Mac Olsen
Express Staff
@SmokyRiverExprs
The Falher Pirates limped into the New Year with a 4-3 loss to the Grande Prairie Athletics on January 7.
“It was a tough one,” says coach Mathieu Maisonneuve. “We were looking to get two points tonight.”
But there is a silver lining to this grey cloud.
“We played a good speed game and the special teams are getting better.”
The team has to eliminate errors as the playoffs draw near, he adds.
Dave Lawrence opened the scoring for the Pirates at 3:16 in the first period, with a power goal. Neil Maisonneuve and Pat Rowan received the assists.
Less than a minute later, Ryan Trudeau evened the score for the Athletics, with Mark Stojan receiving the assist.
Jeff Martens put the Pirates ahead again at 9:38, firing the puck into the attic. Jason Bouchard collected the assist.
But, once again, the Athletics evened the score. Sheldon McArther put the puck in the attic at 15:22. Tyrell Mason and Brock Clement shared the spotlight with him.
The game was 2-2 at the end of the first period.
Momentum appeared to favour the Pirates early in the second period. Bouchard put the puck in the attic at 4:20, with Jeff Martens and Joel Pelletier receiving the assists.
However, the Athletics stole the momentum back with two more goals. Brock Clement scored just over a minute later, with Tyler Statham receiving the assist.
The Athletics were ahead 4-3 at the end of the second period. Look for a video of the second period action on the Express’ Facebook page.
The Pirates tried to regain the momentum in the third period, which included pulling their goalie with less than two minutes remaining, and putting an extra attacker on the ice.
However, the Athletics held on the win the game by one goal.
Shots on net for the game were 51-21 in favour of the Athletics.
Falher Pirates versus Valleyview Jets
The Pirates hosted the Valleyview Jets on January 12. The Pirates managed to edge out the Jets by a score of 5-4. See the Express’ Facebook page for a video of their fifth goal, which they scored in the third period.
