Kootenay won a wild one in the Lilac City tonight 4-3 in a penalty-filled affair.
The Ice opened the scoring in the first period on Kevin King's 19th of the season but the Chiefs received two straight 5-on-3's, one to end the first period on Brayden McNabb's double high-sticking minor. Chief forward Kyle Beach tied it with his 33rd with 46 seconds left in the period.
Mitch Wahl, with the Chiefs still on a two-man advantage, put the home side up 2-1 30 seconds into the period.
The Ice tied it on a power play goal by McNabb, his 15th, and then took a 3-2 lead on a lucky goal that was put into the Chiefs net by one of their own players. Steele Boomer got credit for the goal.
In the third Joey Leach capped off a three point night with his third of the season and the eventual game-winner.
Todd Mathews gave Beach the puck in his own end with Kootenay on the power play, Beach didn't miss the open net for his 34th and made the game a one-goal finish.
Kootenay improves to 32-16-2-2, 68 points and sole possession of fourth in the Eastern Conference, four points back of the Medicine Hat Tigers, who lost to the Kelowna Rockets 7-2 tonight. Kootenay has four games in hand.
The Ice head straight to Regina, who lost 4-1 to the Moose Jaw Warriors tonight, to make-up the game lost last Sunday to the snow storm, Monday at the Brandt Centre.
The Spoksman-Review will have a gamer up here later.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Ice dump Raiders 4-1....
The Score – Kootenay 4 – Prince Albert 1
What Happened – Kootenay weathered an early storm by the Raiders and shrugged off giving up a short-handed goal and slowly turned the tide in their favour.
The Turning Point – With the Raiders leading 1-0 late in the first period the Ice pinned the Raiders in their own zone for what seemed like an eternity, capping off the effort with a great shot by Rintoul that rang off the post. Stefan Warg took a holding penalty and on the ensuing power play Rintoul’s floater from the far hash marks eluded Jamie Tucker and deflated his teammates.
The 2-on-1’s – Looking for a theme? Odd-man rushes, nine by my count, of the 2-on-1 variety on this night. It started with a great chance by Max Reinhart in the first only to have his stick shatter in hands with an open net staring at him. In the third period when a broken break-out resulted on a key Raider chance with the score 2-1, D Joey Leach blocked a 2-on-1 pass from Brandon Herrod to Ryan Harrison and then got the puck to Dustin Sylvester on a 2-on-1 the other way with Kevin King. King buried his 17th to make it 3-1.
The Yellow Sticks – In the warm-up and throughout most of the first period the Ice used special yellow sticks that were auctioned off in the arena concourse in the second and third periods. The auction of the sticks raised $3381 for Crohns and Colitis. Reinhart’s stick that shattered in the first was of the regular variety, having just switched sticks a shift before. Reinhart, who had a number of chances Friday, had his 8-game point-scoring streak snapped Friday. The Ice and the fans in attendance also raise over $3700 for Hungry for Life which will be matched by the Government of Canada and will go to the Haitian relief fund.
The Goals – A short-handed marker started it for the Raiders as Brayden McNabb’s point-shot was blocked at blueline and Craig McCallum sent Brandon Herrod off to the races. A shove with a stick of Kevin King to McNabb wasn't enough to catch him as the Raiders leading scorer buried his 31st on Todd Mathews' only mistake of the night… Hayden Rintoul, on a last minute power play, atoned for his shot that hit the point less than a minute earlier with a floater from the right hash-marks that Jamie Tucker didn’t see until it was behind him… In the third Rintoul as at it again on the power play as this time he fired a point-shot that rang of the post and went into the net to make it 2-1… King buried a nice 2-on-1 feed from Sylvester seven minutes later for some insurance and then did it again in the last minute into an empty net.
A tale of two teams – The Raiders, who are now tied for eighth in the conference with 55 points, are tied for the second-worst road record in the league with 5-17-1-1, a .250 clip. At home it’s a different story with the third best mark in the league at 21-6-0-1.
The Crowd – 2943, somewhat smaller than the 4410 that turned out Tuesday.
Rec Plex Three Stars
1. D Hayden Rintoul – Two goals, two posts; he could’ve had four
2. RW Kevin King - Two goals, assist
3. LW Dustin Sylvester - Three assists moves him into third in WHL scoring with 70pts
Give the honourable mention to Joey Leach, Kootenay’s best defensive d-man on the night a great block on a 2-on-1 late on Raiders trigger-man Brandon Herrod before King scored the 2-on-1 insurance marker.
What it means – Kootenay breaks their short two-game losing streak and avenges the Raiders breaking their 14-gamer last Saturday in the process, improving to 31-16-2-2; good for 66 points and now tied for fourth in the conference with Calgary.
Up Next: The club now heads out on a key five game road trip starting Saturday night in Spokane. They’ll head straight to Regina following the game for a make-up date with the Pats Monday night.
Game Summary:
Raiders 1 @ Ice 4
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for regular season game between the Prince Albert Raiders and the Kootenay Ice. January 29, 2010
Hayden Rintoul had two goals including the game-winner as the Kootenay Ice dropped the Prince Albert Raiders 4-1 in WHL action Friday night.
The Raiders opened the scoring with a short-handed goal by Brandon Herrod with his 31st. Kootenay tied it with Rintoul's power play goal in the last minute of the period with a wrist shot from the outside circle. After a scoreless second period Rintoul and Kevin King, with two goals, gave the Ice a 4-1 win.
Todd Mathews stopped 24 of 25 shots to get the win while Jamie Tucker stopped 27 of 30 shots in taking the loss.
First Period
1. Prince Albert, Herrod 31 (McCallum) 8:20 (sh)
2. Kootenay, Rintoul 4 (McNabb, Sylvester) 19:04 (pp)
Penalties -- Antilla Ktn (delay-of-game) 2:09, McNabb Ktn (checking-from-behind) 4:39, Reddin PA (hooking) 7:23, MacNeil PA (goaltender interference) 10:02, McNabb Ktn (interference) 10:19, Warg PA (holding) 18:44.
Second Period
No Scoring.
Penalties -- Parker PA (holding-the-stick) 3:05, Fraser Ktn (hooking) 7:47, Herle PA (tripping) 17:52.
Third Period
3. Kootenay, Rintoul 5 (McNabb, King) 2:09 (pp)
4. Kootenay, King 17 (Sylvester, Leach) 9:14
5. Kootenay, King 18 (Boomer, Sylvester) 19:39 (en)
Penalties -- Tucker PA (tripping - served by Maylan) 0:59, Ismond Ktn (roughing) 9:58.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 10 4 11 - 25
Prince Albert: 9 11 11 - 31
Goal -- Kootenay: Todd Mathews (W, 23-7-2-2) Prince Albert: Jamie Tucker (L, 18-11-0-2).
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 2-6
Prince Albert: 0-5
Referee -- Pat Smith. Linesman -- Steve Cochrane, Jeff Jobson.
Attendance -- 2943 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Elgin Pearce (healthy), Brendan Hurley (healthy).
Prince Albert: Garrett Zemlak (concussion - day-to-day), Jordan Kochan (healthy), Tyler Yaworski (healthy).
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
What Happened – Kootenay weathered an early storm by the Raiders and shrugged off giving up a short-handed goal and slowly turned the tide in their favour.
The Turning Point – With the Raiders leading 1-0 late in the first period the Ice pinned the Raiders in their own zone for what seemed like an eternity, capping off the effort with a great shot by Rintoul that rang off the post. Stefan Warg took a holding penalty and on the ensuing power play Rintoul’s floater from the far hash marks eluded Jamie Tucker and deflated his teammates.
The 2-on-1’s – Looking for a theme? Odd-man rushes, nine by my count, of the 2-on-1 variety on this night. It started with a great chance by Max Reinhart in the first only to have his stick shatter in hands with an open net staring at him. In the third period when a broken break-out resulted on a key Raider chance with the score 2-1, D Joey Leach blocked a 2-on-1 pass from Brandon Herrod to Ryan Harrison and then got the puck to Dustin Sylvester on a 2-on-1 the other way with Kevin King. King buried his 17th to make it 3-1.
The Yellow Sticks – In the warm-up and throughout most of the first period the Ice used special yellow sticks that were auctioned off in the arena concourse in the second and third periods. The auction of the sticks raised $3381 for Crohns and Colitis. Reinhart’s stick that shattered in the first was of the regular variety, having just switched sticks a shift before. Reinhart, who had a number of chances Friday, had his 8-game point-scoring streak snapped Friday. The Ice and the fans in attendance also raise over $3700 for Hungry for Life which will be matched by the Government of Canada and will go to the Haitian relief fund.
The Goals – A short-handed marker started it for the Raiders as Brayden McNabb’s point-shot was blocked at blueline and Craig McCallum sent Brandon Herrod off to the races. A shove with a stick of Kevin King to McNabb wasn't enough to catch him as the Raiders leading scorer buried his 31st on Todd Mathews' only mistake of the night… Hayden Rintoul, on a last minute power play, atoned for his shot that hit the point less than a minute earlier with a floater from the right hash-marks that Jamie Tucker didn’t see until it was behind him… In the third Rintoul as at it again on the power play as this time he fired a point-shot that rang of the post and went into the net to make it 2-1… King buried a nice 2-on-1 feed from Sylvester seven minutes later for some insurance and then did it again in the last minute into an empty net.
A tale of two teams – The Raiders, who are now tied for eighth in the conference with 55 points, are tied for the second-worst road record in the league with 5-17-1-1, a .250 clip. At home it’s a different story with the third best mark in the league at 21-6-0-1.
The Crowd – 2943, somewhat smaller than the 4410 that turned out Tuesday.
Rec Plex Three Stars
1. D Hayden Rintoul – Two goals, two posts; he could’ve had four
2. RW Kevin King - Two goals, assist
3. LW Dustin Sylvester - Three assists moves him into third in WHL scoring with 70pts
Give the honourable mention to Joey Leach, Kootenay’s best defensive d-man on the night a great block on a 2-on-1 late on Raiders trigger-man Brandon Herrod before King scored the 2-on-1 insurance marker.
What it means – Kootenay breaks their short two-game losing streak and avenges the Raiders breaking their 14-gamer last Saturday in the process, improving to 31-16-2-2; good for 66 points and now tied for fourth in the conference with Calgary.
Up Next: The club now heads out on a key five game road trip starting Saturday night in Spokane. They’ll head straight to Regina following the game for a make-up date with the Pats Monday night.
Game Summary:
Raiders 1 @ Ice 4
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for regular season game between the Prince Albert Raiders and the Kootenay Ice. January 29, 2010
Hayden Rintoul had two goals including the game-winner as the Kootenay Ice dropped the Prince Albert Raiders 4-1 in WHL action Friday night.
The Raiders opened the scoring with a short-handed goal by Brandon Herrod with his 31st. Kootenay tied it with Rintoul's power play goal in the last minute of the period with a wrist shot from the outside circle. After a scoreless second period Rintoul and Kevin King, with two goals, gave the Ice a 4-1 win.
Todd Mathews stopped 24 of 25 shots to get the win while Jamie Tucker stopped 27 of 30 shots in taking the loss.
First Period
1. Prince Albert, Herrod 31 (McCallum) 8:20 (sh)
2. Kootenay, Rintoul 4 (McNabb, Sylvester) 19:04 (pp)
Penalties -- Antilla Ktn (delay-of-game) 2:09, McNabb Ktn (checking-from-behind) 4:39, Reddin PA (hooking) 7:23, MacNeil PA (goaltender interference) 10:02, McNabb Ktn (interference) 10:19, Warg PA (holding) 18:44.
Second Period
No Scoring.
Penalties -- Parker PA (holding-the-stick) 3:05, Fraser Ktn (hooking) 7:47, Herle PA (tripping) 17:52.
Third Period
3. Kootenay, Rintoul 5 (McNabb, King) 2:09 (pp)
4. Kootenay, King 17 (Sylvester, Leach) 9:14
5. Kootenay, King 18 (Boomer, Sylvester) 19:39 (en)
Penalties -- Tucker PA (tripping - served by Maylan) 0:59, Ismond Ktn (roughing) 9:58.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 10 4 11 - 25
Prince Albert: 9 11 11 - 31
Goal -- Kootenay: Todd Mathews (W, 23-7-2-2) Prince Albert: Jamie Tucker (L, 18-11-0-2).
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 2-6
Prince Albert: 0-5
Referee -- Pat Smith. Linesman -- Steve Cochrane, Jeff Jobson.
Attendance -- 2943 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Elgin Pearce (healthy), Brendan Hurley (healthy).
Prince Albert: Garrett Zemlak (concussion - day-to-day), Jordan Kochan (healthy), Tyler Yaworski (healthy).
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Ice lose goalfest in OT
Not much of a recap here tonight because I only listened to the game, a 6-5 OT Loss to the Wheat Kings. Couldn't make it because of work commitments. UPDATE: My colleague at the Daily Townsman has the gamer right here.
I imagine the strategy wasn't to get into a shoot-out with the WHL's scoring leaders but it happened, nonetheless.
Couple of reviewed goals - one for the Ice in Steele Boomer's goal and another for the Wheaties that gave the visitors a goal long after the play had carried on.
Sounded like they were the right calls as I didn't see the replay, as was the case for the rest of the 4410 in attendance, which brings me to a very important point;
If you're going to have video replay it must be made available for all to see. Media, staff, players, coaches and especially, fans. Yes, I know the league mandate is for all arenas to have screens installed by 2012-13 but it wouldn't take much for a number of TV screens - including the ones already in the building - to be wired in so that they see what the replay team up in the both sees.
It would lend a lot more credibility to the process. Having the score change, without an announcement so that the fans and media don't have a clue that the score is 5-4 and not 5-3 as the scoreboard said through the intermission doesn't do a lot in the credibility department.
Especially in front of the largest crowd of the season.....
I imagine the strategy wasn't to get into a shoot-out with the WHL's scoring leaders but it happened, nonetheless.
Couple of reviewed goals - one for the Ice in Steele Boomer's goal and another for the Wheaties that gave the visitors a goal long after the play had carried on.
Sounded like they were the right calls as I didn't see the replay, as was the case for the rest of the 4410 in attendance, which brings me to a very important point;
If you're going to have video replay it must be made available for all to see. Media, staff, players, coaches and especially, fans. Yes, I know the league mandate is for all arenas to have screens installed by 2012-13 but it wouldn't take much for a number of TV screens - including the ones already in the building - to be wired in so that they see what the replay team up in the both sees.
It would lend a lot more credibility to the process. Having the score change, without an announcement so that the fans and media don't have a clue that the score is 5-4 and not 5-3 as the scoreboard said through the intermission doesn't do a lot in the credibility department.
Especially in front of the largest crowd of the season.....
Standing room only...
A note from the Ice office states that the game has sold over 4400 tickets for tonight's televised game.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Game rescheduled
The Regina Leader-Post is saying that next Monday the game will be made up.
Courtesy Leader-Post staff
The Regina Pats will play a rare Monday home game as the result of a postponement.
The Pats and Kootenay Ice were to play Sunday night at the Brandt Centre, but the WHL game had to be rescheduled due to poor weather conditions. The makeup game will be held Feb. 1, 7 p.m., in Regina.
All tickets for the postponed game will be valid Feb. 1. Due to the
resheduling, both teams will play six games in nine nights.
Kootenay's here against PA Friday and then in Spokane Saturday night and now must head to Regina on the Monday, head to Moose Jaw Wednesday, Brandon Friday and another game in Regina Saturday.
Courtesy Leader-Post staff
The Regina Pats will play a rare Monday home game as the result of a postponement.
The Pats and Kootenay Ice were to play Sunday night at the Brandt Centre, but the WHL game had to be rescheduled due to poor weather conditions. The makeup game will be held Feb. 1, 7 p.m., in Regina.
All tickets for the postponed game will be valid Feb. 1. Due to the
resheduling, both teams will play six games in nine nights.
Kootenay's here against PA Friday and then in Spokane Saturday night and now must head to Regina on the Monday, head to Moose Jaw Wednesday, Brandon Friday and another game in Regina Saturday.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Ice streak ends at 14; Ice-Pats game postponed...
Was searching for some highlites and found some here - click on the Blades-Ice on the right - from Kootenay's 5-4 win. And then, if you're a fan of the fisticuffs - and I am, a couple of tussles from two games here and here from PA and Calgary last week, respectively...
For the Daily Townsman...
Ice streak comes to an end; Pats game cancelled
By Jeff Bromley
All good things come to an end; good movies, engaging books, a long holiday and yes, even record-breaking winning streaks. The Kootenay Ice extended their winning ways to a franchise record 14 straight wins Friday night with a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over the East Division leading Saskatoon Blades in the Saskatchewan city but couldn’t duplicate the feat Saturday in Prince Albert, losing 5-2.
An attempt to restart the streak was scuttled Sunday when the club was stuck in Saskatoon due to a winter storm that slammed southern Saskatchewan and with parts of Highway 11 closed, travel to Regina to finish off the road trip against the Pats was impossible. The game was cancelled by the WHL and will be replayed at a later date forcing the Ice turned around and head for home Sunday afternoon. “We should be in around 1AM,” said Ice assistant coach Kris Knoblauch from the team bus somewhere east of Kindersley, Saskatchewan where road conditions were much better “Today will be more of day-off for us and we’ll be able to practice Monday to prepare for Brandon at home Tuesday night.”
Saturday against the Raiders the Ice couldn’t shake a slow start, taking three straight penalties to begin the game in which Prince Albert capitalized on two of them. Raider leading goal-getter Brandon Herrod got his 30th on the season with a shot that got past Ice starter Nathan Lieuwen 6:03 into the game. The Raiders went up 2-0 four minutes later when Herrod set up Ryan Harrison with Ryan Molle off for delay-of-game. Second period goals by Mark McNeill, on a bad angle shot that Lieuwen would liked to have back, along with another as Raiders leading point-getter Craig McCallum put the home team up 4-0 after two periods dug a hole too big for the Ice to climb out of. “We had an awful first period,” said Knoblauch. “We were short-handed three times and they went up 2-0. We responded well in the second period and were all over them. At one point we were out-shooting them in the second 8-2 and then the unfortunate third goal was kind of a back-breaker.”
“We responded well on Saturday but we got away with a slow start in Saskatoon and we weren’t able to do it against Prince Albert.”
Jesse Ismond, with his 14th, finally solved Raider goaltender Jamie Tucker at the 15:08 mark of the third period with helpers handed out to Matt Fraser and Max Reinhart. Just over two minutes later Jagger Dirk got his first WHL goal to make it 4-2 but Raider captain Dustin Cameron quelled the comeback attempt at 18:40 with an empty-net goal. “We could’ve got back into this one too,” said Knoblauch. “We should’ve have a couple of goals when it was 2-0 but we hit a couple goal posts and their goalie played really well. We’ve won games because of a hot goaltender and it’s bound to happen that we lose games because of a hot goaltender. That’s what happened in PA.”
In Saskatoon Friday Kootenay battled back from a 3-2 second period deficit starting with a successful penalty shot goal by Dustin Sylvester 4:06 into the third period. Sylvester blocked a shot at the Ice blueline with his club killing a penalty and got past Blade defenseman Jyri Niemi, who hooked him enough to draw the penalty shot. Two more goals by Matt Fraser, the last into an empty net, gave the 19-year-old the hat-trick and powered the Ice to a 5-4 win. Outshot on the night 48-21 goaltender Todd Mathews rebounded from a so-so outing Wednesday in Swift Current to earn first star honours.
Quick Hits – The league could decide as soon as today when the postponed Regina-Kootenay game could be replayed. The Ice has a jam-packed schedule in February but do return to the Prairies in two weeks for games in Brandon on February 5 and in Regina on Saturday, February 6. The clubs could be forced to play a double-header of sorts, making up the game on Sunday, February 7, a down day in the WHL due to the Super Bowl in Miami… Ice forward Max Reinhart extended his point-scoring streak (7 goals, 7 assists) to seven games with four assists over the weekend… Dominick Pacovsky, out for the past two months due to a broken foot, has been cleared to play and could play as soon as Tuesday’s home date against the Wheat Kings. Where he plays however, is another question. A second-line forward before the injury, Knoblauch said Pacovsky will start on the fourth line due to the recent success of the top three units. “We’re not going to mess around with the top three lines,” he said. “He’s not going to slide in and take somebody’s ice-time because they’re playing so well. He’ll play on the fourth line and give us some good depth.”… Kootenay’s home date against the Brandon Wheat Kings, a game televised on Shaw TV, is almost sold-out. By Saturday the Ice office had announced that over 4100 tickets had been sold in the 4264-seat Rec Plex.
For the Daily Townsman...
Ice streak comes to an end; Pats game cancelled
By Jeff Bromley
All good things come to an end; good movies, engaging books, a long holiday and yes, even record-breaking winning streaks. The Kootenay Ice extended their winning ways to a franchise record 14 straight wins Friday night with a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over the East Division leading Saskatoon Blades in the Saskatchewan city but couldn’t duplicate the feat Saturday in Prince Albert, losing 5-2.
An attempt to restart the streak was scuttled Sunday when the club was stuck in Saskatoon due to a winter storm that slammed southern Saskatchewan and with parts of Highway 11 closed, travel to Regina to finish off the road trip against the Pats was impossible. The game was cancelled by the WHL and will be replayed at a later date forcing the Ice turned around and head for home Sunday afternoon. “We should be in around 1AM,” said Ice assistant coach Kris Knoblauch from the team bus somewhere east of Kindersley, Saskatchewan where road conditions were much better “Today will be more of day-off for us and we’ll be able to practice Monday to prepare for Brandon at home Tuesday night.”
Saturday against the Raiders the Ice couldn’t shake a slow start, taking three straight penalties to begin the game in which Prince Albert capitalized on two of them. Raider leading goal-getter Brandon Herrod got his 30th on the season with a shot that got past Ice starter Nathan Lieuwen 6:03 into the game. The Raiders went up 2-0 four minutes later when Herrod set up Ryan Harrison with Ryan Molle off for delay-of-game. Second period goals by Mark McNeill, on a bad angle shot that Lieuwen would liked to have back, along with another as Raiders leading point-getter Craig McCallum put the home team up 4-0 after two periods dug a hole too big for the Ice to climb out of. “We had an awful first period,” said Knoblauch. “We were short-handed three times and they went up 2-0. We responded well in the second period and were all over them. At one point we were out-shooting them in the second 8-2 and then the unfortunate third goal was kind of a back-breaker.”
“We responded well on Saturday but we got away with a slow start in Saskatoon and we weren’t able to do it against Prince Albert.”
Jesse Ismond, with his 14th, finally solved Raider goaltender Jamie Tucker at the 15:08 mark of the third period with helpers handed out to Matt Fraser and Max Reinhart. Just over two minutes later Jagger Dirk got his first WHL goal to make it 4-2 but Raider captain Dustin Cameron quelled the comeback attempt at 18:40 with an empty-net goal. “We could’ve got back into this one too,” said Knoblauch. “We should’ve have a couple of goals when it was 2-0 but we hit a couple goal posts and their goalie played really well. We’ve won games because of a hot goaltender and it’s bound to happen that we lose games because of a hot goaltender. That’s what happened in PA.”
In Saskatoon Friday Kootenay battled back from a 3-2 second period deficit starting with a successful penalty shot goal by Dustin Sylvester 4:06 into the third period. Sylvester blocked a shot at the Ice blueline with his club killing a penalty and got past Blade defenseman Jyri Niemi, who hooked him enough to draw the penalty shot. Two more goals by Matt Fraser, the last into an empty net, gave the 19-year-old the hat-trick and powered the Ice to a 5-4 win. Outshot on the night 48-21 goaltender Todd Mathews rebounded from a so-so outing Wednesday in Swift Current to earn first star honours.
Quick Hits – The league could decide as soon as today when the postponed Regina-Kootenay game could be replayed. The Ice has a jam-packed schedule in February but do return to the Prairies in two weeks for games in Brandon on February 5 and in Regina on Saturday, February 6. The clubs could be forced to play a double-header of sorts, making up the game on Sunday, February 7, a down day in the WHL due to the Super Bowl in Miami… Ice forward Max Reinhart extended his point-scoring streak (7 goals, 7 assists) to seven games with four assists over the weekend… Dominick Pacovsky, out for the past two months due to a broken foot, has been cleared to play and could play as soon as Tuesday’s home date against the Wheat Kings. Where he plays however, is another question. A second-line forward before the injury, Knoblauch said Pacovsky will start on the fourth line due to the recent success of the top three units. “We’re not going to mess around with the top three lines,” he said. “He’s not going to slide in and take somebody’s ice-time because they’re playing so well. He’ll play on the fourth line and give us some good depth.”… Kootenay’s home date against the Brandon Wheat Kings, a game televised on Shaw TV, is almost sold-out. By Saturday the Ice office had announced that over 4100 tickets had been sold in the 4264-seat Rec Plex.
Some Dynamiter stuff....
For the Daily Townsman...
Nitros gain weekend split; fail to gain ground in standings
by Jeff Bromley
One step back, one step forward was the weekend theme as the Kimberley Dynamiters’ inconsistencies showed in a split against divisional rivals Creston and Columbia Valley left the club in the same spot they started the weekend, in fourth place in the KIJHL’s Eddie Mountain Division. On Friday at the Civic Centre the Nitros entertained the road-weary Thunder Cats, who returned from a two-game set against the Fernie Ghostriders mid-week in Whitehorse, and couldn’t find their offense in a 3-1 loss. 24 hours later the Dynamiters took out their offensive frustrations on the Rockies, dumping the division’s worst team 8-1. “It’s always good to get some goals and get some confidence going with the guys,” said Dynamiter head coach Kevin Mackay. “At times we’ve struggled to score some goals like we did last night but we battled through tonight, got some opportunities and made our chances count.”
The chances, there were a lot of them. Kimberley opened the scoring with Corey Allan’s 19th of the season 3:16 into the game with a wrist-shot that beat Columbia Valley’s starter Cameron Dagg, one of the 20 he faced in the first. Kimberley got two more on goals by Matt Foster and D Trevor Grier before the Rockies got their only goal of the night when Julian Fraser beat Micheal Smith at 13:30 for a 3-1 Nitro lead after one.
Kimberley continued the offensive onslaught in the second period, pounding Dagg with 29 shots, five of which ended up behind the 17-year-old who on this night was just under his ballooned 8.02 goals against average this season. Allen and Foster gave Kimberley a 5-1 lead before J.T. Ward made it 6-1 at 11:14 mark. Two more goals in the period’s last two minutes by Mason Spear and 16-year-old rookie Taylor McDowell, who got his 5th with a minute made the score 8-1.
The Dynamiters got some unexpected offense from their injury riddled line-up with 18-year-old Calgary product Trevor Grier chipped with a goal and two assists. “It just felt good for me tonight,” said Grier who originally was credited a four-point game but had one assist taken away. “I kept my feet moving, kept the puck on my stick and just went with it.”
A scoreless third period was marked by the unusual event of a goalie fight with less than two minutes left in the game. During a post-whistle scrum to the right of Nitro goaltender Michael Smith Rockies goaltender Cameron Dagg skated the length of the ice and challenged Smith to a fight. Perhaps frustrated by his teammates lack of offense or just sick of seeing more rubber than the highway his bus rode in on after seeing 59 shots fired at him, Dagg’s action shocked and angered Mackay. “It’s ridiculous,” he said, recalling a similar incident between him and his now assistant coach in the 1990’s. “Jay (Nelson) and I were talking and I had a goaltender by the name of Wade Dubielewicz and him and the Cranbrook goalie wanted to fight and they did. Wade threw out his shoulder and was gone for the playoffs. That’s how silly that is. There’s not much (goaltender) Smith could do but he answered the bell. But it’s ridiculous to me.”
Nitro Notes – The loss Friday against Creston was costly in the standings and in the injury department. D Corson Johnstone didn’t dress due to a concussion but could return next week. LW Chad Filatoff, F Kieran Spice and forward Brennan Romanovitch all went down to injury with undisclosed injuries and did not play Saturday night. Their status for next weekend is uncertain... The goaltender fight situation Mackay speaks of was when he was the coach of the Fernie Ghostriders in 1997-98. Current Nitro assistant coach Jay Nelson was the President and GM of the Cranbrook Colts of the RMJHL and the goaltender Dubielewicz fought was Sean Herdman… The Dynamiters host the Chase Chiefs next Saturday at the Civic Centre.
Nitros gain weekend split; fail to gain ground in standings
by Jeff Bromley
One step back, one step forward was the weekend theme as the Kimberley Dynamiters’ inconsistencies showed in a split against divisional rivals Creston and Columbia Valley left the club in the same spot they started the weekend, in fourth place in the KIJHL’s Eddie Mountain Division. On Friday at the Civic Centre the Nitros entertained the road-weary Thunder Cats, who returned from a two-game set against the Fernie Ghostriders mid-week in Whitehorse, and couldn’t find their offense in a 3-1 loss. 24 hours later the Dynamiters took out their offensive frustrations on the Rockies, dumping the division’s worst team 8-1. “It’s always good to get some goals and get some confidence going with the guys,” said Dynamiter head coach Kevin Mackay. “At times we’ve struggled to score some goals like we did last night but we battled through tonight, got some opportunities and made our chances count.”
The chances, there were a lot of them. Kimberley opened the scoring with Corey Allan’s 19th of the season 3:16 into the game with a wrist-shot that beat Columbia Valley’s starter Cameron Dagg, one of the 20 he faced in the first. Kimberley got two more on goals by Matt Foster and D Trevor Grier before the Rockies got their only goal of the night when Julian Fraser beat Micheal Smith at 13:30 for a 3-1 Nitro lead after one.
Kimberley continued the offensive onslaught in the second period, pounding Dagg with 29 shots, five of which ended up behind the 17-year-old who on this night was just under his ballooned 8.02 goals against average this season. Allen and Foster gave Kimberley a 5-1 lead before J.T. Ward made it 6-1 at 11:14 mark. Two more goals in the period’s last two minutes by Mason Spear and 16-year-old rookie Taylor McDowell, who got his 5th with a minute made the score 8-1.
The Dynamiters got some unexpected offense from their injury riddled line-up with 18-year-old Calgary product Trevor Grier chipped with a goal and two assists. “It just felt good for me tonight,” said Grier who originally was credited a four-point game but had one assist taken away. “I kept my feet moving, kept the puck on my stick and just went with it.”
A scoreless third period was marked by the unusual event of a goalie fight with less than two minutes left in the game. During a post-whistle scrum to the right of Nitro goaltender Michael Smith Rockies goaltender Cameron Dagg skated the length of the ice and challenged Smith to a fight. Perhaps frustrated by his teammates lack of offense or just sick of seeing more rubber than the highway his bus rode in on after seeing 59 shots fired at him, Dagg’s action shocked and angered Mackay. “It’s ridiculous,” he said, recalling a similar incident between him and his now assistant coach in the 1990’s. “Jay (Nelson) and I were talking and I had a goaltender by the name of Wade Dubielewicz and him and the Cranbrook goalie wanted to fight and they did. Wade threw out his shoulder and was gone for the playoffs. That’s how silly that is. There’s not much (goaltender) Smith could do but he answered the bell. But it’s ridiculous to me.”
Nitro Notes – The loss Friday against Creston was costly in the standings and in the injury department. D Corson Johnstone didn’t dress due to a concussion but could return next week. LW Chad Filatoff, F Kieran Spice and forward Brennan Romanovitch all went down to injury with undisclosed injuries and did not play Saturday night. Their status for next weekend is uncertain... The goaltender fight situation Mackay speaks of was when he was the coach of the Fernie Ghostriders in 1997-98. Current Nitro assistant coach Jay Nelson was the President and GM of the Cranbrook Colts of the RMJHL and the goaltender Dubielewicz fought was Sean Herdman… The Dynamiters host the Chase Chiefs next Saturday at the Civic Centre.
Game CANCELLED
UPDATE - The game has now been cancelled because of the road conditions and will be made up at a later date. More later...
Because of the horrendous conditions in Saskatchewan the Ice-Pats game has at least been pushed back to a 7PM (Cranbrook time) face-off, as per Pats broadcaster Rod Pederson.
Ice radio voice Jeff Hollick is reporting that the Ice haven't left Saskatoon yet because of the white-out conditions. The game could be postponed.
Because of the horrendous conditions in Saskatchewan the Ice-Pats game has at least been pushed back to a 7PM (Cranbrook time) face-off, as per Pats broadcaster Rod Pederson.
Ice radio voice Jeff Hollick is reporting that the Ice haven't left Saskatoon yet because of the white-out conditions. The game could be postponed.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
All good things...
The streak ended tonight at 14 with a 5-2 loss at the hands of the Prince Albert Raiders.
Kootenay spotted the Raiders a 4-0 before finally solving Raider goaltender Jamie Tucker when Jesse Ismond scored 15 minutes into the third period to make it 4-1. Jagger Dirk got his first WHL goal a few minutes later to make things interesting before the Raiders potted an empty-netter.
Things tightened up in the standings as the Tigers leap-frogged the Ice with their 9-2 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings into fourth.
More tommorrow after the Pats...
Kootenay spotted the Raiders a 4-0 before finally solving Raider goaltender Jamie Tucker when Jesse Ismond scored 15 minutes into the third period to make it 4-1. Jagger Dirk got his first WHL goal a few minutes later to make things interesting before the Raiders potted an empty-netter.
Things tightened up in the standings as the Tigers leap-frogged the Ice with their 9-2 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings into fourth.
More tommorrow after the Pats...
Friday, January 22, 2010
And the streak continues....
Kootenay pushed their winning ways to 14 tonight in Saskatoon with a 5-4 decision over the Blades. Cory Wolfe will have a piece up in the Star-Phoenix overnight.
Dustin Sylvester continued his torried scoring pace with two goals, including a penalty shot marker in the third to tie the game at 3.
Sylvester opened the scoring before Stefan Elliot tied it. The Ice went up 2-1 on a strange goal in which clearing pass went off the linesman's skate straight to Max Reinhart who then found Matt Fraser. The Blades tied it again and then went up 3-2 headed into the third. After Sylvester tied it Fraser put Kootenay up by two with his second of the night and then put the hat-trick goal into the empty-net. The Blades scored a late one to make it a one-goal game.
Todd Mathews rebounded from a so-so outing Wednesday to stop 40 of 44 shots for his 22nd win of the season and 11th straight, a new franchise record.
Lots of chatter about the two goals the Blades had waived off, one after referee Reagan Vetter lost site of the puck and blew it dead early and then another when Ice D-man Hayden Rintoul was hit in the face by a puck. Charles Inglis picked up the puck and scored but Vetter blew the play down.
Neverless the Ice found yet another way to win, this time being down a goal headed into the third period to push their record to 30-15-1-2; 63 points. Good for 4th in the Eastern Conference and still a point out of first place in the Central behind the Hitmen, who blasted the Warriors 5-0 tonight in Calgary.
I figured this game would be the one to break the streak with the Blades motivated to avenge the embarassing 8-1 blast here a few weekes back. Saturday the club is in PA, who lost tonight in Brandon 6-2 and has to travel back to PA, almost an eight-hour drive. Kootenay's got about a two-hour drive. PA also lost their starting goaltender Garrett Zemlack last week when Brandon forward Shayne Wiebe collided with him. Zemlak is out at least until next week and Wiebe got three games from the WHL.
PA Saturday night and Regina on Sunday. The Ice return home to host the Wheat Kings Tuesday night for a game televised on Shaw. Ticket sales for the game stand at over 4100 for the 4264-seat Rec Plex, leaving standing room only. The record for a home game at the Plex is 4654 set in Game Seven of the 07 Playoff with a double-OT loss to the Calgary Hitmen, if memory serves, though I'm sure there was another game that hit the 4700 mark.
Dustin Sylvester continued his torried scoring pace with two goals, including a penalty shot marker in the third to tie the game at 3.
Sylvester opened the scoring before Stefan Elliot tied it. The Ice went up 2-1 on a strange goal in which clearing pass went off the linesman's skate straight to Max Reinhart who then found Matt Fraser. The Blades tied it again and then went up 3-2 headed into the third. After Sylvester tied it Fraser put Kootenay up by two with his second of the night and then put the hat-trick goal into the empty-net. The Blades scored a late one to make it a one-goal game.
Todd Mathews rebounded from a so-so outing Wednesday to stop 40 of 44 shots for his 22nd win of the season and 11th straight, a new franchise record.
Lots of chatter about the two goals the Blades had waived off, one after referee Reagan Vetter lost site of the puck and blew it dead early and then another when Ice D-man Hayden Rintoul was hit in the face by a puck. Charles Inglis picked up the puck and scored but Vetter blew the play down.
Neverless the Ice found yet another way to win, this time being down a goal headed into the third period to push their record to 30-15-1-2; 63 points. Good for 4th in the Eastern Conference and still a point out of first place in the Central behind the Hitmen, who blasted the Warriors 5-0 tonight in Calgary.
I figured this game would be the one to break the streak with the Blades motivated to avenge the embarassing 8-1 blast here a few weekes back. Saturday the club is in PA, who lost tonight in Brandon 6-2 and has to travel back to PA, almost an eight-hour drive. Kootenay's got about a two-hour drive. PA also lost their starting goaltender Garrett Zemlack last week when Brandon forward Shayne Wiebe collided with him. Zemlak is out at least until next week and Wiebe got three games from the WHL.
PA Saturday night and Regina on Sunday. The Ice return home to host the Wheat Kings Tuesday night for a game televised on Shaw. Ticket sales for the game stand at over 4100 for the 4264-seat Rec Plex, leaving standing room only. The record for a home game at the Plex is 4654 set in Game Seven of the 07 Playoff with a double-OT loss to the Calgary Hitmen, if memory serves, though I'm sure there was another game that hit the 4700 mark.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Lucky 13...
The Ice made it 13 straight wins with a wild one in an 8-6 win over the Swift Current Broncos in Speedy Creek Wednesday.
Dustin Sylvester had a goal and four assists for a five point night and is now 5th in WHL scoring with 64 points.
Steele Boomer had his first career hat-trick and now has 19 on the season.
Todd Mathews set a franchise record with his 10th straight win, though I wonder how many goaltenders set team records for consecutive wins that were actually pulled? Nathan Lieuwen came on in relief after Mathews surrendered two goals to let the Broncos back in a 7-4 game.
It wasn't a defensive gem, for sure, and reminded me of the goal-fests of the 80's.
Former Ice forward Michael Stickland was a minus-5, ouch.
Dustin Sylvester had a goal and four assists for a five point night and is now 5th in WHL scoring with 64 points.
Steele Boomer had his first career hat-trick and now has 19 on the season.
Todd Mathews set a franchise record with his 10th straight win, though I wonder how many goaltenders set team records for consecutive wins that were actually pulled? Nathan Lieuwen came on in relief after Mathews surrendered two goals to let the Broncos back in a 7-4 game.
It wasn't a defensive gem, for sure, and reminded me of the goal-fests of the 80's.
Former Ice forward Michael Stickland was a minus-5, ouch.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Make it 12...
The Kootenay Ice set a franchise record yesterday with their 12th straight win with a 3-1 decision over the Calgary Hitmen last night at the Saddledome.
Max Reinhart, Jesse Ismond and Brock Montgomery got the goals for the Ice while Brandon Kozun broke Todd Mathews' shut-out bid halfway through the third with a short-handed goal.
Scott Fisher has the Sun's take on the game here.
Ismond, 18, was named the WHL's Player of the Week with 7 points (4 goals and 3 assists) this morning.
Max Reinhart, Jesse Ismond and Brock Montgomery got the goals for the Ice while Brandon Kozun broke Todd Mathews' shut-out bid halfway through the third with a short-handed goal.
Scott Fisher has the Sun's take on the game here.
Ismond, 18, was named the WHL's Player of the Week with 7 points (4 goals and 3 assists) this morning.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Ice make it 11 straight wins...
The Score – Spokane 3 – Kootenay 4
What Happened – After the first period the streak looked to be in danger but a better effort to start the second signalled the turnaround and the team’s 11th straight win.
The Turning Point – The second period. After a less-than-stellar opening frame the Ice matched the Chiefs speed, scored three goals and controlled the play from then on.
The Goals – Before many of the Rec Plex faithful got to their seats the Ice opened the scoring on a three-on-two rush in which Dustin Sylvester fired a shot at James Reid that a streaking Kevin King got a stick on that put the puck between his pads to make it 1-0… The Chiefs tied it while shorthanded when a Brayden McNabb point-shot was blocked by Blake Gal, the Chief forward sped around a prone McNabb, who fell, and went in on a 2-on-1, firing his 7th past Todd Mathews… The Chiefs took a 2-1 lead with McNabb off for hooking when Stefan Ulmer fired a point-shot that got Mathews crouching down looking for the puck. He found it in the net after it went over his left shoulder… The Ice tied it at two with one of their first shifts in which they out-hustled the visitors, Luke Paulsen fired a shot that Steele Boomer deflected in. The play was reviewed but ruled a good goal… The play was contagious as two minutes later a similar shift by the Ice – this time by second line – when Reinhart pounced on an errant puck in the slot, turned and fired a blast over the glove of James Reid… The Ice went up 4-2 on the power play when McNabb faked the 20-foot blast from the slot, dished to Sylvester who rifled his 24th cap off a three-goal middle period… The Chiefs got back into the game late with a power play goal six seconds after Steele Boomer was sent off for hooking but that’s as close as they’d get.
The road team? – The Chiefs – halfway through an eight-game road in what seems to be the year of monster road trips in the WHL, this time because of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at the Spokane Arena – looked nothing like a tired team in the first, controlling much of the play.
Life’s not a Beach – The former first round pick, once the darling of the up-and-comers, was traded back to the U.S. Division earlier this season from Lethbridge and didn’t do a lot to impress. Wouldn’t go to the high-traffic areas and took a bad penalty in the second that cost his team a goal.
Wrong Bench – The biggest non-goal cheer of the night game late in the second when Chief forward Anthony Bardaro – stat sheet says he's from Delta but sounds like he's from Jersey, no? – went for the big hit at the Ice bench, missed and went ass over tea kettle into the Ice bench.
Hit of the night – In the third Spokane’s big D-man Jared Cowen – all 6’5”, 220lbs of him - caught Drew Czerwonka behind the Chiefs net with a shot that levelled the 6’2” 200-lb forward.
Rough night for the sticks – Seven, I counted, of the $300 twigs snapped on this night, that's pricey.
The Break – With over eight seconds left in the game D James Martin got possession of the puck on his side of the redline. With the deafening noise of a jacked-up Rec Plex crowd yelling at him to shoot at the empty-net, he did. He missed the net but the linesman missed the icing call. The Chiefs were livid but the game was over.
The Crowd – 3326 – Biggest crowd of the season, along with the biggest 50/50 this year, $3100 to the lucky winner.
Daily Townsman Three Stars
1. C Dustin Sylvester – Yeah, you could give him a star almost every night but on this one he got his 100th of his WHL career, and chipped in two assists.
2. D Luke Paulsen – Big helper on the tying goal
3. C Dominik Uher – Goal and an assist
What it means – Kootenay ties a franchise record with their 11th straight win, a feat matched twice before in December-January of 2004-05 and in January of 2007. At 27-15-1-2; 57 points, Kootenay is still fifth in the Eastern Conference, three points back of the Calgary Hitmen for fourth who they’ll try to beat at the Saddledome Sunday for the club record.
Up Next – Calgary Hitmen in a key Central Division match-up. 5PM (102.9 – The Drive)
Summary:
Chiefs 3 @ Ice 4
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for regular season game between the Spokane Chiefs and the Kootenay Ice. January 16, 2010.
Dustin Sylvester scored a goal - the 100th of his WHL career - and an added two assists as the Kootenay Ice won their 11th straight game, beating the Spokane Chiefs 4-3 in WHL action Saturday.
Kootenay opened the scoring with a deflection by Kevin King but the Chiefs tied it on a short-handed marker and then took a 2-1 first-period lead on goals by Blake Gal and Stefan Ulmer. Kootenay roared back in the second with three straight goals by Steele Boomer, Max Reinhart and Sylvester to take a 4-2 lead into the second intermission. The Chiefs made it a one-goal game late on a power play goal by Dominik Uher but wouldn't get any closer.
Todd Mathews stopped 24 of 27 shots to get the win while James Reid turned aside 28 of 32 shots to take the loss. The win ties a franchise record for the Ice.
First Period
1. Kootenay, King 16 (Sylvester, Boomer) 1:20
2. Spokane, Gal 7 8:36 (sh)
3. Spokane, Ulmer 5 (Johnson, Uher) 17:18 (pp)
Penalties -- Uher Spo (goaltender interferenc) 8:27, McNabb Ktn (hooking) 16:33, Reinhart Ktn (hooking) 18:56.
Second Period
4. Kootenay, Boomer 16 (Paulsen, Sylvester) 7:38
5. Kootenay, Reinhart, 14 (Ismond, Leach) 9:38
6. Kootenay, Sylvester 24 (McNabb, Rintoul) 12:07 (pp)
Penalties -- Bardaro Spo (tripping) Hurley Ktn (tripping) 2:13, Spokane Bench (too-many-men - served by Cratsenberg) 4:37, Beach Spo (roughing) 10:31.
Third Period
7. Spokane, Uher 3 (Wahl, Spurgeon) 17:59 (pp)
Penalties -- Bartman Spo (cross-checking) 4:15, Rintoul Ktn (holding) 12:04, Boomer Ktn (hooking) 17:53.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 10 14 8 - 32
Spokane: 12 6 9 - 27
Goal -- Kootenay: Todd Mathews (W, 19-7-1-2) Spokane: James Reid (L, 21-11-3-1)
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 1-4
Spokane: 2-4
Referee -- Colby Smith, Ryan Bonnett. Linesman -- Tyler Adair, Jim Maniago.
Attendance -- 3326 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Jagger Dirk (healthy), Dominick Pacovsky (foot - week-to-week).
Spokane: Tanner Mort (head - week-to-week), Kenton Miller (healthy), Matt Marantz (leg - five weeks).
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
What Happened – After the first period the streak looked to be in danger but a better effort to start the second signalled the turnaround and the team’s 11th straight win.
The Turning Point – The second period. After a less-than-stellar opening frame the Ice matched the Chiefs speed, scored three goals and controlled the play from then on.
The Goals – Before many of the Rec Plex faithful got to their seats the Ice opened the scoring on a three-on-two rush in which Dustin Sylvester fired a shot at James Reid that a streaking Kevin King got a stick on that put the puck between his pads to make it 1-0… The Chiefs tied it while shorthanded when a Brayden McNabb point-shot was blocked by Blake Gal, the Chief forward sped around a prone McNabb, who fell, and went in on a 2-on-1, firing his 7th past Todd Mathews… The Chiefs took a 2-1 lead with McNabb off for hooking when Stefan Ulmer fired a point-shot that got Mathews crouching down looking for the puck. He found it in the net after it went over his left shoulder… The Ice tied it at two with one of their first shifts in which they out-hustled the visitors, Luke Paulsen fired a shot that Steele Boomer deflected in. The play was reviewed but ruled a good goal… The play was contagious as two minutes later a similar shift by the Ice – this time by second line – when Reinhart pounced on an errant puck in the slot, turned and fired a blast over the glove of James Reid… The Ice went up 4-2 on the power play when McNabb faked the 20-foot blast from the slot, dished to Sylvester who rifled his 24th cap off a three-goal middle period… The Chiefs got back into the game late with a power play goal six seconds after Steele Boomer was sent off for hooking but that’s as close as they’d get.
The road team? – The Chiefs – halfway through an eight-game road in what seems to be the year of monster road trips in the WHL, this time because of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at the Spokane Arena – looked nothing like a tired team in the first, controlling much of the play.
Life’s not a Beach – The former first round pick, once the darling of the up-and-comers, was traded back to the U.S. Division earlier this season from Lethbridge and didn’t do a lot to impress. Wouldn’t go to the high-traffic areas and took a bad penalty in the second that cost his team a goal.
Wrong Bench – The biggest non-goal cheer of the night game late in the second when Chief forward Anthony Bardaro – stat sheet says he's from Delta but sounds like he's from Jersey, no? – went for the big hit at the Ice bench, missed and went ass over tea kettle into the Ice bench.
Hit of the night – In the third Spokane’s big D-man Jared Cowen – all 6’5”, 220lbs of him - caught Drew Czerwonka behind the Chiefs net with a shot that levelled the 6’2” 200-lb forward.
Rough night for the sticks – Seven, I counted, of the $300 twigs snapped on this night, that's pricey.
The Break – With over eight seconds left in the game D James Martin got possession of the puck on his side of the redline. With the deafening noise of a jacked-up Rec Plex crowd yelling at him to shoot at the empty-net, he did. He missed the net but the linesman missed the icing call. The Chiefs were livid but the game was over.
The Crowd – 3326 – Biggest crowd of the season, along with the biggest 50/50 this year, $3100 to the lucky winner.
Daily Townsman Three Stars
1. C Dustin Sylvester – Yeah, you could give him a star almost every night but on this one he got his 100th of his WHL career, and chipped in two assists.
2. D Luke Paulsen – Big helper on the tying goal
3. C Dominik Uher – Goal and an assist
What it means – Kootenay ties a franchise record with their 11th straight win, a feat matched twice before in December-January of 2004-05 and in January of 2007. At 27-15-1-2; 57 points, Kootenay is still fifth in the Eastern Conference, three points back of the Calgary Hitmen for fourth who they’ll try to beat at the Saddledome Sunday for the club record.
Up Next – Calgary Hitmen in a key Central Division match-up. 5PM (102.9 – The Drive)
Summary:
Chiefs 3 @ Ice 4
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for regular season game between the Spokane Chiefs and the Kootenay Ice. January 16, 2010.
Dustin Sylvester scored a goal - the 100th of his WHL career - and an added two assists as the Kootenay Ice won their 11th straight game, beating the Spokane Chiefs 4-3 in WHL action Saturday.
Kootenay opened the scoring with a deflection by Kevin King but the Chiefs tied it on a short-handed marker and then took a 2-1 first-period lead on goals by Blake Gal and Stefan Ulmer. Kootenay roared back in the second with three straight goals by Steele Boomer, Max Reinhart and Sylvester to take a 4-2 lead into the second intermission. The Chiefs made it a one-goal game late on a power play goal by Dominik Uher but wouldn't get any closer.
Todd Mathews stopped 24 of 27 shots to get the win while James Reid turned aside 28 of 32 shots to take the loss. The win ties a franchise record for the Ice.
First Period
1. Kootenay, King 16 (Sylvester, Boomer) 1:20
2. Spokane, Gal 7 8:36 (sh)
3. Spokane, Ulmer 5 (Johnson, Uher) 17:18 (pp)
Penalties -- Uher Spo (goaltender interferenc) 8:27, McNabb Ktn (hooking) 16:33, Reinhart Ktn (hooking) 18:56.
Second Period
4. Kootenay, Boomer 16 (Paulsen, Sylvester) 7:38
5. Kootenay, Reinhart, 14 (Ismond, Leach) 9:38
6. Kootenay, Sylvester 24 (McNabb, Rintoul) 12:07 (pp)
Penalties -- Bardaro Spo (tripping) Hurley Ktn (tripping) 2:13, Spokane Bench (too-many-men - served by Cratsenberg) 4:37, Beach Spo (roughing) 10:31.
Third Period
7. Spokane, Uher 3 (Wahl, Spurgeon) 17:59 (pp)
Penalties -- Bartman Spo (cross-checking) 4:15, Rintoul Ktn (holding) 12:04, Boomer Ktn (hooking) 17:53.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 10 14 8 - 32
Spokane: 12 6 9 - 27
Goal -- Kootenay: Todd Mathews (W, 19-7-1-2) Spokane: James Reid (L, 21-11-3-1)
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 1-4
Spokane: 2-4
Referee -- Colby Smith, Ryan Bonnett. Linesman -- Tyler Adair, Jim Maniago.
Attendance -- 3326 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Jagger Dirk (healthy), Dominick Pacovsky (foot - week-to-week).
Spokane: Tanner Mort (head - week-to-week), Kenton Miller (healthy), Matt Marantz (leg - five weeks).
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Ice win nine/deadline
For BC HockeyNow...
Winning streak jumpstarts Ice
by Jeff Bromley
If you’re a hockey team in search of an identity - rebuilding, middle of the pack or real contender – one thing will go a long way in determining just where you fit in; winning.
The Kootenay Ice have done just that – nine straight before Wednesday’s rare morning game in Edmonton against the Oil Kings – and are on a two-month long roll that now sees the club pushing the top clubs for contention in the Eastern Conference standings following a 2-1 home-ice win over the Red Deer Rebels Saturday night. "We challenged our group: good teams find ways to win, and they found a way, said Ice head coach Mark Holick. “Maybe earlier in the year they don't win that game. Maybe Red Deer scores and we pack up shop. We were a pretty resilient group; we made a lot of strides here.”
Down goal in the third period of a goaltender’s dual between Kootenay’s Todd Mathews and Red Deer’s Darcy Kuemper on Saturday, North Vancouver’s Max Reinhart scored two goals less than three minutes apart in the late stages of the game to give Kootenay their ninth straight win. “We really did show that we can come from behind, and that's playoff hockey right there,” said Reinhart, whose name appeared on the NHL Central Scouting mid-term rankings Monday in the number 157 spot among North American skaters eligible for the 2010 NHL Draft. “We have to keep playing like that if we want to keep going far.”
Exactly how far they’ll go this spring is anybody’s guess. Sporting a 20-4-1-2 record since October 30 the Ice have climbed from the conference cellar to sole possession of fifth, seven points out of first place in the Central Division with four games in hand over the division-leading Medicine Hat Tigers. It was with that premise in mind that GM Jeff Chynoweth went shopping at the trade deadline January 10looking for an upgrade, specifically an impact 20-year-old that would bring the club’s total to the league-mandated limit of three, joining LW Dustin Sylvester and D Ryan Molle. “You’re always wanting to tinker and if the right deal comes along, we’ll do that," said Chynoweth. "Ideally, we’d like to add another 20-year-old. But it has to be the right 20-year-old. We don’t want it to affect our chemistry.”
Chynoweth couldn’t find the right deal, opting instead to pare his roster down to 22 players at the deadline, dealing import defenseman Petr Senkerik, 18, to the Prince George Cougars in exchange for a 5th round Bantam Draft pick in 2011. “We made some significant offers for some older forwards that just came up a little bit short,” Chyoweth told the Cranbrook Daily Townsman. "Unfortunately, we couldn't get it done but as an organization we did whatever we could to make our team better. When you make a trade, you have to have two sides agree and we just couldn't get both sides on the same page.”
"This trade allows us the opportunity to give (defensemen) Luke Paulsen and Jagger Dirk more ice time. By getting down to seven defenseman it allows both of them to continue their development playing their regular positions."
Quick Hits – Joining Reinhart on the NHL’s mid-term rankings was teammate Brock Montgomery, 17. Montgomery was an un-drafted list player who made the club out of training camp and has 4 goals and 9 assists. He’s ranked 176th among 211 North American skaters… RW Kevin King and C Steele Boomer, two-thirds of the club’s top line, are day-to-day with minor injuries. King tweaked his knee in an 8-1 win over the Saskatoon Blades and Boomer was held out for precautionary reasons after hitting the dasher in Kootenay’s 2-1 win over Red Deer. Kootenay’s remaining import, forward Dominik Pacovsky, is still two weeks away with a broken foot… LW Dustin Sylvester has points in every game of the nine-game winning streak, with 8 goals and 11 assists in the past nine games… Kootenay’s team record for consecutive wins is 11, set in January of 2005.
Winning streak jumpstarts Ice
by Jeff Bromley
If you’re a hockey team in search of an identity - rebuilding, middle of the pack or real contender – one thing will go a long way in determining just where you fit in; winning.
The Kootenay Ice have done just that – nine straight before Wednesday’s rare morning game in Edmonton against the Oil Kings – and are on a two-month long roll that now sees the club pushing the top clubs for contention in the Eastern Conference standings following a 2-1 home-ice win over the Red Deer Rebels Saturday night. "We challenged our group: good teams find ways to win, and they found a way, said Ice head coach Mark Holick. “Maybe earlier in the year they don't win that game. Maybe Red Deer scores and we pack up shop. We were a pretty resilient group; we made a lot of strides here.”
Down goal in the third period of a goaltender’s dual between Kootenay’s Todd Mathews and Red Deer’s Darcy Kuemper on Saturday, North Vancouver’s Max Reinhart scored two goals less than three minutes apart in the late stages of the game to give Kootenay their ninth straight win. “We really did show that we can come from behind, and that's playoff hockey right there,” said Reinhart, whose name appeared on the NHL Central Scouting mid-term rankings Monday in the number 157 spot among North American skaters eligible for the 2010 NHL Draft. “We have to keep playing like that if we want to keep going far.”
Exactly how far they’ll go this spring is anybody’s guess. Sporting a 20-4-1-2 record since October 30 the Ice have climbed from the conference cellar to sole possession of fifth, seven points out of first place in the Central Division with four games in hand over the division-leading Medicine Hat Tigers. It was with that premise in mind that GM Jeff Chynoweth went shopping at the trade deadline January 10looking for an upgrade, specifically an impact 20-year-old that would bring the club’s total to the league-mandated limit of three, joining LW Dustin Sylvester and D Ryan Molle. “You’re always wanting to tinker and if the right deal comes along, we’ll do that," said Chynoweth. "Ideally, we’d like to add another 20-year-old. But it has to be the right 20-year-old. We don’t want it to affect our chemistry.”
Chynoweth couldn’t find the right deal, opting instead to pare his roster down to 22 players at the deadline, dealing import defenseman Petr Senkerik, 18, to the Prince George Cougars in exchange for a 5th round Bantam Draft pick in 2011. “We made some significant offers for some older forwards that just came up a little bit short,” Chyoweth told the Cranbrook Daily Townsman. "Unfortunately, we couldn't get it done but as an organization we did whatever we could to make our team better. When you make a trade, you have to have two sides agree and we just couldn't get both sides on the same page.”
"This trade allows us the opportunity to give (defensemen) Luke Paulsen and Jagger Dirk more ice time. By getting down to seven defenseman it allows both of them to continue their development playing their regular positions."
Quick Hits – Joining Reinhart on the NHL’s mid-term rankings was teammate Brock Montgomery, 17. Montgomery was an un-drafted list player who made the club out of training camp and has 4 goals and 9 assists. He’s ranked 176th among 211 North American skaters… RW Kevin King and C Steele Boomer, two-thirds of the club’s top line, are day-to-day with minor injuries. King tweaked his knee in an 8-1 win over the Saskatoon Blades and Boomer was held out for precautionary reasons after hitting the dasher in Kootenay’s 2-1 win over Red Deer. Kootenay’s remaining import, forward Dominik Pacovsky, is still two weeks away with a broken foot… LW Dustin Sylvester has points in every game of the nine-game winning streak, with 8 goals and 11 assists in the past nine games… Kootenay’s team record for consecutive wins is 11, set in January of 2005.
Monday, January 11, 2010
NHL Central Scouting Mid-term rankings released
NHL Central Scouting released their mid-term rankings today and two Ice players - Max Reinhart and Brock Montgomery - found their names among the top 200 North American players.
Reinhart, though not a lock, would be a surpise ommision from the list had he not made it but the big surprise has to be the burly power forward in Montgomery. A list player not drafted in his 2007 Bantam Draft year, the 17-year-old Moose Jaw product made the club out of training camp and has produced 9 goals and 4 assist on the season.
Reinhart, though not a lock, would be a surpise ommision from the list had he not made it but the big surprise has to be the burly power forward in Montgomery. A list player not drafted in his 2007 Bantam Draft year, the 17-year-old Moose Jaw product made the club out of training camp and has produced 9 goals and 4 assist on the season.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
One Ice deal
So far Kootenay's traded D Petr Senkerik to the Prince George Cougars for a 2011 5th Round Bantam Pick.
It opens up a spot for a import but the question is will it be filled. Edmonton's Vincour has been dealt to Vancouver and PG's Marek Viedensky is going to Saskatoon.
Matt Coxford at the Townsmas has a story here.
It opens up a spot for a import but the question is will it be filled. Edmonton's Vincour has been dealt to Vancouver and PG's Marek Viedensky is going to Saskatoon.
Matt Coxford at the Townsmas has a story here.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Make it Nine straight....
The Score – Kootenay 2 - Red Deer 1
What Happened – A goaltending duel between Todd Mathews and Darcy Kuemper threatened to go the distance until Josh Cowen and Max Reinhart busted things open.
The Turning Point – Hayden Rintoul corralled a long pass as he stepped out of the penalty box and then found Reinhart as the trailer to scored the game-winner.
The Injury – Forward Steele Boomer was ridden into the bench dasher in the first period – the one that doesn’t move but has the pad – by Rebel forward Jordie Deagle. Boomer, who has a history of concussions, didn’t return. Ice head coach said that Boomer was held out for precautionary reason and should be available for Wednesday’s game in Edmonton.
The Lines – With Kevin King out with a knee strain and Boomer out of the game after the hit Kootenay had exactly three forward lines and four pairs of d-men, with the fourth – Jagger Dirk and Luke Paulsen, disguised as forwards.
In the Building – Former NHL’er and Medicine Hat Tiger Murray Craven, now the coach of the Glacier (Whitefish, MT) Peewee Avalanche.
Making the Rounds – Edmonton Oil King import forward Tomas Vincour was rumoured to be on his way to the Vancouver Giants in a report by the Edmonton Journal while Marysville’s Carter Bancks was also said to be included in a three-way deal between the Hurricanes, Rebels and Americans – though the latter two would have to make a move with one of their current roster 20-year-olds. His teammate, D Luca Sbisa, was rumoured to be Portland-bound, who would have to part with one of their two imports, likely Jacob Berglund. Nino Niederreiter, the darling of the WJC, isn’t going anywhere.
The Goals – After a scoreless first two periods, in the third period D Brayden McNabb, having a rare rough night, coughed up the puck at the Rebel blueline, fought Josh Cowen through the neutral zone until Cowen got away and fired his 11th – this one short-handed – through Mathews’ legs… Kootenay would tie it up with a power play goal when Max Reinhart banged a Hayden Rintoul rebound past Kuemper... After Goalie Todd Mathews took a penalty – yes, the presses are stopping as we speak – the Ice killed it and then Joey Leach sent a long pass to Hayden Rintoul, exiting the box after serving his goaltender’s penalty, who streaked into the Rebel zone, dished to the trailer Max Reinhart who wired a bullet over Kuemper’s shoulder for the eventual game-winner.
The Crowd – 2856
Rec Plex Three Stars
1. C Max Reinhart – Big time snipe for the game-winner
2. G Todd Mathews – Another big game.
3. G Darcy Kuemper – Solid to the end.
What it means – Kootenay improves to 25-15-1-2 with their ninth straight win; 53 points and still 5th in the Eastern Conference, five points back of the Medicine Hat Tigers and the Calgary Hitmen.
Up Next: Kootenay travels to Edmonton to face the last-place Oil Kings in a rare, rare morning game on Wednesday. Gametime is 11:30AM.
Game Summary:
Rebels 1 @ Ice 2
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for regular season game between the Red Deer Rebels and the Kootenay Ice. January 9, 2010.
Max Reinhart scored two third period goals to lead the Kootenay Ice to their ninth straight win in a 2-1 decision over the Red Deer Rebels Saturday night.
After two scoreless periods the Rebels opened the scoring 8:42 into the third period with a short-handed goal by Josh Cowen. Reinhart tied it four minutes later with his 11th on a rebound he banged past Rebel starter Darcy Kuemper. On a three-on-two feed from Hayden Rintoul, Reinhart fired the game-winner past Kuemper at 15:11.
Todd Mathews stopped 27 of 28 shots to get the win while Kuemper stopped 25 of 27 shots in taking the loss.
.
First Period
No Scoring.
Penalties -- Cowen RD (roughing) Fraser Ktn (dbl roughing - served by Ismond) 9:12, Morin RD (hooking) 9:57.
Second Period
No Scoring.
Penalties -- Deagle RD (interfernence) 0:56, Witt RD (interference) 3:42, Rintoul Ktn (hooking) 8:02.
Third Period
1. Red Deer, Cowen 11 8:42 (sh)
2. Kootenay, Reinhart 11 (Rintoul, Sylvester) 12:33 (pp)
3. Kootenay, Reinhart 12 (Rintoul, Leach) 15:11
Penalties -- Haber RD (hooking) 7:22, Ferraro RD (tripping) 12:07, Mathews Ktn (tripping - served by Rintoul) 13:03.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 8 12 7 - 27
Red Deer: 9 10 9 - 28
Goal -- Kootenay: Todd Mathews (W, 18-7-1-2) Red Deer: Darcy Kuemper (L,15-15-0-3)
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 1-5
Red Deer: 0-3
Referee -- Regan Vetter. Linesman -- Jim Maniago, Mathew Barker.
Attendance -- 2856 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Dominick Pacovsky (foot - one week), Elgin Pearce (healthy), Kevin King (knee - day-to-day).
Red Deer: Aaron Borejko, Nick Bell, Andrej Kudrna, Nathan Green.
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
What Happened – A goaltending duel between Todd Mathews and Darcy Kuemper threatened to go the distance until Josh Cowen and Max Reinhart busted things open.
The Turning Point – Hayden Rintoul corralled a long pass as he stepped out of the penalty box and then found Reinhart as the trailer to scored the game-winner.
The Injury – Forward Steele Boomer was ridden into the bench dasher in the first period – the one that doesn’t move but has the pad – by Rebel forward Jordie Deagle. Boomer, who has a history of concussions, didn’t return. Ice head coach said that Boomer was held out for precautionary reason and should be available for Wednesday’s game in Edmonton.
The Lines – With Kevin King out with a knee strain and Boomer out of the game after the hit Kootenay had exactly three forward lines and four pairs of d-men, with the fourth – Jagger Dirk and Luke Paulsen, disguised as forwards.
In the Building – Former NHL’er and Medicine Hat Tiger Murray Craven, now the coach of the Glacier (Whitefish, MT) Peewee Avalanche.
Making the Rounds – Edmonton Oil King import forward Tomas Vincour was rumoured to be on his way to the Vancouver Giants in a report by the Edmonton Journal while Marysville’s Carter Bancks was also said to be included in a three-way deal between the Hurricanes, Rebels and Americans – though the latter two would have to make a move with one of their current roster 20-year-olds. His teammate, D Luca Sbisa, was rumoured to be Portland-bound, who would have to part with one of their two imports, likely Jacob Berglund. Nino Niederreiter, the darling of the WJC, isn’t going anywhere.
The Goals – After a scoreless first two periods, in the third period D Brayden McNabb, having a rare rough night, coughed up the puck at the Rebel blueline, fought Josh Cowen through the neutral zone until Cowen got away and fired his 11th – this one short-handed – through Mathews’ legs… Kootenay would tie it up with a power play goal when Max Reinhart banged a Hayden Rintoul rebound past Kuemper... After Goalie Todd Mathews took a penalty – yes, the presses are stopping as we speak – the Ice killed it and then Joey Leach sent a long pass to Hayden Rintoul, exiting the box after serving his goaltender’s penalty, who streaked into the Rebel zone, dished to the trailer Max Reinhart who wired a bullet over Kuemper’s shoulder for the eventual game-winner.
The Crowd – 2856
Rec Plex Three Stars
1. C Max Reinhart – Big time snipe for the game-winner
2. G Todd Mathews – Another big game.
3. G Darcy Kuemper – Solid to the end.
What it means – Kootenay improves to 25-15-1-2 with their ninth straight win; 53 points and still 5th in the Eastern Conference, five points back of the Medicine Hat Tigers and the Calgary Hitmen.
Up Next: Kootenay travels to Edmonton to face the last-place Oil Kings in a rare, rare morning game on Wednesday. Gametime is 11:30AM.
Game Summary:
Rebels 1 @ Ice 2
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for regular season game between the Red Deer Rebels and the Kootenay Ice. January 9, 2010.
Max Reinhart scored two third period goals to lead the Kootenay Ice to their ninth straight win in a 2-1 decision over the Red Deer Rebels Saturday night.
After two scoreless periods the Rebels opened the scoring 8:42 into the third period with a short-handed goal by Josh Cowen. Reinhart tied it four minutes later with his 11th on a rebound he banged past Rebel starter Darcy Kuemper. On a three-on-two feed from Hayden Rintoul, Reinhart fired the game-winner past Kuemper at 15:11.
Todd Mathews stopped 27 of 28 shots to get the win while Kuemper stopped 25 of 27 shots in taking the loss.
.
First Period
No Scoring.
Penalties -- Cowen RD (roughing) Fraser Ktn (dbl roughing - served by Ismond) 9:12, Morin RD (hooking) 9:57.
Second Period
No Scoring.
Penalties -- Deagle RD (interfernence) 0:56, Witt RD (interference) 3:42, Rintoul Ktn (hooking) 8:02.
Third Period
1. Red Deer, Cowen 11 8:42 (sh)
2. Kootenay, Reinhart 11 (Rintoul, Sylvester) 12:33 (pp)
3. Kootenay, Reinhart 12 (Rintoul, Leach) 15:11
Penalties -- Haber RD (hooking) 7:22, Ferraro RD (tripping) 12:07, Mathews Ktn (tripping - served by Rintoul) 13:03.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 8 12 7 - 27
Red Deer: 9 10 9 - 28
Goal -- Kootenay: Todd Mathews (W, 18-7-1-2) Red Deer: Darcy Kuemper (L,15-15-0-3)
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 1-5
Red Deer: 0-3
Referee -- Regan Vetter. Linesman -- Jim Maniago, Mathew Barker.
Attendance -- 2856 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Dominick Pacovsky (foot - one week), Elgin Pearce (healthy), Kevin King (knee - day-to-day).
Red Deer: Aaron Borejko, Nick Bell, Andrej Kudrna, Nathan Green.
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Ice could be buying at deadline
For the Cranbrook Daily Townsman....
Buying or Selling? Deadline day nears
by Jeff Bromley
One year ago an ankle injury to his best player had forced his hand; Ice GM Jeff Chynoweth was a seller, building for the future dealing D John Negrin and LW Michael Stickland to the Swift Current Broncos in exchange for current roster players D James Martin and forward Christian Magnus along with a second round and fourth round draft picks in the 2010 Bantam Draft. 'Tis the season, for trades as the January 10 WHL trade deadline approaches this Sunday at 3PM.
And the players know it as the dressing room is fills with anticipation and tension, even for a team doing as well as the Ice. “I’m just hoping this year I make it through,” said Ice d-man James Martin, playing some of his best hockey of late. “It’s a big deal. Practices start to get a little more tense. We’re winning and there’s nobody here that wants to go anywhere else.”
Whereas last season he might’ve needed a baseball mitt to field the calls interested in his players, this season its Chynoweth doing the calling. “I’m getting some calls, we all get calls,” said Chynoweth. “We’re all doing a little tire kicking. The only winner there is Telus because we’re on the phone so much.”
With his club riding high of late, winners of a eight straight and fifth place in the Eastern Conference enjoying a two month rally that saw the club start in the conference basement just prior to Halloween now shows a team ready to make the playoffs and perhaps even win a round or two. Are they contenders? That might be a stretch but it’s not necessarily out of the realm of possibility, provided, of course, that Chynoweth gets his wish; an impact 20-year-old or at the outset a 19-year-old impact forward to provide some scoring depth. “This is the same team that made the playoffs last year with the exception of the 20-year-olds and Ty Stephens,” said Chynoweth. “They’re a year wiser and year smarter. We got off to a slow start but I don’t think there’s a team in the WHL that’s had a better record since the end of October.”
Despite the trade chatter Chynoweth, if no deal materializes, would be content with what he’s got. In goal Todd Mathews, 19, has solidified his place at the number one goaltender. On the blueline, as long as Brayden McNabb stays healthy, he’s got a solid top four, depth to spare and only one of them – Ryan Molle – is over 19. Though the 16 goals in the last two games would fail to support the argument, depth up front – namely consistent secondary scoring – could put this club into the realm of top four in the Eastern Conference.
Chynoweth’s got a lot to offer in terms of youth and/or draft picks, of which he’s got a bevy. This May Kootenay has a first, two seconds, two thirds and two fourth-round bantam picks as well as the usual compliment of five through ten. In 2011 he’s got two first round picks and two fourth-round picks, though the bounty of picks doesn’t necessarily mean they're bait. “The problem with draft picks is that they’re not worth a lot on January 10th. They’re worth a lot come May when the draft is held but right now the going price is high. Brandon paid a high price to get their players but they’re also hosting the Memorial Cup. With the standings as tight as they are it’s tough to make a deal at the best of times and there’s not too many teams really out of (a playoff spot).”
So who’s out there? In Prince George there’s lots of talk about D Dallas Jackson or import forward Marek Viedensky but both don’t fit into Kootenay’s schematic. In Edmonton import forward Tomas Vincour’s name has been bandied about but he’s in the same boat as Viedensky as far as the Ice are concerned. That leaves teams such as Seattle, Kamloops and Lethbridge who are currently on the outside looking in, with the former seven points out and the Blazers hanging on to the 8th spot on the West. T-Bird scoring leader Prab Rai, 20, might be able to be had but only if Seattle was looking to rebuild and that doesn’t appear to be the case. In Kamloops where nobody really seems to know what direction they’re headed, forwards Tyler Shattock, 19, and C.J. Stretch, 20, have had both their names making the rounds.
That leaves the Lethbridge Hurricanes – at least from teams that are out of contention – with 30 points and tied for last in the conference with the Oil Kings with one card to play; LW Carter Bancks of Marysville. The optics are obvious: 20-year-old local kid, team leader, plays both ends of the ice well, one of the league’s best in the face-off circle. “You’re always wanting to tinker and if the right deal comes along, we’ll do that," said Chynoweth. "Ideally, we’d like to add another 20-year-old. But it has to be the right 20-year-old. We don’t want it to affect our chemistry.”
“Right now there’s not a lot of those players out there.”
There’s a few, including one three hours down Highway 3. But would the Hurricanes – who parted with forwards Craig Orfino and Carter Ashton last month in a deal with the Regina Pats and are said to be shopping D Luca Sbisa – be willing to trade their captain? On Sunday at 3PM, you’ll find out.
Buying or Selling? Deadline day nears
by Jeff Bromley
One year ago an ankle injury to his best player had forced his hand; Ice GM Jeff Chynoweth was a seller, building for the future dealing D John Negrin and LW Michael Stickland to the Swift Current Broncos in exchange for current roster players D James Martin and forward Christian Magnus along with a second round and fourth round draft picks in the 2010 Bantam Draft. 'Tis the season, for trades as the January 10 WHL trade deadline approaches this Sunday at 3PM.
And the players know it as the dressing room is fills with anticipation and tension, even for a team doing as well as the Ice. “I’m just hoping this year I make it through,” said Ice d-man James Martin, playing some of his best hockey of late. “It’s a big deal. Practices start to get a little more tense. We’re winning and there’s nobody here that wants to go anywhere else.”
Whereas last season he might’ve needed a baseball mitt to field the calls interested in his players, this season its Chynoweth doing the calling. “I’m getting some calls, we all get calls,” said Chynoweth. “We’re all doing a little tire kicking. The only winner there is Telus because we’re on the phone so much.”
With his club riding high of late, winners of a eight straight and fifth place in the Eastern Conference enjoying a two month rally that saw the club start in the conference basement just prior to Halloween now shows a team ready to make the playoffs and perhaps even win a round or two. Are they contenders? That might be a stretch but it’s not necessarily out of the realm of possibility, provided, of course, that Chynoweth gets his wish; an impact 20-year-old or at the outset a 19-year-old impact forward to provide some scoring depth. “This is the same team that made the playoffs last year with the exception of the 20-year-olds and Ty Stephens,” said Chynoweth. “They’re a year wiser and year smarter. We got off to a slow start but I don’t think there’s a team in the WHL that’s had a better record since the end of October.”
Despite the trade chatter Chynoweth, if no deal materializes, would be content with what he’s got. In goal Todd Mathews, 19, has solidified his place at the number one goaltender. On the blueline, as long as Brayden McNabb stays healthy, he’s got a solid top four, depth to spare and only one of them – Ryan Molle – is over 19. Though the 16 goals in the last two games would fail to support the argument, depth up front – namely consistent secondary scoring – could put this club into the realm of top four in the Eastern Conference.
Chynoweth’s got a lot to offer in terms of youth and/or draft picks, of which he’s got a bevy. This May Kootenay has a first, two seconds, two thirds and two fourth-round bantam picks as well as the usual compliment of five through ten. In 2011 he’s got two first round picks and two fourth-round picks, though the bounty of picks doesn’t necessarily mean they're bait. “The problem with draft picks is that they’re not worth a lot on January 10th. They’re worth a lot come May when the draft is held but right now the going price is high. Brandon paid a high price to get their players but they’re also hosting the Memorial Cup. With the standings as tight as they are it’s tough to make a deal at the best of times and there’s not too many teams really out of (a playoff spot).”
So who’s out there? In Prince George there’s lots of talk about D Dallas Jackson or import forward Marek Viedensky but both don’t fit into Kootenay’s schematic. In Edmonton import forward Tomas Vincour’s name has been bandied about but he’s in the same boat as Viedensky as far as the Ice are concerned. That leaves teams such as Seattle, Kamloops and Lethbridge who are currently on the outside looking in, with the former seven points out and the Blazers hanging on to the 8th spot on the West. T-Bird scoring leader Prab Rai, 20, might be able to be had but only if Seattle was looking to rebuild and that doesn’t appear to be the case. In Kamloops where nobody really seems to know what direction they’re headed, forwards Tyler Shattock, 19, and C.J. Stretch, 20, have had both their names making the rounds.
That leaves the Lethbridge Hurricanes – at least from teams that are out of contention – with 30 points and tied for last in the conference with the Oil Kings with one card to play; LW Carter Bancks of Marysville. The optics are obvious: 20-year-old local kid, team leader, plays both ends of the ice well, one of the league’s best in the face-off circle. “You’re always wanting to tinker and if the right deal comes along, we’ll do that," said Chynoweth. "Ideally, we’d like to add another 20-year-old. But it has to be the right 20-year-old. We don’t want it to affect our chemistry.”
“Right now there’s not a lot of those players out there.”
There’s a few, including one three hours down Highway 3. But would the Hurricanes – who parted with forwards Craig Orfino and Carter Ashton last month in a deal with the Regina Pats and are said to be shopping D Luca Sbisa – be willing to trade their captain? On Sunday at 3PM, you’ll find out.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The Score - Ice 8 - Blades 1
The Score – Kootenay 8 – Saskatoon 1
What Happened – The WHL’s best team in the standings mailed in the effort of their sixth game of the road trip and the Ice made them pay for it, with their 7th straight win.
The Turning Point – Tied at one to start the second period the starting line of Czerwonka, Antilla and Montgomery punished the Blades on the opening shift. Less than a minute later Sylvester got his second of the night and the Ice were off to the races.
The Goals – Though out-played, the visitors opened the scoring halfway through the first on a blooper point shot goaltender Todd Mathews stopped but failed to cover as it dropped in front of him. Blade forward Darian Dziurzynski, parked right on the doorstep, shoved it between his pads to make it 1-0… Five minutes later the Blades broke out on a textbook breakout that ended up with Mathews stopping Gaelan Patterson with a great pad save, dished the puck to King who then spotted Dustin Sylvester 150 feet up the ice. Before you could ask what he was doing there the Ice captain cut-in on the Blade defender and wired his 21st past Sanford to tie the game at one… Kootenay came out firing in the second and the flood gates opened - started by a devastating hit in the Blades zone by Brock Montgomery on Sam Klassen - on a rush started by Steele Boomer, Kevin King gained the zone and fired a wrist that was stopped only to have Sylvester pounce and put it between Sanford’s legs for his 22nd and 2nd of the night… 26 seconds later Jesse Ismond picked up a puck off the half-wall, fed Matt Fraser who fired a laser over the shoulder of Sanford to make it 3-1… After killing a 5-on-3, Kootenay jumped on the Blades with pressure and from the point Hayden Rintoul found Brock Montgomery on the doorstep, took two whacks at it and beat Sanford to make 4-1…Montgomery did it again ten minutes later when he corralled a point-shot rebound and back-handed a puck underneath Sanford… The Ice made it 6-1 on another great effort from Montgomery who beat the Blade defender to the puck and sent a pass to Drew Czerwonka two feet in front of Sanford, who wouldn’t start the third. Czerwonka pitched his 3rd of the season past the Blade goaltender to give the home side a five-goal cushion going into the third… On a three-on-two Steele Boomer found Sylvester for the hat-trick goal on a bullet from the slot. He could’ve had seven on this night… Antilla rounded out the slaughter off with one of his own on a rebound to make it 8-1 with less than four minutes left in the game.
100 - The win was Mark Holick's 100th career win.
The Boo’s – Talk about a tough crowd, with the home side up 6-1 the Zebras were actually heckled coming out for the third. Then again, so was popular former Ice account executive Don MacMillan when it was announced he won the 50/50.
The Save – Not Mathews, not Sanford but Christian Magnus stopped a wrap-around by Charles Inglis in the second on the goal-line with Mathews down and out and kept the score 4-1.
No play zone – For the first time this season the Ice, or more accurately Todd Mathews, was nailed for playing the puck outside the Trapezoid behind his net. Mathew took the delay-of-game call, told referee Andy Thiessen what he really thought about the silly rule, and got two more. Kootenay killed off one five-on-three earlier in the period and killed the four-minute Blade power play too, without surrendering a shot.
The Call-ups – AP’s F Darren Dietz, F Davis Van Dane and D Zane Morin joined the Blades for the road trip from the Saskatchewan Midget league. They also played, a lot, especially when the game was well in hand and with many Blade veterans stapled to the bench.
The Crowd – 2495 – Small crowd that was treated to an offensive show.
Daily Townsman Three Stars
1. LW Dustin Sylvester – Three goals; Dynamite
2. RW Brock Montgomery – Two goals, assist, bang and crash
3. C Joe Antilla – Antilla and Drew Czerwonka beat the Blades to a pulp in the hit department.
What it means – Kootenay improves to 23-15-1-2; 49 points and sole possession of 5th in the Eastern Conference, six points back of the Medicine Hat Tigers with three games in hand.
Up Next: The club travels to Calgary for a match up with Hitmen – including Brandon Kozun and Martin Jones who will undoubtedly be back in the line-up after silver medal at the WJC – before entertaining the Red Deer Rebels back at the Plex Saturday.
Game Summary:
Blades 1 @ Ice 8
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for regular season game between the Saskatoon and the Kootenay Ice. January 6, 2010.
The Kootenay Ice scored five second-period goals and Dustin Sylvester notched a hat-trick en route to an 8-1 blowout of the Saskatoon Blades in WHL action Wednesday night.
The Blades opened the scoring on Darian Dziurzynski's 4th of the season at 10:56 of the first. Sylvester tied the game with his 21st and first of the night to send the teams to the break tied at one.
The Ice got second period goals by Sylvester, Matt Fraser, Brock Montgomery - with two - and Drew Czerwonka to take a 6-1 lead into the final frame. Sylvester added another and Joe Antilla got his 11th of the season to complete the blowout 8-1.
Goaltender Todd Mathews stopped 21 of 22 shots to get the win while Steven Sanford stopped 26 of 32 shots in taking the loss.
First Period
1. Saskatoon, Dziurzynski 4 (Toomey) 10:56
2. Kootenay, Sylvester 21 (King, Mathews) 15:40
Penalties -- Hurley Ktn (goaltender interference) 5:36, Antilla Ktn (interference) 16:32.
Second Period
3. Kootenay, Sylvester 22 (King, Boomer) 1:08
4. Kootenay, Fraser 17 (Ismond) 1:34
5. Kootenay, Montgomery 8 (Rintoul, Senkerik) 6:50
6. Kootenay, Montgomery 9 (Molle, Leach) 15:59
7. Kootenay, Czerwonka 3 (Montgomery, Martin) 19:30
Penalties -- Ismond Ktn (hooking) 2:44, Molle Ktn (tripping) 3:44, Mathews Ktn (delay-of-game, unsportsmanlike conduct - served by Ismond) 13:02, Nicholls Sas (goaltender interference) 15:51, Dziurzynski Sas (hooking) 17:12.
Third Period
8. Kootenay, Sylvester 23 (Boomer, Mathews) 4:22
9. Kootenay, Antilla 11 (Martin Czerwonka) 16:06
Penalties -- Van Dane Sas (hooking) 16:25.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 16 16 6 - 38
Saskatoon: 7 4 11 - 22
Goal -- Kootenay: Todd Mathews (W, 16-7-1-2) Saskatoon: Steven Sanford (Adam Morrison - 20:00 of third - 26 of 32 shots - L, 15-4-1).
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 0-3
Saskatoon: 0-6
Referee -- Andy Thiessen, Trevor Hanson. Linesman -- Chris Carlson, Matthew Barker.
Attendance -- 2495 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Dominick Pacovsky (foot - one week), Jagger Dirk (healthy), Elgin Pearce (healthy).
Saskatoon: Duncan Siemens (U-17 Challenge), Jyri Niemi (World Juniors), Curtis Hamilton (collarbone - one week), Brent Benson (U-17 Challenge), Dalton Thrower (U-17 Challenge).
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
What Happened – The WHL’s best team in the standings mailed in the effort of their sixth game of the road trip and the Ice made them pay for it, with their 7th straight win.
The Turning Point – Tied at one to start the second period the starting line of Czerwonka, Antilla and Montgomery punished the Blades on the opening shift. Less than a minute later Sylvester got his second of the night and the Ice were off to the races.
The Goals – Though out-played, the visitors opened the scoring halfway through the first on a blooper point shot goaltender Todd Mathews stopped but failed to cover as it dropped in front of him. Blade forward Darian Dziurzynski, parked right on the doorstep, shoved it between his pads to make it 1-0… Five minutes later the Blades broke out on a textbook breakout that ended up with Mathews stopping Gaelan Patterson with a great pad save, dished the puck to King who then spotted Dustin Sylvester 150 feet up the ice. Before you could ask what he was doing there the Ice captain cut-in on the Blade defender and wired his 21st past Sanford to tie the game at one… Kootenay came out firing in the second and the flood gates opened - started by a devastating hit in the Blades zone by Brock Montgomery on Sam Klassen - on a rush started by Steele Boomer, Kevin King gained the zone and fired a wrist that was stopped only to have Sylvester pounce and put it between Sanford’s legs for his 22nd and 2nd of the night… 26 seconds later Jesse Ismond picked up a puck off the half-wall, fed Matt Fraser who fired a laser over the shoulder of Sanford to make it 3-1… After killing a 5-on-3, Kootenay jumped on the Blades with pressure and from the point Hayden Rintoul found Brock Montgomery on the doorstep, took two whacks at it and beat Sanford to make 4-1…Montgomery did it again ten minutes later when he corralled a point-shot rebound and back-handed a puck underneath Sanford… The Ice made it 6-1 on another great effort from Montgomery who beat the Blade defender to the puck and sent a pass to Drew Czerwonka two feet in front of Sanford, who wouldn’t start the third. Czerwonka pitched his 3rd of the season past the Blade goaltender to give the home side a five-goal cushion going into the third… On a three-on-two Steele Boomer found Sylvester for the hat-trick goal on a bullet from the slot. He could’ve had seven on this night… Antilla rounded out the slaughter off with one of his own on a rebound to make it 8-1 with less than four minutes left in the game.
100 - The win was Mark Holick's 100th career win.
The Boo’s – Talk about a tough crowd, with the home side up 6-1 the Zebras were actually heckled coming out for the third. Then again, so was popular former Ice account executive Don MacMillan when it was announced he won the 50/50.
The Save – Not Mathews, not Sanford but Christian Magnus stopped a wrap-around by Charles Inglis in the second on the goal-line with Mathews down and out and kept the score 4-1.
No play zone – For the first time this season the Ice, or more accurately Todd Mathews, was nailed for playing the puck outside the Trapezoid behind his net. Mathew took the delay-of-game call, told referee Andy Thiessen what he really thought about the silly rule, and got two more. Kootenay killed off one five-on-three earlier in the period and killed the four-minute Blade power play too, without surrendering a shot.
The Call-ups – AP’s F Darren Dietz, F Davis Van Dane and D Zane Morin joined the Blades for the road trip from the Saskatchewan Midget league. They also played, a lot, especially when the game was well in hand and with many Blade veterans stapled to the bench.
The Crowd – 2495 – Small crowd that was treated to an offensive show.
Daily Townsman Three Stars
1. LW Dustin Sylvester – Three goals; Dynamite
2. RW Brock Montgomery – Two goals, assist, bang and crash
3. C Joe Antilla – Antilla and Drew Czerwonka beat the Blades to a pulp in the hit department.
What it means – Kootenay improves to 23-15-1-2; 49 points and sole possession of 5th in the Eastern Conference, six points back of the Medicine Hat Tigers with three games in hand.
Up Next: The club travels to Calgary for a match up with Hitmen – including Brandon Kozun and Martin Jones who will undoubtedly be back in the line-up after silver medal at the WJC – before entertaining the Red Deer Rebels back at the Plex Saturday.
Game Summary:
Blades 1 @ Ice 8
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for regular season game between the Saskatoon and the Kootenay Ice. January 6, 2010.
The Kootenay Ice scored five second-period goals and Dustin Sylvester notched a hat-trick en route to an 8-1 blowout of the Saskatoon Blades in WHL action Wednesday night.
The Blades opened the scoring on Darian Dziurzynski's 4th of the season at 10:56 of the first. Sylvester tied the game with his 21st and first of the night to send the teams to the break tied at one.
The Ice got second period goals by Sylvester, Matt Fraser, Brock Montgomery - with two - and Drew Czerwonka to take a 6-1 lead into the final frame. Sylvester added another and Joe Antilla got his 11th of the season to complete the blowout 8-1.
Goaltender Todd Mathews stopped 21 of 22 shots to get the win while Steven Sanford stopped 26 of 32 shots in taking the loss.
First Period
1. Saskatoon, Dziurzynski 4 (Toomey) 10:56
2. Kootenay, Sylvester 21 (King, Mathews) 15:40
Penalties -- Hurley Ktn (goaltender interference) 5:36, Antilla Ktn (interference) 16:32.
Second Period
3. Kootenay, Sylvester 22 (King, Boomer) 1:08
4. Kootenay, Fraser 17 (Ismond) 1:34
5. Kootenay, Montgomery 8 (Rintoul, Senkerik) 6:50
6. Kootenay, Montgomery 9 (Molle, Leach) 15:59
7. Kootenay, Czerwonka 3 (Montgomery, Martin) 19:30
Penalties -- Ismond Ktn (hooking) 2:44, Molle Ktn (tripping) 3:44, Mathews Ktn (delay-of-game, unsportsmanlike conduct - served by Ismond) 13:02, Nicholls Sas (goaltender interference) 15:51, Dziurzynski Sas (hooking) 17:12.
Third Period
8. Kootenay, Sylvester 23 (Boomer, Mathews) 4:22
9. Kootenay, Antilla 11 (Martin Czerwonka) 16:06
Penalties -- Van Dane Sas (hooking) 16:25.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 16 16 6 - 38
Saskatoon: 7 4 11 - 22
Goal -- Kootenay: Todd Mathews (W, 16-7-1-2) Saskatoon: Steven Sanford (Adam Morrison - 20:00 of third - 26 of 32 shots - L, 15-4-1).
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 0-3
Saskatoon: 0-6
Referee -- Andy Thiessen, Trevor Hanson. Linesman -- Chris Carlson, Matthew Barker.
Attendance -- 2495 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Dominick Pacovsky (foot - one week), Jagger Dirk (healthy), Elgin Pearce (healthy).
Saskatoon: Duncan Siemens (U-17 Challenge), Jyri Niemi (World Juniors), Curtis Hamilton (collarbone - one week), Brent Benson (U-17 Challenge), Dalton Thrower (U-17 Challenge).
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
WJC; Trade deadline nears...
At any rate, it certainly wasn't tough to watch the U.S. win gold tonight against the Canadians in another classic. Yes, goaltending was a issue - Allen should've got the hook after two - but in the end it was the blueline that cashed in Canada's chips. Pinch after ill-advised pinch - or the neutral zone big hit that created the same result, an odd-man rush - was the culprit on this night. If it's any consolation six years ago M.A. Fluery's gaff gave the U.S. their last gold medal when he bounced the game-winner off O'Sullivan's behind and he turned out alright. Nigel Dawes was on that club that settled for silver but came back a year later and won gold with teammate Jeff Glass in Grand Forks, ND.
I wonder if the 50/50 hit $100,000 tonight? It was $97,000 take home for one lucky couple New Years...
I don't know about the benching of Cowen. I don't think he could have been worse than Scandella - on one shift I counted three turnovers - and de Haan. MacMillan was a valiant fill-in but on the blueline I would've went with Cowen. MacMillan would've been better up front.
Pieterangelo is a gamer...
I've never seen a big game goal-scorer like Eberle, even in Stoll's heyday here in junior. The Oil could use him right now. Uhh, so could, I guess, the Pats.
Not much going until tommorrow night when the Blades roll into town on the last game of their epic road trip. The 28-7-1-3 Blades, the WHL leaders with 60 points won tonight in Spokane 5-4 and have now won five straight. They'll meet the 6th place Ice, who have won six straight and are 13 points back of the Blades in the Eastern Conference.
Lots of talk about who might be going - Jackson and Viedensky from PG; Stretch and Shattock out of Kamloops along with Carter Bancks in Lethbridge - hey, guess who has a 20-spot open? - but you knew that. Will Regina make a go of it with what's coming back from the WJC (Eberle and Teubert)? Will Kelowna sell? What about Seattle? Prab Rai's name has come up once or twice.
If you wanted a litmus test as to where the club sees themselves headed into the trade deadline - buyers, sellers or stand pat and see what rolls - the Blades are it. Win and you'd think they'd be in a buying position, with a whole lot of draft choices to deal and a player or two on the blueline (in the system), they have something to offer to try and fill the secondary scoring needs.
I'll have a deadline piece for Thursday on what or who might be on the move.
I wonder if the 50/50 hit $100,000 tonight? It was $97,000 take home for one lucky couple New Years...
I don't know about the benching of Cowen. I don't think he could have been worse than Scandella - on one shift I counted three turnovers - and de Haan. MacMillan was a valiant fill-in but on the blueline I would've went with Cowen. MacMillan would've been better up front.
Pieterangelo is a gamer...
I've never seen a big game goal-scorer like Eberle, even in Stoll's heyday here in junior. The Oil could use him right now. Uhh, so could, I guess, the Pats.
Not much going until tommorrow night when the Blades roll into town on the last game of their epic road trip. The 28-7-1-3 Blades, the WHL leaders with 60 points won tonight in Spokane 5-4 and have now won five straight. They'll meet the 6th place Ice, who have won six straight and are 13 points back of the Blades in the Eastern Conference.
Lots of talk about who might be going - Jackson and Viedensky from PG; Stretch and Shattock out of Kamloops along with Carter Bancks in Lethbridge - hey, guess who has a 20-spot open? - but you knew that. Will Regina make a go of it with what's coming back from the WJC (Eberle and Teubert)? Will Kelowna sell? What about Seattle? Prab Rai's name has come up once or twice.
If you wanted a litmus test as to where the club sees themselves headed into the trade deadline - buyers, sellers or stand pat and see what rolls - the Blades are it. Win and you'd think they'd be in a buying position, with a whole lot of draft choices to deal and a player or two on the blueline (in the system), they have something to offer to try and fill the secondary scoring needs.
I'll have a deadline piece for Thursday on what or who might be on the move.
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