The 100 Mile House Wranglers kicked off the 2024/2025 season with a 3-1 victory over the Quesnel River Rush.
While just an exhibition game ahead of the season opener, the Wranglers and the Rush played their hearts out on Wednesday, Sept. 11 at the South Cariboo Rec Centre. The newly formed teams sought to test one another's mettle and 100 Mile House was not found wanting. Head coach Levi Stuart said he thinks a rivalry has already been established between the two teams.
"It was really good to see the boys come together. There was a lot of energy leading up to the game and a lot of excitement. The boys did a really good job of staying even-keeled," Stuart said. "There was a bunch of warriors out there on the ice last night. There were guys losing teeth, guys knocking themselves out and cutting their eyes open. Our guys battled through and made sure we got the win at the end of the day."
Stuart put together this team just this past weekend and it marked both the first time they've played together and his first game as the Wrangler's head coach. The night was further enhanced by the return of Stuart's predecessor Dale 'Duner' Hladun, now serving as head coach for the River Rush.
The game started slowly with both teams still finding their rhythm with the Wranglers effectively killing two early penalties. The night began to kick into high gear, however, after Ethan Davey took a hard hit that briefly knocked him out. As the first period wrapped up, it looked like the teams would be tied at zero before Nash Hillworth scored a buzzer beat with 0.9 seconds left on the clock, electrifying the crowd.
Throughout the middle of the game, both teams tightened up their defence and offence, with the Wranglers unable to capitalize on a few power play opportunities. The River Rush, meanwhile, successfully scored a goal on a powerplay, only for Hillworth to respond with another goal a minute later reclaiming the initiative.
"It was obviously awesome to see (Nash Hillworth) get a couple of goals. He's a kid that's working his bag off and he's been through a lot this summer with losing his house to the fires in Jasper," Stuart said. "He deserves everything he's getting right now, he's working for every bit of success he's having. The hockey gods are smiling because of the work he's putting in."
During the third period, the Wranglers largely held the River Rush in check killing penalties and getting a few powerplay opportunities. As the last two minutes of the game came Hladun pulled his goalie to try and tie the game, only for Wrangler defenceman Landen Janz to steal the puck and score an empty net goal against Quesnel.
Stuart said during the last five minutes of the game his team did a good job playing defence and preventing the River Rush from forcing the game into overtime. He praised Ivan Tolsma and Michael Malinowski for their performance in net as well as the rest of the team for blocking out shots and doing the other little things that win a hockey game.
"For me, that's the most important part, is seeing them grow. These guys had a ton of hockey in the week leading up (to this game). From Friday, Saturday and Sunday for main camp and then two days of practice with a lot of systems overloaded into their brains," Stuart said. "They got better as the game went on and started to figure each other out and play the system I want them to play."
Stuart noted that this current team is not the final lineup for the Wranglers and that many of the players are still competing for their spot on the team before the regular season kicks off on Friday, Sept. 20 at the South Cariboo Rec Centre. He said all the players really want to play in 100 Mile House and are doing everything they can to make sure they stay.
"The game was definitely more of a regular season game than an exhibition game, that's for sure," Stuart said. "(Quesnel) is a big, strong heavy and physical team and I like to think we are as well. These are going to be some rough and tough games whenever these two teams meet, that's for sure."
