It took longer than expected but the St. Albert Steel finally won a game in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
The last-place team in the north division scored three goals in the last 10 minutes of play to edge the Calgary Canucks 5-4 Thursday at the AJHL Showcase in Spruce Grove.
"A win would give us more confidence and more momentum," centre Bryce Sauers said after the Steel's fifth loss in regulation time, 4-1 against the Bonnyville Pontiacs on Tuesday at Performance Arena.
Period scores against the Canucks (4-6) were 1-1 and 3-2 as Ryan Berlin and John Baird scored for the Steel.
Trailing 4-2 the Steel caught fire. Defenceman Jordan Abt (unassisted at 9:43), captain Taylor Fraser (from Baird and newcomer Jamie Johnson at 16:50) and defenceman Kyle Scaber (from Johnson at 17:35) beat Calgary netminder Michael Matyas in the comeback charge.
Johnson led all Steel scorers with three points.
Shots were 30 apiece as Rhys Hadfield (1-4, 4.47 GAA) backstopped the Steel to victory.
The Steel (1-6-1) can make it two wins in a row Saturday night when they play the Sherwood Park Crusaders (5-1) in their last game at the annual scouting showcase event in Spruce Grove. Faceoff is 7 p.m. at the Tri-Leisure Centre.
Last weekend against the Crusaders the Steel lost 3-2 in overtime in St. Albert and 4-1 in Sherwood Park.
In the Steel's home opener they dropped a 6-3 decision to the Crusaders.
"Our last couple of games against Sherwood Park were pretty strong. For the most part we all played 60 minutes throughout the game," Sauers said.
After going seven games without a win, Sauers said it was only a matter of time before the Steel ended their drought.
"We've just got to get more energy on the bench and get quicker starts and the boys will get going," said the Fort Saskatchewan product. "We've got to get more team bonding stuff going on. In the practices we have to work a little bit harder and stay focused, too."
Against the Pontiacs (5-2) the Steel fell behind 3-0 before Sauers assisted on Tyler Parks' goal at 12:01 in period three. But less than two minutes later, the Pontiacs slipped their fourth goal past Hadfield.
"We started a little rough. We couldn't get the legs going," Sauers said. "In the second we started to pick it up and then in the third we got some momentum. We just started to bring it on late."
The Steel outshot the Pontiacs 15-9 in the third and 27-26 overall.
The Steel finished 0-for-6 on the power play and the Pontiacs struck once on five man advantages.
"We could've got some more goals on the power play," Sauers said. "For the most part we killed off the penalties pretty good."
Pointing up points
Sauers' assist against the Pontiacs was his third point of the season, equalling his offensive output in 36 games with the Steel in 2010/11.
"It's going pretty good. I like the confidence that I'm bringing so far," he said. "I just want to start carrying the puck more and start winning more face-offs and keep my defence going good."
Sauer, 18, broke into the AJHL last season with the Lloydminster Bobcats after picking up one assist in four games as a midget AAA affiliate in 2009/10. In 17 games in the Border City the six-foot and 190-pound skater scored the only AJHL goal of his career and had 29 penalty minutes.
The Steel added Sauers to their roster last November in a trade for forward Topher Flanagan.
"I had a little bit of a slow year. I was trying to get my confidence up and it was hard because I didn't get as many shifts as I wanted but it was still good," said Sauers.
He posted five goals and 12 points in 33 games in his last midget AAA season with the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers before cracking the Lloydminster line-up.
"I learned a lot from the vets. The main thing was on every shift you have to go out and play very hard," he said.
Sauers described himself as a defensive-minded playmaker.
"I like to see myself as a strong centreman. I look to make plays but I make sure I look after my defence first," he said.
The next home game for the Steel is Sunday versus the Drayton Valley Thunder (4-4) at 2 p.m.
