By Robb Fenton
Since the calendar switched to 2010, the Lloydminster Universal Heat have found their stride.
While 2009 was a very up and down year, with unfortunately more downs than ups, the new year has brought three straight wins and a very improved game for the bantam squad.
The latest triumph was a gutsy 5-4 win over the Camrose Kodiaks, Sunday evening at the Civic Centre.
“It was a big game for us and a big win for us. We were five points up heading into the game and now we’re seven points up. It doesn’t guarantee us fourth spot, but it puts us closer to solidifying that,” Heat head coach Brian Hozack said.
“We have a game in hand and it was just a big win.”
Despite a great start and badly outshooting the Kodiaks, the Heat had to close things down late to preserve the win.
Camrose plays a certain style that can cause problems for the opposition, but the Heat battled through and were able to step up.
“It was a big win in a number of ways because they are a physical team and difficult team to play against,” Hozack said. “They’re just a pain. They are in your face, they work hard and I thought we battled well against them, so I was pleased with the effort.”
“It’s a big win for us. We’ve always had a rivalry with them and it was nice to pull off a win like that,” Heat forward Logan Harland said. “All the lines are clicking, the coaches have it going for us, we’re all pumped up and things are going right.”
While the effort was never in question, there were small breakdowns every game that ended up costing the team in the end.
Things have changed seemingly at the same time the calendar did.
“I think it’s a culmination of a lot of hard work from the boys and starting to understand what it takes to be successful,” Hozack said of the biggest difference between the first half of the season and the past few games. “We’re making the necessary plays.”
Hozack would have liked to see fewer than four goals against Sunday, but he admitted two of the four were bad bounces and not the fault of goaltender John Clendening or the defencemen.
Defence has been a much improved area of the Heat’s game recently.
“The three wins we have had we have just made teams work harder to score against us and if you make them work, it gives you a lot better chance to win,” Hozack said.
Tyler Busch, Calvin Koczka, Harland, Kurt Franklin and Corson Braham – who tallied the game winner – found the back of the net for the Heat and Clendening was solid in net, making 14 saves for the win.
With the hard work paying off as the Heat look to climb the standings, Hozack noted it’s a big boost for his players to see all their work and effort pay off in wins.
“I think it really helps because there is an awful lot of work and not a lot of glory and to do the work, get the wins and leaving the rink feeling like you had a good game is important for the boys. It’s a huge step for us going forward,” Hozack said.
Up next for the Heat (7-13-3) is two game weekend, playing at home against the Leduc Oil Kings (14-9-1) Saturday at 4:15 p.m. at the Civic Centre, before hitting the road to play the Sherwood Park Kings (16-2-6) Sunday afternoon.