The only 20-year-old left after the St. Albert Steel gutted their roster of veteran players was the game star Friday when the last-place Alberta Junior Hockey League team snapped a seven-game losing streak.
Goaltender Rhys Hadfield stopped 46 shots, including six in the five-minute overtime, as the Steel pulled out a dramatic 3-2 shootout win against the Canmore Eagles in front of 223 fans at Performance Arena.
"This win meant a whole bunch to us after we lost pretty much all of our leaders," Hadfield said. "Some guys haven't even practiced with us, so to come in fresh like that and join the club and get a win is huge."
Last week the Steel traded five traded 20-year-olds – captain Taylor Fraser, all-star centre Reed Linaker, top scorer John Baird and defencemen Jordan Abt and David Ahl – for younger players and future considerations in hopes of salvaging the season.
Head coach and general manger Greg Parks gave the veterans the option of staying or going with the Steel losing ground in the race for the seventh and last playoff spot in the north.
"I like the boys right now. If we're going to start winning here I would love to stick around," said Hadfield, one of only five returning players left on the team.
He shut the door following a 21-shot barrage by Canmore that left the Steel trailing 2-0 after 20 minutes.
"It was rough start in the first period. They had a boatload of shots, but in the second and third periods the boys played really well."
Hadfield wasn't just stopping pucks. He picked up an assist on the first of two goals by newcomer Nick Lamoureux in the second period and in the third was penalized for tripping to give Canmore a brief two-man power play.
Canmore couldn't capitalize on that opportunity or again when Bryce Sauers went off for boarding with 24 seconds left in regulation time. Canmore finished 0-for-7 on the power play.
The Steel failed to register a shot in overtime after testing Canmore netminder Cam Barnes 18 times. His best save was a three-on-one prior to Sauer's penalty in the last minute of play.
In the shootout Hadfield stopped three out of four Eagles for his third win in 19 appearances and the first since Oct. 7 after nine losses.
"It's a giant monkey off my back. The last time I won it was in Canmore about a century ago," he said. "This was actually the first OT I've seen too, so it was nice to get that in."
Hadfield's 4.58 goals-against average ranks 33rd out of 34 goalies in the AJHL.
"I've struggling to get the ball going here a little bit. I've had lots of one-goal games that are really tough to swallow."
The next night in Camrose he faced 38 shots in the 6-1 loss to the Kodiaks. It was 4-0 in the third before Lamoureux scored on the power play for his third goal and fourth point since joining the Steel from the Drayton Valley Thunder.
The Steel managed only 20 shots in Camrose. The host team scored twice on four power plays.
"Guys were a little bit overwhelmed getting used to playing with new guys, but it's getting better real quick. We're figuring out systems and how each other plays," Lamoureux said.
Sunday at home the Steel were blanked 2-0 by the Bonnyville Pontiacs. Tanner Kovacs stopped 37 shots in his first game with the Steel after the Lethbridge Hurricanes loaned the former midget AAA Raider to the AJHL team. The Bill Ranford Award winner as the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League's top netminder last season turned aside 36 shots before Tommy Barszcz beat the 17-year-old upstairs with a quick shot from the slot with 8:45 to play. Shots were 15-8 for the Steel in the third and 39-30 overall for Bonnyville.
"It was a good battle. We were right there," Lamoureux said. "A couple of bounces we didn't get and they ended up in our net and that's what ended it."
New faces
Lamoureux, 18, was among six players who made their Steel debuts last week. In what was basically two transactions rolled into one, the Steel shipped Baird and Abt to the Thunder for Lamoureux, defenceman Conrad Sydlowski, the AJHL rights to midget AAA forward Trace Elson of the St. Albert Raiders and future considerations.
"A couple of the top 20-year-old leadership guys are the ones who left and I've got to help pick up their slack," said Lamoureux.
The Fort Saskatchewan midget AAA product is happy to be in St. Albert.
"It's a bit of a change. It's a little more free flowing than what I'm used to but it's fun," said the versatile winger.
The AJHL rookie had two goals and one assist in 20 games with the Thunder.
"I kind of had a feeling a trade was coming. When I found out where I was going I packed my stuff up in 10 minutes and made it to practice that day," Lamoureux said. "It was a bit frustrating in Drayton because I was a fifth-line guy. I didn't really play much and when I did it was maybe a couple of shifts a period."
The Steel played their fourth game in five days Tuesday in Drayton Valley, but the score was unavailable at press time.
Tonight the Steel host the Lloydminster Bobcats at 7 p.m. The AJHL champion Spruce Grove Saints visit St. Albert on Friday at 7 p.m.
