Hockey Team fortunes can be won or lost on the ability to remain healthy during the regular season. In respect to the local Chase Heat as temperatures rise amongst the roster their fortunes have taken a down turn game after game. While not everyone has been down due to everything that has gone around, the overall effect has seen the tires fall off. How they plan to rebound is anybody’s guess and the upcoming schedule is not kind. The past week found the team on the highways to hell for a pair before they came home.
Tuesday, November 15th the faceoff involved the last place 100 Mile House Wranglers. Chase suited up a 3 player short hodge podge roster of the least ill, the Wranglers a full roster. !00 Mile House tallied once in the 1st period. In the 2nd the Wranglers fired 3 more past Roderic May between the pipes. Owen Dean cracked the goose egg on a 2 man advantage for something to cheer about with an assist to Garrett Martin. In the 3rd the Cariboo crew added another counter to provide a 5-1 loss to the Heat. The 100 Mile House play by play crew gave May 1st star honours and it was hard to argue with that as he did his best in trying circumstances.
Back on the road again, Friday the 18th versus the Division rival Sicamous Eagles. Back between the pipes again Roderic May who once again stood on his head for 40 minutes of “May Day Moments”. After 2 periods it was 5-0 Eagles on 42 shots. Kael Beauregard came on in relief for the final 20 minutes. The highlight for the locals came in the 3rd with veteran rearguard Mikkel Hrechka firing a shot from the right point, helpers to Jalen Davidson and Maddex Bignell. Sicamous out sped the Heat to the tune of 6-1. Another contest that included plenty of lazy penalties as well as those of the self serving but not team helping kind.
The last contest of the week played out at the Art Holding Memorial Arena where the Heat hosted the Summerland Steam. This game featured the Heat getting the first and last goals, while Beauregard drew short straw to stand between the pipes. New kid on the block Hudson Ketsa scored his first Heat goal in front of the home crowd. The Steam then scored 4 times, before Aidan Brown from Malachi Franklin and Hrechka scored in the late stages of the 3rd period. Lots of sin bin minutes in this one that turned nasty at times. Beauregard gets accolades as time after time the goalies are left to fend for themselves.
Lazy penalties such as tripping, hooking and slashing are often the result of playing a step behind due to being sick and tired. You can’t beat them if you can’t catch them and missed assignments are too often happening. The fans remain loyal and supportive and hope a revival happens soon.
Next up on the schedule is this Friday in Chase with the Castlegar Rebels coming to town. The Heat then hit the winter highways for a pair, Saturday the 26th in Summerland and the 30th in 100 Mile House. Stay warm and healthy out there!
