Wheat Kings in driver's seat...

For HockeyNow....

Ice take playoff start on the chin

by Jeff Bromley

The high powered offence of the Brandon Wheat Kings was all that was advertised as the Kootenay Ice were outscored 11-3 in the first two games of their Eastern conference quarter-final playoff, dropping the first two games of the best of seven affair in the Manitoba city over the weekend. For nine of the WHL’s youngest club in the playoffs their first post-season taste was a bitter one but it was also a bit of wake-up call. “The difference is really noticeable,” said rookie forward Drew Czerwonka, 16, who played his first playoff game Friday in Brandon. “It’s a lot faster and everyone is more intense. It’s a higher tempo.”

Watching his charges take ten minors and give up four power play goals to the high-scoring Wheat Kings in a 7-2 romp in game one, Kootenay head coach Mark Holick offered up an astute description for his young squad. “We looked like a deer in the head lights,” said Holick following practice Monday afternoon. “A lot of our young guys were watching instead of moving. We have to move first and then react and make plays. Our feet weren’t moving at all.”

Down 3-0 going into the third period the Wheat Kings scored four power play goals to blow away the Ice in game one, something Holick hopes his young club can learn from, quickly. Two more losses and the much-ballyhooed talk of the 1400 km travel between the two cities will be moot point, with the Wheaties only having to make one trip. In game two Holick thought his club had made strides in the right direction in a 4-1 loss. “Our second game was a far better complete effort. We had a couple of passengers and we spoke to those guys this morning on how important it is to have everybody going.”

“You have to make plays a lot faster and we didn’t do that,” added Czerwonka. “We were throwing pucks away and it got us into trouble.”

In game two the Wheat Kings went up early on a goal that went off a player’s pants and behind Ice goaltender Todd Mathews 25 seconds into the game - a goal that was reviewed by the league mandated video review used throughout the WHL playoffs this season - and ruled it to be a goal that was credited to Andrew Clark. Kootenay tied it on a short-handed marker by Dominic Pacovsky ten minutes later and rode the stellar goaltending of Mathews most of the night. The Wheat Kings got the eventual game-winner in the second by Aaron Lewadniuk before giving up another fortunate one in the third period, this time on a wrap-around by Matt Lowry. An empty-net goal by Scott Glennie sealed the win for the Wheat Kings and put Brandon in the series’ drivers seat. “They send 3-on-2’s at you all night,” said defenseman Hayden Rintoul, who also saw his first playoff action. “We need to make sure we have a high-guy so that we can counter that attack and just play more of the game in their zone, that would help.”

Quick Hits - Abbotsford product Nathan Lieuwen continues to view the playoffs from the sidelines for what’s been termed ‘precautionary reasons’. After returning from a 20-game absence due to post-concussion syndrome Lieuwen lasted a period in his first game March 14. Lieuwen was bowled over by defenseman Ian Barteaux while he was chasing Hurricane forward Zach Boychuk. “It’s very frustrating,” said Lieuwen. “Especially that first game back it was really hard for me to accept the fact that I’d been hit again. There’s nothing I can do to prevent something like that so I’m just going to work hard to try and get back in there.” Todd Mathews, 18, is now the Ice starter and is being backed-up by 19-year-old Cranbrook product Scott Orth while Lieuwen, who was ranked 12th among North American goaltenders for this June’s NHL Draft by NHL Central Scouting, is on the mend… D Cason Machacek, who separated his shoulder in a fight with Hurricane forward Austin Fyten March 13, is still day-to-day… 16-year-old Joey Leach, a third round pick in the 2007 Bantam Draft from Wadena, Saskatchewan, joined the club for the playoffs. The 6-foot-two 175-pound Leach played this season with the Tisdale, Saskatchewan Midget Trojans… Wheat King forward Matt Lowry scored a goal and added four assists in the series first two games garnering the Boston Pizza WHL Player of the Week honour.