The Parkland Rangers missed a chance to close the gap on a playoff spot with a pair of losses to the Eastman Selects over the weekend.
The Rangers couldn’t overcome a 3-0 first-period deficit, Saturday, dropping a 4-2 decision, before falling 4-3 on Sunday.
Parkland (6-17-3-0) now trails the eighth-place Selects by 10 points. Eastman (12-11-1-0) is one point ahead of Interlake (11-14-1-1) and seven up on Kenora (8-17-2-0).
Rangers head coach Tyler Carefoot said the Rangers deserved a better fate in both games.
Parkland, he said, ran into penalty problems right off the bat in Saturday’s game, which resulted in two Eastman power-play goals.
“I thought we did a pretty job of trying to get back into the game. We hit a couple of posts and might have had an opportunity to make it a little bit closer,” he said.
The Rangers wanted to play a strong third period to build momentum for Sunday’s game, which they did. The Rangers could have pulled the goalie, Carefoot said, but they decided to focus on winning the period.
“Sunday, we were the better team. I think we hit two cross bars and then, with 10 seconds left to tie it, we hit a post,” he said. “I thought we played five solid periods of hockey this weekend. For the most part, I’m pretty happy.”
There are games where teams have to contend with questionable calls by the officiating and that was the case on Sunday, according to Carefoot.
“We had to persevere, not only through the Eastman Selects, but we had to beat the stripes. I just didn’t like some of the calls,” he said. “I just thought some of the calls were far too soft.”
It didn’t help that the Rangers were shorthanded with some players out of action due to injuries.
“So I was proud of how everybody competed and just didn’t quit,” he said.
The Rangers have just one game this week, Sunday on the road in Souris against the Southwest Cougars. Then they play the Yellowhead Chiefs, Dec. 20, in Shoal Lake.
Carefoot hopes the team can enter the Christmas break on a high note.
“We always say that the rural teams are the teams we’re supposed to compete well against and we beat both of them this year. So I feel that the guys will be up for it. If we can find a way to get four points going into the holidays, everybody will be feeling good about themselves,” he said, adding the Rangers will face the league power houses in the new year.
Defenceman Bo Eisner had a tremendous weekend for the Rangers.
“He’s one of those guys who, not only does he produce offensively, but he’s a tremendous defender,” Carefoot said. “He logs a lot of minutes and he does a tremendous job in the O zone and defensive zone. He’s a quiet leader. He just goes out and does his job. He’s a low-maintenance kind of guy. For him the journey is just starting and he’s got lots of recognition throughout, not just the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, but also going west, as well. I just feel he’s a guy that goes under the radar.”
