Sherwood Park, AB: The Sherwood Park Crusaders secured their first win of the season last night after beating the Bonnyville Pontiacs 4-1 on home ice.
The Crusaders wasted no time scoring nine seconds into the opening period. Ty Mueller scored the goal, which was his second of the restart. They continued to pile on the pressure firing 12 more shots onto Matthew Hennessey in the Pontiacs goal. However, the score remained 1-0 as the two teams went into the intermission.
To open the second, it was Bonnyville who struck first. Sebastian Tamburro managed to beat Carson Cherepak for the second consecutive night. That goal came 1:26 into the second period. Cherepak bounced back strongly, stopping the next 16 shots giving his team a chance for the win. The Crusaders struck again late in the period. After a great stick from Brandon McCartney in the defensive zone, Zafir Rawji found a darting Vincent Scott on the left wing, who then sniped the puck by Hennessey to make it 2-1.
In the third period, two power play goals secured the victory for Sherwood Park. The first came from Cale Ashcroft for his first career AJHL goal. Ashcroft snapped a wrist shot over the shoulder of Hennessey, making it a 3-1 game. With 16 seconds to play, Scott scored his second of the game and third fo the season.
Tyler Miller also hit a milestone in the game. The Medicine Hat native played in his first AJHL game. Zac Maxwell, Colby Garner, and Loeden Schaufler all played in their first games as Crusaders at the Sherwood Park Arena.
Next up, the Crusaders are back in action next weekend against Bonnyville. Join us at Average Joe’s for both games on Friday and Saturday at 7:00 p.m.