A container of goals was the only medicine for what ailed the Grandview Steelers – thankfully, that’s exactly what they got on Sunday.
Looking to erase a four-game losing skid, the Pacific Junior B Hockey League club got at least one page turned with an emphatic 8-1 victory over the Langley Trappers.
Led by Mateo Coltellaro’s two-goal, two-assist effort, Grandview flashed some of those offensive skills that carried them to last year’s semifinals. Head coach Stevan Matic is hoping it’s just the beginning.
“We finally got some pucks by the goalies, we’ve been working hard on that but hadn’t had a lot of luck,” said Matic of an attack that counted just seven goals during the four losses. “It’s great for the guys’ confidence because they have been playing well most nights and hopefully this is a sign that we are getting the ball rolling forward.”
It also helped put a horrid 8-1 loss, suffered 48 hours earlier at the hands of Ridge Meadows, into the rear view mirror.
On Sunday, the Steelers built up a 4-0 lead by the 25th minute, thanks to markers by Jordan Myers, Wiliam Hazell-Penaluna and Coltellaro, with two. After Langley scored midway through the second, Grandview closed it out with tallies from Cameron Luk,, Ian Prevost, Devan Purhar and Anthony Benevoli.
That the scoring was well-distributed was another hopeful sign, noted Matic.
“We played well, we had five men going and created some good traffic in the other end, our offence moved the puck well and defence were distributing it,” he said.
Matic said the lines are beginning to gel, including an all-rookie trio of Tomislav Zlomislic, Emerson Kostner and Hazell-Penaluna.
“It’s a younger line but they’ve shown a lot of chemistry and work hard,” said Matic.
The big addition this past week was the return of netminder Cale Dolan, who had pushed for a junior A job in Saskatchewan before rejoining Grandview as a second-year player. His work last season saw him go 7-0 with a league-best 1.00 goals against average.
The Steelers pay a visit to Port Moody on Saturday, then host North Van on Sunday, 7:15 p.m. at the Burnaby Winter Club.
