The Score - Kootenay/Lethbridge

The Score – Kootenay 4 – Lethbridge 1


What Happened – A scoreless game after the second period Kootenay surrendered the first goal 22 seconds into the third. They scored the last four to secure the sixth seed and a playoff date with the Brandon Wheat Kings March 20.

Tough night for the Goalies Part I – This was a tough night to be a goaltender. Nathan Lieuwen’s first start in almost seven weeks lasted only one period. After Zach Boychuk got free for a chance less than eight minutes into the game Lieuwen stopped the puck but couldn’t stop his defenseman, Ian Barteaux, from barrelling into him. Lieuwen was shaken up but remained in the game, taked out in the first intermission as a precautionary measure on the advice of the team doctor. If Lieuwen had no luck he’d be better off as any he’s had has been all the bad variety. In 20 games since Todd Mathews took over no one could remember one play where Mathews was taking out in a collision. Eight minutes in Lieuwen was taken out by his own player.

Tough night for the Goalies Part II - Hurricane starter Juha Metsola was taken off the ice on a stretcher 17:02 into the first period after a scary collision between him and Ice d-man Eric Frere. Frere jumped into the play and got loose on a partial breakaway. Metsola stopped him but Hurricane forward Colton Sceviour pushed Frere into Metsola, snapping the Finn’s neck back before being landed on by Frere. Metsola was out cold before he hit the ice and after lying prone on the ice for 20 minutes and being attended to by trainers and medical staff he was transported to hospital where he underwent an X-ray and a CAT scan. Metsola raised his hand in the air as he was lifted off the ice. Early reports were that he would be okay but suffered a neck strain. His status for game one against the Saskatoon Blades next week is questionable.

The Winners – The Ice handed out their club awards prior to the start of the game. Kootenay Ice Fan Club Player of the Year – Kevin King; Al Flick Memorial Scholastic Player of the Year – Brayden McNabb; Community Relations Award – Ian Barteaux; Rookie of the Year – Max Reinhart; Best Defenseman – Ian Barteaux; Underrated Player – Tylan Stephens; Most Improved Player – Kevin King; MVP – Andrew Bailey; Player’s Choice Award – Tylan Stephens.

The Turning Point – After leaving Zach Boychuk wide open in front of the net 22 seconds into the third period – not a good idea at any point during a game – falling behind 1-0 and taking three straight penalties thereafter, this one could’ve been done. Kootenay didn’t give up and Bailey’s wicked wrist shot on a 2-on-1 while short-handed took the wind out of the Hurricane’s sails.

The Goals – 22 seconds into the third period some great work behind the Ice net by Marysville product Carter Bancks enabled the 19-year-old to send a pass to a wide-open Boychuk who doesn’t miss many from there. He went five-hole for his 28th of the season… Andrew Bailey broke out on a 2-on-1 just over three minutes later with the Ice killing a penalty with Joe Antilla. Bailey used Antilla as a decoy and fired a laser past Michael Tedjdeh to tie the score at one… Bailey was at it again at the 12:04 mark but this time he dished a beautiful pass to a streaking Hayden Rintoul, who jumped into the rush seemingly out of nowhere, took the pass and beat Tedjdeh over the shoulder that sent the crowd of 3833 into a frenzy… The Hurricanes got into penalty trouble late in the game and on a five-on-three power play Ian Barteaux wired his 8th of the season past Tedjdeh… Barteaux finished it off when he lept into the air to knock down a Hurricane dump-in, took five strides and fired his 9th into an empty-net.

In the Press Box – Former NHL’er Rich Sutter, a consultant with the Hurricanes who joined the club in December. His nephew Brody, son of brother Duane, also plays for the Hurricanes.

The Crowd – 3833; loud and rambunctious to end the regular season set an announced season average at 3070. To get a feel for the attendance turnaround this season, for the first half of the season the announced average was 2740. For the second half it was 3401

KNA Three Stars
1. RW Andrew Bailey – Goal, assist; the captain also sent a 9-year-old fan at the bottom of section M happy when he gave her his stick when he came out for the first star award.
2. D Eric Frere – Solid on the back-end. Three inch gash on his face was courtesy Kyle Beach.
3. D Hayden Rintoul – Kid is going to be something to watch over the next few seasons.

What it means – The win gives the Ice at 35-29-2-6 record on the season and the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Up Next: Game one of the 2009 WHL Playoffs against the Brandon Wheat Kings next Friday in Brandon. Game two goes Saturday night while games three and four are back at the Rec Plex Tuesday and Wednesday, March 24 and 25.

Round 1 Game Schedule:
Friday, March 20 @ Brandon – 6:30 pm
Saturday, March 21 @ Brandon – 6:30 pm
Tuesday, March 24 @ Kootenay – 7:00 pm
Wednesday, March 25 @ Kootenay – 7:00 pm
Friday, March 27 @ Brandon – 6:30 pm *
Sunday, March 29 @ Kootenay – 6:00 pm*
Tuesday, March 31 @ Brandon (Winnipeg) – 6:00 pm *
*If necessary
All times listed are in Mountain Standard Time




Game Summary:


Hurricanes 1 @ Ice 4

CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for regular season game between the Lethbridge Hurricanes and the Kootenay Ice; March 14, 2009.
Hayden Rintoul broke a 1-1 tie 12:04 into the third period as the Ice scored four goals in the game's last 17 minutes to push Kootenay past the Lethbridge Hurricanes in WHL action Saturday night.
After two scoreless periods the Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead when Carter Bancks found Zach Boychuk alone in front of Kootenay's net. Boychuk buried his 28th of the season past Todd Mathews. Kootenay tied the game short-handed when Andrew Bailey took off on a 2-on-1 with Joe Antilla. Bailey used Antilla as a decoy and wired his 28th to tie the game at one. Bailey found a streaking Hayden Rintoul at 12:04 who beat Michael Tedjdeh over his shoulder to give the Ice a 2-1 lead. Ian Barteaux, with a power play marker and an empty-net short-handed goal, finished up the scoring for the 4-1 Ice win.
Todd Mathews, who came in relief for starter Nathan Lieuwen after the first period, stopped 12 of 13 shots to get the win. Michael Tedjdeh, who came in relief for starter Juha Metsola who left the game on a stretcher after a first period collision, stopped.21 of 24 shots to take the loss.

First Period

No scoring.


Penalties -- Boomer Ktn (tripping) 8:57, Bailey Ktn (roughing) 20:00.


Second Period

No scoring.

Penalties -- Boychuk Let (interference) 8:09, Yadlowski Let (holding) 10:40, Bancks Let (checking-from-behind) 11:29, Ryckman Let (interference) 16:11, Bancks Let King Ktn (roughing) 16:56, Barteaux Ktn (interference) 18:08.


Third Period
1. Lethbridge, Boychuk 28 (Bancks) 0:22
2. Kootenay, Bailey 28 (McNabb) 3:47 (sh)
3. Kootenay, Rintoul 8 (Bailey, Reinhart) 12:04
4. Kootenay, Barteaux 9 (Bailey, King) 16:07 (pp)
5. Kootenay, Barteaux 10 (McNabb) 17:55 (sh) (en)



Penalties -- Frere Ktn (holding) 0:33, Martin Ktn (roughing) 2:22, Versteeg Let (holding) 14:09, King Let (tripping) 15:30, Czerwonka Ktn (roughing - served by Reinhart, misconduct) 17:39, Reinhart Ktn (dbl roughing) 20:00.


Shots on goal by
Lethbridge: 5 4 9 - 18
Kootenay: 14 9 13 - 36

Goal -- Kootenay: Nathan Lieuwen (5 of 5 shots - Mathews 20:00 of 2nd; W, 17-18-0-3); Lethbridge: Juha Metsola (11 of 11 shots; Michael Tadjdeh 17:02 of 1st - L, 10-9-0).

Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Lethbridge: 0-6
Kootenay: 1-6


Referee -- Derek Herman, Graham Skilliter. Linesman -- Steve Cochrane, Jim Maniago.

Attendance -- 3833 (4264)

Scratches --
Kootenay: Scott Orth (healthy), Cason Machacek (seperated shoulder - indefinite), Matt Fraser (shoulder - day-to-day), Dustin Sylvester (ankle - 2-3 weeks).
Lethbridge: Brandon Anderson (healthy), Max Ross (healthy), Cam Braes (shoulder - 1-2 weeks), Cody Castro (healthy).

Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Kootenay NewsAdvertiser