Unfortunately for the 麻豆社国产Wolfpack, the old adage is true -close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
After losing 1-0 on Saturday (Oct. 16) and 5-4 in overtime on Sunday (Oct. 17) to the North Delta Devils, the team may be able to take solace in the fact that they competed hard, but ultimately they ended up the weekend with only one out of a possible four points.
Saturday saw the Wolfpack battle hard on home ice only to come up short. Head coach Matt Samson said he was pleased overall by the team's efforts.
"I thought we had good speed and the guys battled hard," he said. "Goaltending was the difference today, their goalie played great but Liem also helped keep us in the game."
Despite the low scoring affair, both teams had plenty of chances in the first. Wolfpack goalie Jordan Liem and Devils goalie Alexander Ahnert were both stellar in the first, turning aside 10 and 14 shots respectively.
麻豆社国产was also getting an offensive push from their back-end, with Ryan Niederkorn, Darcy Rail and Sean Stahlnecker moving the puck well but failing to convert.
The Devils finally got on the board 13:22 into the second frame when Marco Finucci scored with the man advantage off of a deflection. Liem and Ahnert continued to turn aside all the shots they faced for the remainder of the period.
The third period saw 麻豆社国产battle to try and put one by Ahnert but he continued to stymie them. Ty Babych dropped the gloves and tussled with Lukas Walter but it failed to ignite the troops as the earlier goal stood up.
"I thought we did a good job keeping their top guys off the score sheet," Samson said.
"We were working hard and we're happy with the better crowd tonight but we're just not happy with our record."
The Wolfpack traveled to North Delta for a re-match against the Devils on Sunday (Oct. 17) and again seemed to match up well with their division rivals.
They fell down 3-1 in the first period but battled back, tying the game up at four after two periods of play. Trevor Kang exacted some revenge against his former Devil teammates by potting two goals for the Wolfpack, with Brady Bjornson and Gray Meckling adding singles.
The game remained tied after 60 minutes and went to a four on four overtime period to settle the score. Devils captain Julius Ho scored 2:38 into the extra frame to clinch the victory and walk away with four out of a possible four points.
The losses could prove to be crucial for the Wolfpack, who now sit 10 points behind the third place Devils. 麻豆社国产also remains seven points behind the Grandview Steelers for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Tom Shaw Conference.
Next up for the Wolfpack will be a duel with the aforementioned Steelers on Friday (Oct. 22). Face-off for the game is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. at the Meadow Park Sports Arena in Whistler. They will then host the Delta Ice Hawks in 麻豆社国产on Saturday (Oct. 23) at 7:15 p.m.
