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SEAC Major Midget Tigers run into hot goaltender in Cochrane

Oct 14, 2019 | 12:20 PM

COCHRANE, AB – A chance at a weekend sweep for the SEAC Major Midget AAA Tigers was thwarted Sunday by a stellar performance in net by Josh Hager.

Hager stopped 33 of the 35 SEAC shots he faced to give the host Airdrie-Cochrane Avalanche a 4-2 victory over the Medicine Hat squad.

Coming off a dominant 5-1 victory over Calgary’s NWCAA Stampeders on Saturday, the Tigers were looking to extend their win streak to four games over the Avalanche.

It was Airdrie-Cochrane getting off to the quick start however, with Owen Jones opening the scoring just over five minutes into the game to give the Avalanche a 1-0 lead.

The Avalanche held onto their one-goal lead until the midway point of the second period, when defender Jace Moffatt was able to beat SEAC netminder Landon Porteous for the game’s second goal.

SEAC was able to get that goal back with 4:48 left in the period from Luke Renschler to cut the gap to one, but the Avalanche would take over before the intermission.

Late period goals from Aidan Doornbos and Diago Coelho proved to be timely for the Avalanche, staking them to a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes.

The Tigers were able to put home a power play marker less than a minute into the third period from Kieran Christianson, but Hager was able to silence a SEAC comeback from that point to pick up the win.

Porteous was handed the loss for the Tigers with four goals allowed on 29 shots, while it marks SEAC’s first loss since September 29.

Sitting in a tie for fourth place in the AMMHL South Division with a 3-2-1 record, the Tigers play their only game next weekend in Calgary against the CNHA Blazers at 4:30 pm on Saturday.

First win

It didn’t come easily, but the SEAC Bantam AAA Tigers were finally able to earn their first victory of the season over the Thanksgiving long weekend, edging past the Lethbridge Golden Hawks 4-3.

Noah Derouin scored the game’s opening goal just 3:10 into Friday’s contest, however that was quickly answered by Lethbridge’s John Szabo.

The Tigers regained their lead midway through the first with a Dawson Stewart goal, a 2-1 lead that held until the final minute of the second period.

On the power play, Golden Hawks defenceman Nathan Hawkins was able find the back of the net to tie up the game at 2-2 with 20 minutes left to play.

SEAC’s turning point came with less than nine minutes left in regulation, as back-to-back goals from Josh Van Mulligen and Derouin in a 44 second span put the Tigers up by a pair.

Lethbridge made a game out of it with a late goal by Ben Adserballe, but it wasn’t enough to dethrone the Tigers for their first win of the 2019-20 season.

Beck Boiteau was credited with the win for the Tigers with a 29-save night, while Lethbridge’s Thomas MacLean made 23 saves on Friday.

Despite only holding one win on the season, the 1-3-2 Bantam AAA Tigers sit alone in second place in the AMBHL’s Ram South Division with four points.

SEAC’s bantams hit the road next weekend with stops in Fort Saskatchewan and Spruce Grove on Saturday and Sunday.