The Hazelton Wolverines let penalties get in the way on Saturday giving the Terrace River Kings a six goal lead before they got their game on in the third but it wasn’t enough as they fell 7-4.
Head coach Fred Hudson said while he knows why they lost, at least the game ended on a high note.
“Spotting another team a six goal lead wasn’t great but it was a hell-of-a third period,” he said. “I like the enthusiasm they played with. I want them to play with passion and fire but I want them to play on the edge, not over the edge.”
The Wolverine were done 3-0 after the first and 6-0 after the second but it was a different looking team that came out in the third giving the fans something to cheer about.
Ten seconds into the last period, Mitch Marshall fired one in to the twine off a feed from Al Tolmie and a minute later Lou Parent Jr., beat the Terrace net minder on a breakaway. Brandon Russel hammered a third goal in two minutes after that off a play from Parent.
The River Kings finally answered back at with 13 minutes left but Hazelton didn’t go quietly and with 7:45 remaining, Parent put one more in to end the game down by only three.
With only one game left in the regular season, Hudson said he has been impressed with how the team has improved overall this year but a lack of players and injuries have and will continue to be a major factor in the scoreboard.
“I always hope we win and go with the intent to win but a lot of our problems are how many bodies we are going to have out,” he explained. “Brandon has a slight concussion and one of the other regular guys is working so it will all depend on what we can put on the ice. The commitment from some guys has been frustrating but we do have a good core group of guys.”
Hudson added that the lack to full time commitment has not only been a disappointment for him, but it affects the other guys too.
“It makes it tough on everybody.” he said. “The biggest problem is the economy because guys have to go away to work and then there are players we could use in the playoffs skill wise but we can’t use them because they haven’t been able to get their five games in.”
As for the season overall, despite the lack to wins, Hudson is proud of how the core group has played.
“It would be nice to have some wins on the board and I think this team can beat any team in the league but they have to come out and give 100 per cent the whole game not just the last period,” he said. “Last game was a home game and we didn’t have a full roster. So if we go somewhere and we get injuries…. It’s not a professional league so you need enough bodies around who want to play because they love the game. But we did make progress this year and if the guys can play like they did in the third all the time, well we might have had a different outcome too.”
With the playoffs right around the corner, Hudson isn’t counting his team out yet he said.
“With the playoffs, any team has a shot,” he said. “Every year you have a team that is a cinderella team and all of a sudden things come together at the right time.”
