By Stephen Dafoe
Morinville – It was a five-point weekend for the Morinville Titans built upon a 3-3 tie with the NEZ Northstars and a 7-3 and 5-2 victory over the St. Albert Blues.
The Titans started their weekend Thursday night with a point for their 3-3 tie with the NEZ Northstars, a game that saw Kris Haley tie the game for the Titans with just 46 seconds left in the third period.
Moving into the weekend proper, the Titans played their first of two back-to-back games against the St. Albert Blues Oct. 16. In that contest, the Titans kept the Blues scoreless for the first 53 minutes of the game, accumulating six goals of their own in the same time. Although St. Albert managed to pocket two late in the third, the Titans added another to defeat them 7-3.
Sunday night’s home-ice rematch saw the Blues coming into Morinville’s barn looking to even the score, but lacking the tools to do it. The Titans started the second period leading the Blues 1-0 and entered the final frame leading the St. Albert club 4-1. Both clubs earned a goal in the final frame to give the Titans a 5-2 victory.
“We’re extremely happy,” said Head Coach Jeff Montina of his team’s three-game tally. “You couldn’t ask for a whole lot more.”
Montina has a lot to be happy about. The club has been elevating its profile within the Noralta Junior C Hockey League of late with new jackets, a new cheer squad and a new attitude on the bench and on the ice. The latter has translated into eight points in six outings for a 3-1-2 record on the season.
“We’ve come a long way in the last couple of weeks,” Montina said. “Everybody’s starting to bond. We’ve got four lines that are all clicking together. It’s going really good.”
The Titans have a couple weeks to prepare for their next outing. After a hectic schedule, the club doesn’t play again until Oct. 29 when they take on the neighbouring Gibbons Broncos. That contest will be played at the Ray McDonald Sports Centre at 7:30 p.m. The Titans follow it up with a Halloween night home-ice contest against the Sentinels.
