At a time when earning points is more important than ever, the Swan Valley Stampeders are having a hard time doing so.
The Stampeders have earned just two of a possible eight points over their last four games as they were downed by Steinbach on January 29 and then they lost a pair of games against Waywayseecappo. Over their three-game losing streak, Swan Valley gave up 14 goals.
A long Christmas break is given to most teams in the league, including the Stampeders. With that said, Wolff wasn't a big fan of the length of time in between game action from that loss against Steinbach to their next game. The total break was 11 days before losing both against the Wolverines.
"We just haven't been the same team, everyone goes through it," said Barry Wolff, the team's head coach and general manager. "We were just a little too rusty, we were making mistakes that we generally weren't making and they seemed to cost us most of the time."
Swan Valley would; however, get back in the win column on Wednesday night and they did so in a big way by putting up nine goals on home ice in a huge seven-goal win against the Neepawa Titans. The tremendous trio of Trey Sauder, Jakob Jones, and Justin Keck led the way for the Stampeders as they combined for seven points.
Sauder had one goal and two assists while Keck scored a pair and added one assist. The win has cramped up the West Division standings even more than they were entering Wednesday as just three points separate the first-place Wolverines from the fifth-place Stampeders.
One point ahead of the Stampeders are the Virden Oil Capitals -- who play Thursday night against Portage - as well as Dauphin and OCN. The Kings play a home and home with the Steinbach Pistons this weekend while OCN is on the road for a three-pack of games against Niverville, Selkirk, and the Freeze. The Neepawa Titans; meanwhile, have not been eliminated from playoff contention, but they face a daunting task. Traling the final playoff spot by 10 points with just 10 games left, the Titans will likely have to win eight or nine of their next 10 games to qualify for the playoffs.
The Stampeders play in Niverville on Saturday night before playing a matinee against the Flyers at the Centennial Arena in Winkler on Sunday afternoon. Then the team embarks on a four-game homestand which concludes with an afternoon game against Dauphin on March 1 at 12:30. The Stampeders season wraps up on March 17 against Virden which will be the back half of a home and home.
Stampeder Notes:
- Trey Sauder is third in team scoring with 47 points which is just two less than Keck and Jones. Sauder -- from Swan River -- is just a few years removed from winning the scoring title in the Westman High School Hockey League
- Steven Arp, also of Swan River, has chalked up 20 points in 38 games with his hometown team
- Kobe Grant has struggled at times this season, but if he starts playing like everyone knows he can, the Stampeders will be one of the toughest teams to beat when it comes to the playoffs if they are to qualify. Grant has 17 wins this season with a 2.87 goals-against average to go along with a .929 save percentage
