Even though Matt Sylvester scored three of the five Stettler goals against Airdrie Thunder on Friday, Dec. 23, it wasn't enough to secure a year-end victory for the home team as they went down 8-5.
"Against Airdrie I think we were all asleep at the wheel to some degree," said Head Coach Gavin Brandl. "We simply didn't exert the level of effort we needed to come away with the win."
Sylvester scored the first two goals, with the third being scored by Logan Davidson as Lightning trailed 4-3 by the end of the first period.
With Dylan Houston's goal in the second period and Sylvester's final goal of the year, both teams were tied at 5-5 going into the third period.
Unable to defend their turf, the Bolts' defence was shattered as Thunder scored another three goals in the third period to take the game.
Brandl said that the level of effort that even the coaching staff should have put in was way short.
"That includes us as coaches too, when your puck retrieval game is lacking there are adjustments you can make from a strategic standpoint and we were too slow on the draw with that," Brandl added. "So top down we all need to be better, the good news is that we know in our next game we will be."