By TERRY PUGH
The Warman U15AA Wildcats gave fans more than their money’s worth on Wednesday, February 12, downing the Saskatoon Bandits 7-6 in an overtime thriller at Gordie Howe Kinsmen Arena.
With the win, the second-place Wildcats (22 wins, 4 losses for 44 points) climbed another rung up the ladder in their quest to knock the division-leading Bandits (23 wins, 1 loss, 1 tie and 2 overtime losses for 49 points) off their perch before playoffs begin in early March.
Wildcats captain Cam Aebig scored the winning goal, his 40th of the season, three minutes into extra time.
“This was a huge game for us,” said Wildcats head coach Cam Kayter. “We’ve been on a good roll up until tonight, but the Bandits are the number one team in the league for a reason. So we knew it was going to be a tough battle.
“For us to come away with two wins against them in the regular season, especially the way this one happened, I think that helps our confidence moving forward in the playoffs – knowing that if we play our game and don’t quit, we’ll be alright.”
The Wildcats drew first blood less than a minute into the opening period on a goal by Cullen Stephenson, but the Bandits’ Nixxon Arcand-Vandale replied with the first of his four goals of the night midway through the first frame to tie things up 1-1 going into the break.
In the second period, Saskatoon grabbed an early lead on a goal by Jax Bubnick, but the Wildcats’ Maclain Ethier scored late in the frame to knot things up at 2-2 after 40 minutes.
Midway through the third period, Warman and Saskatoon were tied 4-4 thanks to goals by Wildcats Logan Olsen and Beau Anholt; and Bandits Jack Prosofsky and Nixxon Arcand-Vandale.
But, two more goals by Arcand-Vandale, one of them a shorthanded effort, in less than three minutes, gave Saskatoon a seemingly-comfortable 6-4 cushion with six minutes left in regulation.
The Wildcats, meanwhile, kept pressing, and were rewarded when Anholt potted his second of the game at the 3:49 mark, and Caleb Philp scored the tying goal with just two minutes left in regulation, setting the stage for the overtime win.
Kayter said the victory over the Bandits gave his team a taste of what they can expect in the post-season, where solid defense will be as big a factor as offensive scoring punch.
“During the last ten minutes of this game, the boys could have quit, but they didn’t. They dug in deep and they worked hard at both ends of the rink and it paid off,” he said. “That’s the biggest improvement I’ve seen in this team over the season. We could always score, right from the beginning; but now more of our guys are playing a complete 200-foot game. We’re starting to play playoff hockey, and it shows.”
Kayter noted that while the Wildcats have two defensemen out of the lineup due to injuries, the remaining players are stepping up to meet the challenge.
“We definitely appreciate those kids that can take that extra ice time and still compete and have success,” he said.
The Wildcats have just three more regular season games left before the playoffs. They host the Regina Monarchs Sunday, February 23; take on the Weyburn Wings at Kenaston Arena on Friday, February 28 (in a game that was rescheduled after being postponed earlier in the season); and host the South Division-leading Engleheim Prairie Storm on Sunday, March 2.