Ice streak at seven

Ice wrap for HockeyNow

Kootenay climbs atop WHL’s Central Division

by Jeff Bromley

A year ago the Kootenay Ice were mired in one of the club’s worst start to a season in their history. 365 days later the skate’s on the other foot.

Riding the high of a seven game winning streak before hosting the Chilliwack Bruins Tuesday night at the Cranbrook Rec Plex the veteran-laden Kootenay Ice are playing as they were advertised, and they’re winning. Win number seven came the hard way after the club surrendered a 3-0 first period lead to the Wheat Kings Friday before coming back to win in a shootout. “Going on the road and having the success we did, winning all of the supposedly tough games, I think the players tended to relax a little bit,” said Ice head coach Kris Knoblauch as the Ice elbowed their way to the top of the Eastern Conference with a 11-3-0-1 record. “No one goes out there with the intention of not playing well but players are thinking how easy it’s going to be and how many goals they’re going to score. Offensively we weren’t bad but our d-zone coverage was like we never practiced it before.”

And yet they found a way to win. Two goals in the second period by defensemen Brayden McNabb and Joey Leach after pouring on the shots to rookie Wheat King goaltender Liam Liston by a 21-3 margin continued into the third period with markers by Drew Czerwonka and Christian Magnus to get the clubs to the shootout. All three of Kootenay’s shooters – Matt Fraser, Jesse Ismond and Max Reinhart – scored to give the Ice the extra point and their 7th win. “I’ll take it,” offered Magnus who missed on three glorious chances earlier in the game but capitalized in the third and finished the game with a goal and an assist and first star honours. “I had quite a few chances and I could’ve put a few more in the net but I’ll take one, at least I put it in this time.”

“I’m getting more of an opportunity from Kris (coach Knoblauch) and I’ve wanted to do my best,” continued Magnus, who has four goals and five assists in 15 games this season, one point shy of his 51-game total last year. “I feel a lot more comfortable out there with the ice-time I’ve been getting and it’s helped my play a lot.”

His charges confident with the seven game burst, the rookie head coach isn’t about to let talk of the streak wade into the minds of the players or in the process boost their egos too much. In fact they’re not talking about it much at all. “Just when I hear it from (former Ice coach) Mark Holick and when he says I’ve got such and such left,” said Knoblauch, referring to Holick’s team-record 14 straight wins set last season. “It feels good and they’re playing well but our record flatters us a bit. Not to take anything away from the guys but we’ve got some weaknesses in our game on the specialty teams. The penalty kill has come a long way but we need to get the power play going to have a complete game.”

Quick Hits – October 19 was a special night for the Reinhart family as the three sons of former NHL’er Paul Reinhart all played in a WHL game in Cranbrook. Max, 18, along with 15-year-old first round draft pick of the Ice Sam, squared off against 16-year-old sibling Griffin who patrols the blueline for the Edmonton Oil Kings as a WHL rookie. The younger Reinhart – who sits second in BC Major Midget league scoring with 22 points in 12 games – scored his first WHL goal and the game-winner in a 4-1 win over the Oil Kings… Kootenay’s seven-game winning streak has occurred despite the club’s injuries woes on the backend. The Ice welcomed back D Brayden McNabb after a shoulder injury kept the 19-year-old Buffalo Sabre draft pick out for eight games but then lost D Hayden Rintoul, 19, to a bruised collarbone and D James Marting, 19, to a broken nose. Both are week-to-week. Forward Brendan Hurley, 17, broke his hand and is out for another five weeks.