After a strong year for the Kindersley Red Lions, a senior hockey team based in the town of Kindersley, the season came to a grinding halt after a 3-0 series loss to the Wilkie Outlaws in the SHL Finals.
The series was a win-or-bust effort for the Lions as the season’s league leaders, the Outlaws, were firmly entrenched as the then 3-time holder of the League title. The games at the end of March secured that title for the Outlaws for the fourth year in a row.
“It was a hard loss.” Coach Wayne Sampson commented that while the Lions left everything out on the ice for each of the series’ games, injuries and “the patch” were the Lions’ biggest challenges.
“Several of the key guys were out of the games, either due to work or to injuries,” said Coach Sampson. “It’s hard to beat a large team like the Outlaws when your team is down a few.”
Despite their smaller numbers, the Lions faced the Outlaws head on. Game one, a home game for the Red Lions, was a stiff 6-3 loss, but they made up for it with a nail-biter of a game when the Outlaws just took their win with 3-2 in overtime.
The Lions travelled to the SaskCan Community Centre the following Friday, but fortune was not smiling on the Lions that day. The Outlaws were determined to take full advantage of their 2-0 series lead and pummelled Lion’s goal-tender, Luke Sproule, with over 50 shots throughout the game.
The Outlaws continued to pull ahead of the Lions, even as the frustrated Lions resorted to flying fists on the ice. “One thing is for sure — our boys can outfight the Outlaws; I think I only had two boys left on the bench at the end of the game.” Despite the efforts of the Lions, the Outlaws pulled ahead with a wide margin of 10-2 at the end of the game.
Coach Sampson says that while the season end was not what he was hoping for, the fight for the season showed the team some of its hidden strengths. “Without the losses, we wouldn’t have gained the experience we now have, so it’s not a complete loss without some gain, we aim to use this past year to build up for the next.”
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