Four straight losses have put the Banff Hockey Academy Bears in a position they haven’t been in since the first game of this season - under .500.
Banff (8-9-1) looks to regroup and press forward to end what has been a ruthless November so far (2-6) on a positive note.
The Bears’ losing streak hit a low for the team with a 12-4 blowout loss to the Airdrie Thunder (12-5), a HJHL North Division standout, on Sunday (Nov. 15) at Banff’s barn.
Bears’ Phillip Schader had three points in the loss, while Rei Kikiuchi and Kenta Tanaka had two points each.
Bears captain Blaise Arkle had one point in the loss and said the team just needs to restart and get back to the basics in practice.
“It’s definitely a rebound process, every team goes through a little downward slope,” said Arkle. “All it is, it’s hard work and practicing every little thing … we were too lazy, (we need to) bear down in practice and be perfectionists.”
The Bears found themselves in a similar situation early in the first period, much like in previous games, where fighting back was necessary after a 3-0 deficit.
Scoring chances were there for Banff in the first frame, but Thunder goalie Kade Taplin was on point, especially with a highligh reel save against Nathan Cohen-Wallis who had rushed in for a rebound.
The Bears came out on a mission to turn things around in the second period, scoring four goals and killing off multiple five-on-three power plays. The game was within grasp at 5-4 in favour of Airdrie when the period concluded.
With a renewed sense of making it a game, the third period played out very differently than the second.
After three Airdrie goals within two minutes, the Thunder found the back of the net four more times in the final frame.
“I think (Airdrie) came out with a lot more momentum, we didn’t know what to do coming out of the gate,” said Arkle. “We had all the momentum going into the third. (It was) a lack of focus, probably ... Overall, it was minor things like execution and bearing down on defence.
“We’re usually a fast, skilled team and we let them handle us.”
The Bears went one-for-six on the power play and Airdrie connected for three-for-eight and peppered Banff for 49 shots in the game.
The 12 goals were the most Banff has given up in an HJHL game this season.
The Bears’ next two home HJHL games are Saturday, Nov. 28 at 4 p.m. as the Mountainview Colts ride into town, and Sunday, Nov. 29 at 3:30 p.m. against the Cochrane Generals.
