive side of things, Forward Sean MacTavish extended his goal scoring streak to 6 games.
As mentioned, the Crusaders have had plenty of time to prepare for Thursday night’s game in Whitecourt.
“We’ve worked on our Defensive Zone coverage, Neutral Zone coverage and our Special Teams.” Fragle said on practice this past week.
All things that will need to be tightened up going up against a Whitecourt team that the top 3rd scorer in the league in Colten Mayor with 37 points. Although the Wolverines are not at the top of the list when it comes to offensive input and Power Play efficiency they still have a potent offensive attack and are always dangerous with the man advantage.
The Wolverines have outscored the Crusaders 18 to 12 in the season series. Fragle would like to avoid getting into a so called “track meet” against the Wolverines.
“We need to stick to our game plan and play with structure, I’m looking for a high compete level and striving for consistency for 60 minutes.”
After Thursday’s game the Crusaders will return home and prepare for a Sunday afternoon match up against the Bonnyville Pontiacs. Sherwood Park trails the Pontiacs by 2 points in the standings heading into Thursday night’s game and will either be tied or still 2 points back depending on the outcome of the game versus Whitecourt.