U18 Trackers suffer first loss

WHITECOURT, ALTA.— The under-18 Trackers came home from Whitecourt with a tie and their first loss of the season last weekend. 

The Trackers tied their first of two games against the TRAC Wolverines on Saturday.

They finished the game 3-3 and, despite missing a few players due to illnesses, played a fast-paced game.

The Trackers weren’t as fortunate on Sunday and came out of their second game against the Wolverines with a 3-2 loss. 

Head coach Jared Winkel said four out of six of the Wolverine’s goals were scored on the powerplay. 

“I was pleased to see the boys battling hard, but we got into penalty problems, and I give credit to Whitecourt,” said Winkel. “They had a good powerplay unit, and it really just made the difference.”

Winkel said he knows what to work on with his team before next weekend’s games. 

“It’s been a learning curve so far, working on saying the right things and preparing our team mentally, and that’s what we will be working on in the next week,” said Winkel.

The coaching staff will meet with players this week to discuss their development, said Winkel.

“We will be having some player interviews and touching base with the guys to make sure everything’s going well with them, letting them know some things they’ve been doing well and some things we are looking to improve on.”

The Trackers take on the Grande Prairie Storm next Friday at 6:00 p.m. at the Pomeroy Sport Centre. 

Then, on Sunday, the Trackers will face off against the Peace River Royals at 1:00 p.m. at the North Peace Arena. 

The bantam Trackers came out of the weekend undefeated, beating the Fort McMurray Oil Barons 4-3 on Saturday and 5-2 on Sunday.

They remain undefeated 9-0 in the season.