The Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings came out firing on all cylinders Friday night as they entertained the Notre Dame Hounds at Crescent Point Place. They would build up to a 2-0 lead by the five-minute mark of the second period, but then Notre Dame came roaring back. The Hounds would score four goals in the second period, and four more in the third en route to an 8-3 win, handing the Red Wings their eighth loss in a row.
“Kind of a tale of two stories, I guess,” said Red Wings head coach Cody Mapes after the game. “Probably 25 minutes were really, really good – probably the first period was one of our entire periods of the entire year – and then a couple goals, probably three goals, that we don’t like to see go in and kind of turned the tide a little bit.”
It didn’t take long for the Red Wings to get on the board as Davis Chorney scored his seventh of the season at the 3:08 mark, assisted by Austyn Hansen. The Red Wings would then add to the lead in the second period. Kirk Mullen notched his seventh of the campaign at the 4:24 mark of the middle frame, with Mitch Wilkie and Mi-Kwan Tallman getting the assists on the goal.
From there, the tides shifted, as Mapes said.
Antoine Saint-Onge scored at 8:05 of the second, and then 38 seconds later Kevin Anderson beat Dazza Mitchell. This would tie the game up at 2-2.
“We’re a group that builds off momentum, and when momentum is against us we’re having a hard time right now fighting back,” Mapes added.
The momentum for the Hounds would see Jake Sacratini scoring with 6:21 left on the clock in the second, followed by former Red Wing Nik Sombrowski beating Mitchell with 3:17 to go in the period, setting Notre Dame up with a two-goal lead.
The scoring continued in the third for the Hounds, with Oliver Band finding the back of the net just 32 seconds in. It was followed by a pair of goals from Anderson and Johno Hoins 21 seconds apart, then Brendan Kerr scored with 8:19 to play in the period, making it an 8-2 game.
The Red Wings would get one more goal as Ty Mason wired home a shot with just a minute left on the clock in the game. Simon Pollock had the assist in the game.
For the Red Wings, there were a number of positives taken away from the coaching staff, despite the lopsided final score. A big one was having a full lineup for the game without the use of any AP callups. Jackson Hassman, Pollock and Mitchell were all back in after missing significant periods of time.
“Pollock looked really good, you know, Dazza being back in net was good,” Mapes pointed out after the game. He also noted there were some positives offensively for the team as the Red Wings outshot the Hounds 42-39.
Notre Dame netminder Austin Elliott proved to be a key factor in the win for the Hounds, something that was noted by many in attendance, as he kept the Red Wings off the board for much of the second and third periods, despite facing 31 shots over those two periods.
The Red Wings will look to build off of those positives Saturday night as they entertain the Flin Flon Bombers at Crescent Point Place. The game will also feature the Calcutta Shootout fundraiser, being held after the game.