The Parkland U18 Rangers took the Winnipeg Wild to overtime on Sunday, November 7 as they earned a single point. Two days later, the team lost a hard-fought battle against the Brandon Wheat Kings who are on top of the league and since, the team has been firing on all cylinders. It's also important to note that the Wild are 16-1-2.
Since a loss against Brandon, Parkland has points in their last seven games and that includes their current three-game winning streak. Parkland's only defeat since November 9 was against Pembina Valley; however, the Rangers still earned a point as the game went into overtime. Rylan Gibbs scored the Rangers' fourth goal in that game to force overtime.
The Rangers completed a weekend sweep this past weekend, downing Interlake twice and capping the weekend off by beating Norman on Sunday. Parkland's hot play has seen them jump into solo fifth place in the league and they're only one point behind fourth.
Tyler Carefoot says earning a point against the Wild was the turning point for the team.
"We've talked about that weekend a lot. It took us a little longer to come together as one but you're seeing us do just that now," said Carefoot. "The compete level and intensity on the ice has been top shelf. We're doing all the small things right and that has allowed us to win some games which is very important this time of year."
Four Rangers have at least 10 goals this season, including Madden Murray and Will Munro who both have 10 while Carter Zalischuk has 14. The fourth Ranger with 10 or more is Jayce Legaarden who has been absolutely dominating opponents this season. In just 23 games, the Grandview native has tickled the twine 28 times and he scored another three times on Sunday. 12 of Jayce's goals are on the power play and he has two-game winning goals.
Jayce's 28 goals are the most in the league and his 40 points are tied for the fifth-most in the league.
"What he's done is well deserved. He's also playing with some solid linemates," said Carefoot. "He's going to the hard areas to get the job done. Some are pretty, some aren't but they all count. To have a Parkland Ranger at the top of the goal scoring list on the website, that doesn't happen often so it's pretty special."
The team's busy November which saw them play 10 games has come to an end and now they're set to enjoy a little bit of a break. Next up for the club is a trip to Shoal Lake to play the Chiefs next Tuesday on December 7. Parkland has opened up a seven-point gap between them and Yellowhead entering this week.
