The Crusaders had their work cut our for them this past weekend as they took on the Blackfalds Bulldogs on Friday, Okotoks Oilers on Saturday and finished up the weekend with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Family Day Monday.
The Crusaders would drop the first game of the weekend 2-0 to the Bulldogs but came away with a 7-4 and 6-2 win over the Oilers and Silverbacks.
Sherwood Park came into Friday’s game looking to snap a current four game losing streak. The Game would go back and fourth through all of the first. Thomas Neu however would get the game’s first goal as he would bury on a penalty shot to give the Bulldogs the 1-0 lead three minutes into the second period.
Nikolaj Rupi, recently picked up by the Bulldogs at the trade deadline from the Cranbrook Bucks, would bury his first as a Bulldog getting one past goalie Jack Scali to give the Bulldogs the 2-0 lead with ten minutes left in the game. The Crusaders would try and mount a comeback but it would be in vain as the Bulldogs were able to shutout the Crusaders 2-0 to extend the Crusader’s four game skid to five.
Needless to say the Crusaders were fired up coming into their matchup up against their Alberta rivals the Okotoks Oilers scoring three goals in the opening 20 as Erik Kald would score twice in the opening ten minutes while newest Crusaders Miles Burgin would tip home a point shot for his first as a Guy In Green. Oilers would score as well in the first period as Michael Kowalski would score his tenth of the campaign on the powerplay to make it a 3-1 game.
Hunter Sawka of the Oilers would open the scoring for the middle period as he would bury his 11th on the season to make it a one goal game. The Crusaders would re-gain their two goal lead however as Erik Kald would slap one home on the powerplay one-timer to give the American his first career junior hat trick and the 4-2 lead for Sherwood Park heading into the final period.
Much like the first period the Crusaders would explode on offense in the third period as Tommy Coccaro would bury twice in the third while Brant Romaniuk would also score his third of the season. The Oilers would score twice in the third themselves as Hunter Sawka and Jeff Niehaus would get on the score sheet to make the final score 7-4 Crusaders, snapping the five game losing streak.
The Crusaders were looking to carry that momentum into Monday’s Matchup against the Silverbacks and carry it they did, Cooper Sharp would score just three minutes into the game for his seventh of the season to give the Cru’ an early 1-0 lead. Joseph Sinclair would then score five minutes later on a miss handle from Silverbacks goalie Mikkel Christensen to give the Bowling Greens commit his 20th on the season and Sherwood Park the 2-0 lead. The Silverbacks would respond eighth minutes later when Scott Miner would blast one home for his second of the season making it 2-1 with five minutes left in the period. The Crusaders were not done there however as Miles Burgin would put home his second goal with the Crusaders finishing on a pretty passing play set up by Erik Kald to give the Cru’ a 3-1 lead heading into the second period.
Coming into the second Erik Kald would get on the scoresheet for his 14th of the season to give the Crusaders a commanding 4-1 lead with seven minutes left in the middle frame. Silverbacks would respond just over a minute later on the powerplay as Parker Deschene would score his first of the season to once again make it a two goal game, 4-2.
Sherwood Park would not look back in the third period as Bode Sampair and Erik Kald would both score in the final period to give the Crusaders the dominant 6-2 win.
The Crusaders now look to use this offensive momentum as the hit the road to take on the Trail Smoke Eaters and the West Kelowna Warriors.
