Google Map says it should take seven hours and 40 minutes to travel by road from Lloydminster to Grande Prairie.
For the Grande Prairie Storm on Saturday, leading into Sunday, the bus trip no doubt felt like double that.
Post game rides home seem really long after you lose 5-1 to a team ( Lloydminster Bobcats) 16 points behind you in the standings and you had been on the high of a five-game winning streak.
The good news is the team gets to redeem itself quickly with a home game against the Sherwood Park Crusaders on Wednesday.
Not only did the team win streak come to a screeching halt, so did the undefeated stretch for rookie Storm netminder Ethan Slobodzian.
Going into the game the 18-year-old had yet to lose at the Junior A level winning his first four games and sporting a goals-against average under 2.00. The loss leaves him at 2.26.
Slobodzian faced 14 shots and allowed three goals before being replaced by Charles-Olivier Levesque, who looked at 20 while allowing two. The Storm directed 31 at Nick Sanders at the other end.
The Bobcats took period leads of 1-0 and 3-0 en route to their sixth win of the season. The loss dropped the fourth place Storm six points back of the Spruce Grove Saints and Whitecourt Wolverines, who are tied for second place with 33 in the North Division.
Rookie Zach Okabe, named the Away Star, collected his eighth goal of the season and sits 10th overall in Alberta Junior Hockey League scoring with 25 points.
Tucker Scantlebury, Andrew Liwiski, Zach Kaiser, Carson Franklin and Chase Stephenson scored for the Bobcats.
Game time Wednesday is 7:30 p.m.
