OKOTOKS — The Blackfalds Wranglers failed to win a game at the provincial junior B hockey championship, losing their final round-robin contest 5-4 to the Calgary Royals Saturday afternoon.
Needing a win to gain a berth in the semifinals, the Wranglers built up a 4-2 lead after 40 minutes on two goals by Chance Abbott and singles from Justin Lawson and Jason Bell, then coughed up three unanswered third-period tallies, including the decisive marker in the final minute.
The Wranglers opened the tournament Thursday with a 4-2 loss to the Edmonton Royals, then battled Cold Lake to a 3-3 draw Friday on goals from Abbott, Robin Carlson and Jared Guilbault.
In semifinal action, the host Okotoks Bisons dumped Edmonton 5-2 and the Whitecourt Wolverines slipped past Calgary 4-3.
Whitecourt then downed Okotoks 5-1 in Sunday’s championship final.