It was the meeting of the two hottest teams in the Chinook Hockey League and it took a shootout to decide who would remain the hottest.
The Bentley Generals edged the Lloydminster Border Kings 3-2 this past Saturday night thanks to Kevin Smyth’s lone goal in the shootout.
“We’ve been preparing for this game for quite a while, we’ve strung togther some pretty decent games and obviously this was our biggest test. We’re happy with competing with that team and taking them to overtime, but we’re not satisfied,” Border Kings head coach Kent Staniforth said. “We’re 20 days from our first provincial game and I’m putting a lot of pressure on these guys to prepare. If we want to be the best, we have to beat the best.”
The Border Kings matched the Generals shift for shift and outshot them through two periods, but had trouble finding the back of the net.
Adam Creasy and Craig Bushey both had two points – a goal and an assist – as the Kings erased a two goal deficit and tied the game late in the second period.
“It’s good to know we can play with them. It was a big game for our group, we kept it close and Box (B.J. Boxma) played really well,” Creasy said. “It’s great for our confidence. We just didn’t bury enough of our chances.”
While there are more positives than negatives to take from the game, being content is not an attitude the Border Kings want to have.
“I want my guys to be disappointed. I don’t want my guys to think, ‘good for us, we tied Bentley,’ I don’t want that mentality. We’re too deep and too far into the season to have that,” Staniforth said. “I want them to take away from this game, the knowledge we can play with that team and teams like that.”
Heading into the final few games of the CHL season, followed by playoffs and then the Saskatchewan provincial series, the Border Kings want to be peaking at the right time and playing their best hockey when it matters.
“It’s simple things we have to be better at. Wingers have to be tougher on the wall in our zone getting the pucks out, we have to be smarter chipping pucks into their zone. We don’t need a big overhaul, we just need to make smarter decisions with the puck,” Staniforth said. “We have to play smart, work hard and we’ll have an opportunity.”
The Border Kings continue to battle injuries with Ryan Rivett, Logan Pashniak and Jamies Sparkes all on the shelf.
Pashniak is closer to returning than Sparkes and Rivett, but the timeline for all three is up in the air.
“I think we need more consistency. Sometimes we make some plays we can improve on,” Creasy said. “We’ve still got some work to do. I think we’ll be alright.”
Next action for the Border Kings is Thursday night as they host the Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs at 7:30 p.m. at the Civic Centre.