Castor’s Simon Thieleman, primary goalie for the Stettler Lightning, has been named the Heritage Junior player of the week ending Jan. 25. In the 26 games so far this season,
Thieleman has made 878 saves and has a .906 save percentage and a 3.08 goals-against average.
The 21-year-old stopped 34 of 37 shots on him in an overtime loss against the league first-place team, Blackfalds, on Tuesday. Wins in the weekend’s two games came from his strong 37- and 25-save performance.
“He had a very strong week for us,” Head Coach and General Manager Doug Smith said of Thieleman. “It was just an unfortunate bounce (in the Blackfalds overtime game) that did him in.”
It was a busy week for the Lightning, who started off on Jan. 20 with an evening match in Blackfalds, which was won by the home team in overtime, 3-2.
The first period was scoreless for the Lightning, though the Wranglers wrangled up two goals. Stettler recovered and held Blackfalds scoreless in the second, though they weren’t able to crack the guard on the net themselves.
In the third, however, goals by Dylan Houston and Jake Schwarzenberger tied up the game, with second score coming in the last three minutes of the period. Thieleman, on the net, stopped all but that final unlucky bounce in the overtime, sending Blackfalds home with another win.
The Lightning next played on Friday, Jan. 23, against the Banff Bears, losing in a close 7-5 game.
“The last five minutes of that game were the weakest minutes of the whole weekend,” Smith said.
By the end of the first period, Stettler led the scoring 2-1 off goals from Houston and Logan Davidson. Halfway through the second, Davidson scored again. The Bears took advantage of Stettler being short a man to close the gap, ending the second 3-2.
Banff tied up the game early in the third, and it took nearly 10 minutes for Stettler to pull ahead again with a goal by Steven Fletcher.
As the clock wound down, the Bears seemed to find a second win, scoring four goals in short succession to pull ahead 7-4. With half-a-minute left in the game, Davidson scored his third and final goal, ending the game 7-5.
The next day, Stettler hosted the Red Deer Vipers, winning 4-3.
Reese Anheliger put Stettler on the board with a short-handed goal about five minutes into the first, though the Vipers closed the gap before the buzzer rang.
The Lightning kept close control of their net in the second, keeping the Vipers out while Anheliger and Ryan Strome each scored a goal to put the Lightning ahead 3-1. Though the Vipers scored twice in the third period, another shorthanded goal by Stettler, off the stick of Jacob Bottomly, secured a handy 4-3 win for the local team.
The final home game of the season came on Sunday, Jan. 25 when Stettler hosted the Airdrie Thunder, who were silenced by a 4-2 loss at the hands of the Lightning.
Stettler started strong, taking advantage of a power play in the first to get the first goal of the game, from Michael Neumeier. The Thunder’s affection for the penalty box cost them in the second period, as both of Stettler’s goals came while the team was up a man due to Thunder penalties. Scott Ternes scored both.
The Airdrie boys recovered a bit in the third, scoring two back-to-back goals to bring it to 3-2. In a desperate play for that final goal, the Thunder emptied their net for a man-advantage, a move that backfired when Ternes scored his third goal of the game.
The two wins secures Stettler’s place in the playoffs and knocks Ponoka out of contention in the northern division. The southern division is all but decided except for Banff and High River, whose standings are so close that either could win that last place in the playoffs.
Stettler’s final two games are away games, one Jan. 31 in Red Deer and the next in Three Hills on Feb. 7. Both games begin at 8 p.m.
The Stettler Lightning go into these final two games with a full roster, as no players are on the injured list. The only concern, according to Smith, is one player whose work schedule may not permit him to play.
The top teams receive a bye as the lower-positioned teams deke it out for placement, a move that allows the team to rest, wounded to heal and prevents injuries right before the big game, but it could also cost them some of their edge, Smith said.