Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to the Edmonton Thunder was one of those games the St. Albert Slash would like to have back.
After a tough defeat that dropped the Slash (13-3-3) six points back of the first-place Thunder (16-0-3) in the north division, head coach Terry Sydor said it was the entire team that didn’t perform, not any one player.
“When we’re successful, we’re successful as a team and when we struggle, we struggle as team,” said Sydor. “ It was nowhere near our best effort tonight and nowhere near what we are looking for as a coaching staff.”
The Slash make their first shot count at 8:37 off a dump in by Krystal Reithmayer that trickled past the leg of Thunder netminder Emily Cooley (7-0-1, 0.77 GAA), who was replaced by Morgan Glover (9-0-2, 1.34 GAA) after the goal.
The Slash would later allow two straight goals to the Thunder but would leave the period in a 2-2 draw after a goal by Karly Heffernan.
“I didn’t like the game right from the start. We were flat,” Sydor said. “We always come out with very good starts and we worked a lot on preparation but we just weren’t working and battling hard.”
The Thunder would go on to score a shorthanded marker in period two and struck twice in the third to cement the victory at Performance Arena.
Slash netminder Emily Mitchell was quick to point out a loss to the Thunder is not simply just another defeat.
“It always sucks losing to Edmonton. Ever since atom they have been the team to beat,” said Mitchell (7-3-1, 2.35 GAA). “While it always sucks losing to them, once you beat them there is no feeling like it.”
In late October the teams battled to a 2-2 draw in Edmonton.
Amid the frustration on the Slash’s bench throughout the game, Heffernan was ejected from the game in the third period after a five-minute penalty for interference. While the play left a Thunder player needing the trainer’s assistance, Sydor and his staff were upset with the call after seeing a questionable response from the injured skater.
“It’s a little tough to take when the girl gets up off the ice and is laughing back to the bench,” said Sydor. “However, we expect those type of things from this team. That’s the history with them.”
Heffernan’s 11th goal of the season tied it at two apiece, but it was small consolation in the loss.
“We need to put more effort in on our backchecking, since our pressure in their back end was brutal this game. We were swooping too much and not doing enough stops and taking enough shots,” said Heffernan, who is tied with captain Melissa Kueber for the team lead in points with 31.
The loss ended an eight-game undefeated streak by the host team for the 2011 Esso Cup national female midget championship, April 17 to 23 at Servus Credit Union Place. The Thunder are the 2010 national bronze medallists as the Pacific Region reps.
The next game for the Slash is Sunday in Sherwood Park against the Fury (7-15) at 11 a.m.
