It was a win-loss weekend for Lac La Biche Junior B Clippers, as they kicked off the 2019/20 season of the North Eastern Alberta Junior B Hockey League with a win last Friday's away, beating the Rangers 6-1.
Playing their first home game the following night, however, the Clippers dropped a nail-biter to the Lloydminster Bandits who managed to score a last-minute goal during a tough fight between the two squads, ending the game 4-3 at the final buzzer .
The first game was an easy win, and the second one a good effort, but due penalties, the team lost a couple of crucial players to suspensions in the first period of Saturday's aggressive encounter, says Lac La Biche Junior B Clipper's new Assistant Coach, Brad Hutchinson.
"We did Alright. Last night in Vegreville was a good game," Hutchinson said after Saturday's loss. "Today we played well, got into some penalty issues, but we will straighten that out, and moving forward it's going to be nothing but W's coming to this town, hopefully."
Hutchinson is a new addition to the Clippers bench, and a valuable one with not only the coaching experience that he brings along from Minor Hockey, but also as a local player and a Clippers Alumni who is no stranger to Junior B Hockey.
The Assistant Coach is confident, and expecting good things from the team for the rest of the season, as he hopes for a winning streak going forward.
"Positive. Team will come together and... it's our first loss, we are one (win) and one (loss) right now, it's no big deal. It's still early in the season. Hoping for more wins to be coming," said Hutchinson.
Last year, the Clippers' record was 25 wins and five losses. The team made it to the league finals, but lost to the Wainwright Bisons.
For their next game, Clippers are up against Cold Lake Ice on Friday, Oct 3 at the Bold CenterSaturday's game is against the Bisons in Wainwright. The puck drop is at 7:30 pm on Friday at the Performance Arena.
Read more about Lac La Biche Junior B Clippers on the POST's website at www.laclabichepost.com
