It took six games to do, but the Warman U18 AAA Wildcats finally picked up their first ever win in franchise history, after defeating the Prince Albert Mintos 5-2 at the Legends Centre, in Warman, on November 22.
The Wildcats entered that game with an 0-5 record and head coach Ryan McDonald said that before the matchup even started, the team was “ramped up and ready to play,” and that energy contributed to the win.
“It’s been a real grind and I give these guys a lot of credit. They come to the rink every single day ready to work,” he said. “The pressure is off, the monkey is off our back and let’s just continue to keep the ship going in the right direction.”
Prince Albert actually struck first after netting a power-play goal in the opening period. Despite not scoring a goal in the first 20 minutes of play, the Wildcats played with tons of energy and were outworking the Mintos.
In the middle frame, Warman’s hard work finally paid off, as the Wildcats scored two consecutive goals to take the lead. Cobe Delaney and Aiden Arnold were the respective goal scorers.
However, the Mintos, again, took advantage of a power-play opportunity and tied the game with just over five minutes left in the second period.
The Wildcats didn’t lose their composure and less than a minute after that Prince Albert goal, Warman regained the lead. Delaney, who was parked right in front of the Prince Albert goalie, tipped the puck into the net, which lit a spark in the Warman bench.
“I think it changed the momentum, “ Delaney said. “As soon as I scored that goal, everybody got fired up and was ready to go.”
McDonald was also very impressed with the way the Wildcats responded and how the team didn’t fade away once Prince Albert started to gain some momentum.
“We’ve been talking about that lately; not getting down when adversity comes our way, and focusing on the next shift and the next shift after that,” he said.
Warman entered the third period with a one-goal lead and the Wildcats continued to battle hard, which led to Delaney’s third goal of the game.
Not only was Delaney happy to give his team a 4-2 lead and record a hat trick in the process, but he was just glad to find the back of the net, as those were his first goals of the season.
“I finally got the monkey off my back, so it felt pretty good,” said Delaney.”
Prince Albert still had a half period to make a comeback, but Warman didn’t let that happen, and the Wildcats put the game away in the final minutes after Owen Slugoski found the back of the net.
Warman obviously had success in the offensive end and McDonald was just glad to see all of the hard work pay off.
“It’s nice to see those guys get rewarded with those opportunities. I couldn’t be any more proud of them, and we battled hard,” he said. “I believe in the hockey gods and when you do stuff right and follow the process you get rewarded. “
Wildcats captain Parker Layton said there is no better feeling than to get the first win as an organization, especially when the team dropped a couple of close games.
“We showed in this game that we’re here to play in this league and we’re here for a reason,” said Layton.
The Mintos and Wildcats were scheduled to play in Prince Albert on November 20 but that game was cancelled due to specific COVID-19 protocols being implemented.
McDonald mentioned that it has been a challenge to play hockey in a pandemic because the season can shift in a new direction at a moment’s notice
“In the year 2020, I don’t know what you prepare for. You just got to make sure that you come focused every single day because you really don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring,” he said.
