Learning from their mistakes can be a challenging virtue for some teams, but the St. Albert Sabres seem to have to overcome the daunting task.
After suffering a humbling 2-0 defeat to the Maple Leafs on home ice recently, the Sabres put two wins together with a decisive 8-3 score against the Canadian Athletic Club and then shut out the KC Squires 5-0 Wednesday at Akinsdale Arena.
Right from the sound of the horn, the bantam AAA team set the tempo for the rest of the game against KC with a tally from Brett Smythe only two minutes into the frame.
The Sabres were then able to capitalize once again in the period with a late power play goal by Guy Butlin.
The quick start and early lead was the exact recipe Sabres’ assistant coach Rob Parrotta was looking for from his squad.
“The main thing was that we worked hard. If we’re going to succeed we’re going to have to work hard,” said Parrotta.
Once again the Sabres were able to extend their stranglehold on the game with a rampage of goals by Tyler Mrkonjic, Smythe and Michael Buchamer over the last two periods.
Smythe’s total of two goals and two assists earned him the honour as the game’s first star. He leads the Sabres in scoring with eight goals and 19 points in 12 games.
The Sabres also outshot their opponents with a heavily titled total of 18-10 in the third period and 46-28 overall.
The chance to end the game on a high note, along with peppering the opposing goaltender with plenty of rubber, was a performance Parrotta would like to see on a more frequent basis.
“We really want to work hard and make sure we keep going. If we let up we give teams a chance to get back into it,” he said.
As a result of the slanted ice, Patrick Dea posted a perfect save percentage while stopping 28 pucks against KC (3-5-1). Being able to maintain a top level performance throughout the game is influenced by the team’s overall performance, according to the Sabres’ goaltender.
“I thought the game was good as a whole. When the team plays good I play good,” said Dea.
With the team looking to improve its power play, Parrotta said the coaching staff has already seen growth on that front.
“The power play is getting a little better. There is starting to be more movement. When you get more movement you create confusion and we saw that today.”
Last weekend eight different Sabres scored against the Canadians (2-6-1) in St. Albert: Zack Gonek, Steven Canduro, Mrkonjic, Paul Lovsin, Smythe, Joshua Perrott, Brenden Passek and Matteo Gennaro. Smythe and Buchamer added three assists apiece. Patrick Gora stopped 22 shots.
The Sabres were 5-4-3 going into Friday’s game in Sherwood Park against the division-leading Flyers (9-2). Score was unavailable at press time.
The next game is Wednesday against the Canadians at 7:45 p.m. at Akinsdale.
