Stettler Lightning continued to impress their managers and coaches with their performance in the second pre-season hockey game in Ponoka last Saturday overpowering the home side 8-3.
“Clayton Herzog had a pretty good evening there, set up the first two goals and scored a couple of his own, so Clayton had good night’s work for him” said head coach Doug Smith after the game.
“At times we played very, very well, at times we started to fall apart a little bit, it is like smoothening the rough spots.”
“But we play the same team again here in Stettler at 7 o’clock on Saturday, that will give us a week give to prepare and maybe there will be a couple of new faces in the line-up,” said Smith.
Jordan Vincent opened the scoring for the Lightning to an assist by Herzog in the fifth minute of the first period, to be followed by another assist by Herzog in the ninth minute, this time allowing Tyson Glazier to score: 2-0.
Stampeders’ attempts to cling to the game produced their first goal in the eighth minute of the second period, but the Lightning responded first through Brett Oulette and then Herzog to make the score 4-1 at the end of second.
In the third period, the Lightning again punished the Stampeders by scoring two goals for each one the home side put on the scoreboard.
Ponoka’s comeback effort received a lifeline when Chad Mc Dougall scored in the second minute of the third period, and the hopes of the hosts to have a claim on the game looked bright for a few moments when Chad Mitchell made it 4-3 at 12:05 of the third period.
But the hopes were to be quickly dashed, only seven seconds later, when Lanny Duncan scored to an assist by Mitch Finkbiner. Then Finkbiner scored his own goal in the 16th minute, followed Adam McDavid in 17th.
The star of the game Herzog lowered the curtain in the last minute by scoring to an assist by Steve Blacklock.
The Lightning sent 44 shots to Stampeders’ goal throughout the game against 25 of the opponents.