Quick goals and deep holes are beginning to take their toll on the Grandview Steelers.
The Pacific Junior B Hockey League club couldn’t overcome an early deficit and ended up falling 4-2 to the visiting Ridge Meadows Flames on Sunday.
Although the season is just two weeks old, a 1-3-0-1 start wasn't what head coach Stefan Matic expected coming out of the gate.
“It wasn't a good start," Matic said of Sunday's contest. "Any time you give up a goal on the first shift it can be a killer."
Ridge Meadows struck quickly when Quenton Magnuson put the puck past Grandview’s Matteo Petrelli just 12 seconds into the first period. They upped their lead to 2-0 just over a minute later.
Another fast start to the second period saw the Flames go up 3-0 before the frame was 40 seconds old, and gave the Steelers a lot to overcome.
They did make a game of it, thanks to a goal and assist from veteran Ian Prevost, who scored midway through the middle period.
Jeffrey Wong, with his team-leading third goal, closed the gap with a powerplay tally in the third. But Andrew Strelezki counted his second of the night, this time into an empty net, to wrap up the scoring and end any rally talk.
“We worked extremely hard but those quick goals to start the period really hurt,” remarked Matic. “We’re struggling to put the puck in the net, but we did hit three or four crossbars. We’re getting closer.”
He said signs are pointing towards a turn-around, based on the work in practice and how the players are adjusting to their new linemates.
"We have a lot of new faces, so it's just a matter of us gelling as a team," he said.
Rookies who drew praise from the coach were William Hazell-Penaluna, Emerson Kostner and Jordan Myers.
The Steelers aim to exact revenge Friday in Ridge Meadows, before returning home to play Langley, 7:15 p.m. on Sunday at the Burnaby Winter Club.
