The Sherwood Park Crusaders are heading into the 2021 holiday break on a high note.
That being said, it didn’t come without a little controversy. Friday’s contest against the Fort McMurray Oil Barons, the last home game before the 11 day break, didn’t exactly go the Crusaders’ way. Mitchell Joss opened the scoring from a lucky bounce and a pass from Logan Hauer, then Carmelo Crandell found the back of the net on the powerplay and Caelum Dick gave the Cru a 3-0 lead heading into the final 20 minutes. Just 14 seconds in, Hassan Akl got the Oil Barons on the board. A few minutes later, seven seconds into the Oil Baron’s lone powerplay of the game, Justin Ross added another. The two teams traded the next couple goals, but Taige Harding and Nickolas de Beurs gave Fort McMurray the 5-4 comeback win.
Saturday’s visit to Whitecourt brought a different story. Chase Broda gave the Wolverines an early lead, but Ryan Arnold came right back to tie the game. Zac Maxwell tallied on the powerplay and Evan Arnold extended the lead heading into the third, and Levi Fesyk potted his first AJHL goal into the empty net to seal a 4-1 win for Sherwood Park to close out the first half of the season.
The Crusaders return to the Randy Rosen rink to open the second half on December 29th, where they will host the same Whitecourt Wolverines. The following night, they head across town to visit the Spruce Grove Saints for their last game of 2021.