The Cochrane Chaos are behind the eight ball after losing Game Two of the AJFHL championship series yesterday at home against the Sherwood Park Steele, 1-0.

The Steele scored early and shut down the Chaos for the balance of the game to head home needing just one win to defend their Alberta Junior Female Hockey League title.

Steele head coach Derrick Odenbach said they were hoping to at least split the series in Cochrane and winning both was a bonus.

"It's huge for us," says Odenbach. "This is a really good hockey team, they're big,  they're fast, they skate well, they've been phenomenal all year so we had our work cut out for us. We wanted to put some pressure on them and see how they reacted."

Still, Odenbach said the weekend amounts to two wins, not a championship, and what it gives them is an opportunity.

That's the opportunity Chaos head coach Derek Loomer wants to evaporate. He said the Chaos were frustrated today and couldn't find the net when they needed to, including a chance late in the game. The Steele hung back and protected their lead and didn't appear to launch any counterattacks.

Loomer remains confident in his team's ability to bounce back and claim a championship that has eluded South division teams for most of the league's 10-year history.

"The girls know what we've got to do," says Loomer.  "We won 10 in a row before so there's no reason why we can't win three. That's the mentality we're going to take on the bus on Friday and just get focused and on what we need to do."

Shelby Ferleyko scored the game's lone goal from Paige Peach. Steele goaltender Chloe Sanderson earned the shutout on 24 shots.

The series resumes Friday night at the Ardrossan Recreation Complex at 7:30 p.m.