Sherwood Park Crusaders (22-16-1) @ Lloydminster Bobcats (9-26-2) Wednesday January 11th, 2017 – 7:30 PM
Media: AJHL WebTV; Bobcats Radio Network
The Sherwood Park Crusaders will seek their fourth win of the season against the Lloydminster Bobcats when they travel to the Border City Wednesday night.
At 3-1 versus the last place Bobcats this season, the Crusaders have been fortunate to pick up wins against Lloydminster as the last three contests have been one goal games, courtesy of the play of Bobcats Goaltender Austin McGrath.
The one time Crusader property has a .934 Save Percentage in the last three meetings against Sherwood Park and has been named the Viterra Star of The Game for his team.
The Crusaders are coming off a battle against the last place team in the South as they defeated the Calgary Mustangs 7-1 on Sunday after falling 4-1 to Okotoks the night before.
“We had a good start [in Okotoks]. We played well in an away game in the first period. We didn’t convert on the chances we had. The second was a bit of a struggle, we gave them everything they deserved and they capitalized on their chances. We had a big bounce back game against Calgary.” Says Crusaders Defenseman Cameron Reagan.
The first year Crusader had quite the week, especially against the Mustangs with three Points, Reagan had a Goal and 4 Assists in three Games last week for the Cru.
“We out competed them down low. Our neutral zone was well too, we got some breaks and odd man rushes. We bared down our chances and we were good around the net getting a lot of shots off. When you get 50 to 60 shots off, you are bound to get good things happening.” Said Reagan on the Win against the Mustangs.
The Crusaders hope that they can continue Wednesday with what has been their bread and butter all season, scoring.
Five players had a multi Point game Sunday against the Mustangs and all but four Crusaders found the score sheet.
“Like any road game, you need to get off to a good start. I think that the fan bus we have going out we’ll help us out a bit, we’ll have to have a good first ten minutes and get shots through and create havoc in front of their net.” Noted Reagan on facing the Bobcats.
The players are certainly excited that a flock of Crusader fans will be making the trek east to cheer on their squad on the road.
The roster heading into Wednesday’s game will be the one for the rest of the season as the Crusaders held pat on the January 10th CJHL/AJHL Trade Deadline. The club said it would entertain all offers on players and look to improve any position, but there was just nothing available for what teams were offering.
The club however, may have made the best deal out of any transactions that have occurred in the new year leading up to the deadline. Forward Gage Joel, who was acquired last week from the Calgary Mustangs has two Goals and an Assist in three games for the Crusaders thus far.
-Story By Taylor Medak