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Flames offense goes cold over the weekend

Team drops three straight games to halt early season momentum
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The Ridge Meadow Flames gave up five goals in the second period to the Aldergrove Kodiaks Wednesday in a 6-0 loss.

The  Ridge Meadow Flames opened the first week of the season on a high note. They closed out the second week of way off key, dropping three straight games, scoring just three goals while giving up 16.

The Flames were drubbed 7-1 Saturday night in Abbotsford, giving up 49 shots in the process.

Flames coach and general manager Jamie Fiset said his club simply ran out gas after playing its fifth game in eight days.

He’s now hoping his team can use the early season struggles as a way to learn what it takes to win on a consistent basis.

“Nobody’s hanging their head down and feeling sorry for themselves,” said Fiset. “There’s a different attitude in the dressing room this year. No one is pleased with losing, but we know we can turn this around. We’re a young team and sometimes things like this happen. Hopefully they’ll come to the rink and put in the hard work and we can get back on track.”

The loss in Abbotsford Saturday came on the heels of dropping a 3-2 decision to the Mission City Outlaws the night before on home ice.

After a scoreless first period, the Flames fell behind early in the second,as Holden Wilkerson scored on the powerplay 58 seconds into the frame.

Flames captain Travis Oddy and Marco Ballarin scored two goals 1:11 apart with just under five minutes left in the period to take the lead.

However, Wilkerson scored his second of the period  with 2:39 seconds remaining to draw the Outlaws even.

Mission’s Nolan Dyck scored the game winner   at the 7:56 mark of the third.

Fiset said his team has played well in spurts, but needs to bring a more consistent approach if it hopes to win. He points to the team’s 6-0 loss to Aldergrove Wednesday as an example.

He said they were able to skate with the division’s top team for a period-and-a-half before a couple of quick goals took the wind out of their sails.

“We were playing a great game except for a 12-minute lapse. You can’t give a great team like that any room. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how well you play defensively if you’re not scoring any goals.”

• The Flames next home game is against the North Vancouver Wolf Pack Friday, Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m. at Planet Ice.