By Nathan Kanter

Sharks snag two home wins against Weyburn

Jan 22, 2018 | 1:00 PM

The contest was never in question on Saturday, but on Sunday things were different.

Thankfully, however, the Battlefords AAA Sharks pulled out a close 3-2 win over Weyburn on Sunday, just one day after thumping the same team 7-2.

“Kind of a tough way to win. We took some penalties at the end there that we probably shouldn’t have taken and we let them back into the game,” Sharks head coach Gary Berggren said after his team barely held on for the 3-2 win. “We had a really good work ethic yesterday. Today, at times we played well, but we had a little bit of let-off at times. It was interesting because it wasn’t a complete let off, it was just a shift here and a shift there.”

Sharks veteran Maya Tupper, who was moved from defence to forward this weekend, scored two goals on Sunday to put the Sharks up 3-1 in the second period (she also had two goals Saturday).

But the Golden Wings wouldn’t go away, cutting the lead to 3-2, despite just 14 shots on goal for them after 40 minutes.

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“Weyburn is a team where if you let off, they will capitalize,” Berggren said. “They work hard and they play the body and it’s a tough game when you’re not moving your feet.”

The Sharks were given four straight power plays in the first half of the third period, but couldn’t get an insurance goal.

“We struggled getting out of our own zone and once we set up, we struggled at times to hit the net,” Berggren said of the power play, which he said will be the number one focus at practice this week. “We had control in their end and moved it around well but when we got a chance to score we either missed the net or didn’t get a good shot away.”

Thanks to 11 third period saves from Haylie Biever, the Sharks held on for their seventh win of the season.

Biever also won on Saturday with a 22-save performance.

In the other crease, Daneka Dickson was strong with 35 saves on Sunday.

“We had our scoring chances, we just couldn’t put the puck in the net,” Berggren said. “Yesterday, we had some chances and they went in. Today, it seemed Dickson was holding the fort down for them and a lot of the chances didn’t go in.”

When the pucks were bouncing the right way on Saturday, the Sharks got goals from five different players. Tupper had two, as did rookie Brooklyn Rowley, while Sydney Rowley, Madison Sansom, and Ali Aitken each scored as well.

Aitken and Brooklyn Rowley had three-point nights. Aitken is now on a four-game point streak with six points in those games and leads the team with 25 points in 25 games. The Rowley sisters each have four points in their last three, and 18 points apiece on the season.

The Sharks have a break in their schedule, as their next game isn’t until Feb. 8, against Saskatoon.

They only have two games left after that in the regular season, as they’ll host Swift Current on Feb. 10 and 11 at Battleford Arena.

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @NathanKanter11