Rangers edge Golden Hawks

LETHBRIDGE EDGED 2-1 BY FORT. SASK. IN AMBHL FINAL

Avaliant pushback by the Lethbridge Val Matteotti bantam AAA Golden Hawks fell one game short.

The Golden Hawks were edged 2-1 by the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers in the fifth-and-deciding game of the team’s Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League championship series Wednesday night at Nicholas Sheran Arena.

The loss wraps up a series in which the Golden Hawks fell into a 2-0 hole after the first two games at home to start the series before heading to Fort Saskatchewan last weekend and taking two wins — including Game 4 in overtime — to bring the deciding game back to a packed Nicholas Sheran Arena Wednesday night.

The team swapped goals in the first period for a 1-1 tie that remained intact until early in the third when the Rangers struck for the the eventual game-winner.

The Golden Hawks had a few chances for the equalizer and pulled goaltender Brayden Peters late, but the Rangers were able to off hold the hosts to win the series that benefitted the visitors throughout.

“It’s been a good series,” said Golden Hawks head coach Chris Leroux. “Down 2-0 heading into Fort Saskatchewan, it was a very hard arena to win in and the boys did a fabulous job getting two wins and bringing it back for Game 5. That really shows their character to bring it back for Game 5.”

“It’s a group of players in there that like to work and (are) kids we can challenge all year to get better and that was a big thing with our coaching staff, to challenge the kids and get them better,” added Leroux. “We had a great run in the playoffs just coming down to last period.”

The Golden Hawks opened the scoring early in the first on a goal from Zack Stringer, but the Rangers pulled even before the first intermission.

After a scoreless second period, the Rangers went up 2-1 when Noah Boyko broke in off the blue-line and roofed a shot for the game-winner.

“Early on in the game we had some chances and the puck didn’t go in the net,” said Leroux. “It’s a pretty good team over there that plays a disciplined brand. They have some good players with a good goaltender and early on in the game I thought we could have buried them, (but) that wasn’t the case.

“This one is going to sting for a while,” added Leroux, whose team went 27-5-4 during the regular season for the South Division title. “With this group, the expectation for them is to get better and these are the games they want to be in. It’s a good group of kids that came to the rink four or five days a week. It was a group that paid attention to detail, worked hard and got better along the way. Great group of kids.”