Comeback falls short

By Ryan McCracken on April 23, 2018.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com @MHNMcCracken

The Medicine Hat Sun Devils went down swinging on Sunday afternoon at the Kinplex.

Entering the third period in a 9-4 deficit to the Calgary Wranglers, the Sun Devils managed to narrow the gap to three before falling back to .500 with a 13-9 loss. While head coach Chris Loran says he’d like to see that level of effort from the opening draw, he added it’s still something to build on early in the season.

“Having them come back and actually make an effort in the third period to show them what we were worth is definitely positive moving forward,” said Loran. “These teams aren’t exactly far separated in skill level, so if you dig yourself a big hole it’s tough to dig yourself out.”

While the Sun Devils aren’t satisfied with the result, forward Aidan McLean says he was pleased with the effort they left on the floor in Sunday’s third period.

“It was nice to end on a high note like that, it was really nice. We’re hoping to extend that momentum into next weekend,” said McLean, whose Sun Devils are 2-2 on the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League junior B Tier 2 season. “We really just started clicking on offence. It was really dead out there in the first two periods.”

Daniel Drefs led Sunday’s third-period push with three goals and an assist in the frame for five points on the day, but Wranglers forward Nolan Johnston helped keep his lead intact with his sixth goal of the contest early in the third, then Tyson Krupa and added a late pair to ice the game.

“We cracked down a bit at the end and came out with the W,” said Wranglers captain Steven Flaman. “We’re just happy with the win right now.”

The setback follows up Saturday’s 16-5 victory over the Olds Stingers in Medicine Hat’s home opener. McLean led the way with five goals and two assists in the win, while Drefs added two goals and five helpers and Izaak Loran had four goals and two assists.

“There’s been good moments and bad moments, for sure. I’m happy that we’re sitting at .500 but I think we should ultimately be better than this at this point with the teams we’ve played,” said coach Loran. “I think we probably should have been a little stronger (Sunday) and we should have probably played a little better in our first game.”

McLean went on to add a goal and three assists in Sunday’s loss, while Izaak Loran chipped in with a pair of helpers and Josh Lebsack potted a pair.

McLean and Loran lead the Sun Devils with 21 and 20 points, respectively. The pair have been playing together for the past seven years, and McLean says it’s leading to some serious chemistry on the floor this season.

“We’ve been playing on the same team too, so it’s nice when you can stay with a player like that for so long and get to know him real well,”he said.

The Sun Devils hit the road to take on the Red Deer Renegades Saturday at 2:30 p.m.