Didn't watch or listen to the game as I, probably like most of the nation, watched that nail-biter going on in Vancouver. Yes, you can ask why Patrice Bergeron, stapled to the bench for the better part of the night, was on late in the game after atrophy must have set it. You can also ask why, after being on for not one but two very close Slovak chances, he was then on and set the pick, that resulted in the second goal.
But I digress...
The Tigers will have the highlights up on their website shortly but the see-saw battle saw the Ice tie the game in the first afte the Tigers took at 1-0 lead in the first. Kootenay then surrendered two goals to go down 3-1 and climbed back in it on two goals from Matt Fraser. Tristan King, who notched two goals and two assists, scored the game-winner just 1:03 later while Bretton Cameron added an empty-netter to make the final 5-3.
With the loss the Ice drop to 39-20-3-2 and still with 83 points, five up on both the Tigers and Rebels who seem to be charging for home-ice in the four-hole as the Ice have now dropped two straight and four of their last six.
Hockeyville in Cranbrook, with CBC filming at the game and around town this weekend, goes tommorrow at the Rec Plex against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
There won't be anything coming here for a few days as my Peewee club plays for the East Kootenay League Banner over the weekend.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Best of the East Poll...
Bruce Luebke, the voice of the Brandon Wheat Kings, has compiled his third annual 'Best of the East' Poll of WHL Eastern Conference GM's, Coaches and players on who is the best on that side of the Rockies, and, of course, Kootenay.
The Poll is published by the Brandon Sun but the link isn't up yet.
Kootenay coach Mark Holick was selected as the best coach while Dustin Sylvester was voted second in the most valuable to his team and best 20-year-old categories. Regina's Jordan Eberle was voted the MVP and best player while Martin Jones of the Calgary Hitmen got the best goaltender nod. Todd Mathews finished third in this category. D Brayden McNabb nabbed second in the best stay-at-home d-man category while Jeff Chynoweth finished third in the Top Executive category. Marysville's Carter Bancks finished tops in the Face-off and defensive forward categories and Dustin Sylvester finished second to 'player you respect the most (opposing)' section.
Brandon, Saskatoon and Moose Jaw finished 1,2 and 3 in the Best Prospects category but I'm not sure how that was determined, whether the GM's voted on that one or not.
Still, a good snapshot of the East and like it's counterpart in the West, the Tri-City Herald's Best of the West Poll, great for discussion.
The Poll is published by the Brandon Sun but the link isn't up yet.
Kootenay coach Mark Holick was selected as the best coach while Dustin Sylvester was voted second in the most valuable to his team and best 20-year-old categories. Regina's Jordan Eberle was voted the MVP and best player while Martin Jones of the Calgary Hitmen got the best goaltender nod. Todd Mathews finished third in this category. D Brayden McNabb nabbed second in the best stay-at-home d-man category while Jeff Chynoweth finished third in the Top Executive category. Marysville's Carter Bancks finished tops in the Face-off and defensive forward categories and Dustin Sylvester finished second to 'player you respect the most (opposing)' section.
Brandon, Saskatoon and Moose Jaw finished 1,2 and 3 in the Best Prospects category but I'm not sure how that was determined, whether the GM's voted on that one or not.
Still, a good snapshot of the East and like it's counterpart in the West, the Tri-City Herald's Best of the West Poll, great for discussion.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Rebels double up Ice
For the Daily Townsman Wednesday...
Rebels rough up Ice
by Jeff Bromley
The Kootenay Ice were looking for a better start to their hockey games of late and Tuesday night in Red Deer they got it early, really early. 14 seconds into the game early.
Now it’s their middle and end they have to worry about as a 2-0 Kootenay lead evaporated in the second period with four straight Rebels goals to give Red Deer the 4-2 win. “The first couple of minutes we were all over them and maybe we thought it looked like it was going to be an easy one for us,” said Ice assistant coach Kris Knoblauch via phone after the game. “We took that penalty, then they scored on the power play and it totally changed the game around. It seemed to give them all the momentum.”
The Ice opened the scoring off the opening face-off when Rebel defensemen Alex Petrovic went for a big neutral zone hit and missed, causing an odd-man rush with Dustin Sylvester and Kevin King. Sylvester fed King for his 23rd of the season a 1-0 lead 14 seconds into the game. Petrovic was again the goat minutes later as the 17-year-old star rearguard took an offensive zone penalty that the Ice made them pay for with a shot by D Hayden Rintoul that Steele Boomer got a stick on to make it 2-0.
Rebel head coach Jesse Wallin then called time-out, regrouped and calmed his troops down. For the Ice that's when the penalty parade started, drawing three straight minors to end the first period. With Matt Fraser in the penalty box the Rebels cashed-in as super rookie Ryan Nugent-Hopkins notched his 23rd of the season to halve the lead.
Early in the second a Rebel blueline turnover would start a 3-on-2 for the Rebels. A pretty give-and-go passing play by Nugent-Hopkins and Willie Coetzee tied the game with Coetzee’s 26th on the year.
With both teams playing four-on-four, D James Martin fell on an Ice rush sending the Rebels back 3-on-1 in the other direction. Goaltender Todd Mathews would stop Landon Ferraro on the initial shot but a feed from behind the net produced another shot, another save and a goal-mouth scramble that Brett Ferguson stuffed in to make it 3-2 for the Rebels. Ferguson would convert yet another power play goal for the Rebels after a David Archer point-shot that Mathews stopped but couldn’t corral the rebound that Ferguson buried to make it 4-2, chasing Mathews in favour of Nathan Lieuwen in the process.
Some line-juggling in the third, moving LW Drew Czweronka up onto the second power play unit, failed to generate the offense the club was looking for. “We were just trying to shuffle them up a little bit and get something going but it also had a lot to do with the penalties we took.”
With the zebras heavily involved in this one – the Rebels enjoyed nine power plays while the Ice had six – Kootenay had their chances to get back in this one but couldn’t covert any more than Boomer’s tally in the first period. But penalties and fatigue finished off any hopes of a comeback. “Yeah, we were (tired) but that’ll be the last time we use the excuse that we were tired,” said Knoblauch. “We’ve had a long February with not a lot of days off and a lot of travel but four games in five nights, we were a bit tired and it showed.”
Quick Hits – Ice forward Matt Fraser, who missed Saturday’s 2-1 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes, returned Sunday for the win against the Tigers but continued to play with a full-face shield and will do so for the immediate future. Fraser suffered a black eye in a fight against Chief Bret Bartman that swelled shut and forced a visit to the doctor in which a CT Scan revealed a break in the orbital bone. Fraser is not expected to miss any more time… Fraser’s family hosted the club for a team dinner for the third straight year Monday night in Red Deer… Mathews was pulled in the second, surrendering four goals on 18 shots… King’s opening goal was one second off the team record for fastest goal to start a game, set by Curtis Bilsten in 2006… Both Nugent-Hopkins (goal, two assists) and Archer (three assists) finished with three point games while Kevin King had a goal and an assist… Brock Montgomery (shoulder – 2-3 weeks) and Jagger Dirk (healthy) were scratched for the Ice… Red Deer’s power play was 2-9 while Kootenay went 1-6.
Rebels rough up Ice
by Jeff Bromley
The Kootenay Ice were looking for a better start to their hockey games of late and Tuesday night in Red Deer they got it early, really early. 14 seconds into the game early.
Now it’s their middle and end they have to worry about as a 2-0 Kootenay lead evaporated in the second period with four straight Rebels goals to give Red Deer the 4-2 win. “The first couple of minutes we were all over them and maybe we thought it looked like it was going to be an easy one for us,” said Ice assistant coach Kris Knoblauch via phone after the game. “We took that penalty, then they scored on the power play and it totally changed the game around. It seemed to give them all the momentum.”
The Ice opened the scoring off the opening face-off when Rebel defensemen Alex Petrovic went for a big neutral zone hit and missed, causing an odd-man rush with Dustin Sylvester and Kevin King. Sylvester fed King for his 23rd of the season a 1-0 lead 14 seconds into the game. Petrovic was again the goat minutes later as the 17-year-old star rearguard took an offensive zone penalty that the Ice made them pay for with a shot by D Hayden Rintoul that Steele Boomer got a stick on to make it 2-0.
Rebel head coach Jesse Wallin then called time-out, regrouped and calmed his troops down. For the Ice that's when the penalty parade started, drawing three straight minors to end the first period. With Matt Fraser in the penalty box the Rebels cashed-in as super rookie Ryan Nugent-Hopkins notched his 23rd of the season to halve the lead.
Early in the second a Rebel blueline turnover would start a 3-on-2 for the Rebels. A pretty give-and-go passing play by Nugent-Hopkins and Willie Coetzee tied the game with Coetzee’s 26th on the year.
With both teams playing four-on-four, D James Martin fell on an Ice rush sending the Rebels back 3-on-1 in the other direction. Goaltender Todd Mathews would stop Landon Ferraro on the initial shot but a feed from behind the net produced another shot, another save and a goal-mouth scramble that Brett Ferguson stuffed in to make it 3-2 for the Rebels. Ferguson would convert yet another power play goal for the Rebels after a David Archer point-shot that Mathews stopped but couldn’t corral the rebound that Ferguson buried to make it 4-2, chasing Mathews in favour of Nathan Lieuwen in the process.
Some line-juggling in the third, moving LW Drew Czweronka up onto the second power play unit, failed to generate the offense the club was looking for. “We were just trying to shuffle them up a little bit and get something going but it also had a lot to do with the penalties we took.”
With the zebras heavily involved in this one – the Rebels enjoyed nine power plays while the Ice had six – Kootenay had their chances to get back in this one but couldn’t covert any more than Boomer’s tally in the first period. But penalties and fatigue finished off any hopes of a comeback. “Yeah, we were (tired) but that’ll be the last time we use the excuse that we were tired,” said Knoblauch. “We’ve had a long February with not a lot of days off and a lot of travel but four games in five nights, we were a bit tired and it showed.”
Quick Hits – Ice forward Matt Fraser, who missed Saturday’s 2-1 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes, returned Sunday for the win against the Tigers but continued to play with a full-face shield and will do so for the immediate future. Fraser suffered a black eye in a fight against Chief Bret Bartman that swelled shut and forced a visit to the doctor in which a CT Scan revealed a break in the orbital bone. Fraser is not expected to miss any more time… Fraser’s family hosted the club for a team dinner for the third straight year Monday night in Red Deer… Mathews was pulled in the second, surrendering four goals on 18 shots… King’s opening goal was one second off the team record for fastest goal to start a game, set by Curtis Bilsten in 2006… Both Nugent-Hopkins (goal, two assists) and Archer (three assists) finished with three point games while Kevin King had a goal and an assist… Brock Montgomery (shoulder – 2-3 weeks) and Jagger Dirk (healthy) were scratched for the Ice… Red Deer’s power play was 2-9 while Kootenay went 1-6.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Ice take two of three over the weekend...
Interestingly enough the WHL website has the Kootenay Ice clinching their 12th straight playoff appearance with a 3-1 win in Medicine Hat tonight over the Tigers. The Ice improve to 39-19-3-2 and 83 points after the win tonight and a 2-1 Shootout win over Lethbridge Hurricanes Saturday, though by my math the 9th place team, the Moose Jaw Warriors with 64 points and can still earn 88 points with 12 games left. So Kootenay's magic number remains 2.5 - or five points - before they can clinch.
UPDATE: See, that's why math was never my strong suit. Thanks to Greg who posted this on the comments board: The WHL is correct; Kootenay has clinched the playoffs.
Yes, the 9th place team (Moose Jaw) has 12 games remaining and can get a maximum of 88 points, but the 7th place team (Swift Current) has only 8 games remaining. As they currently sit with 66 points, the most that they can get is 82, meaning that they cannot catch the Ice.
Congratulations to the Ice on 12 straight playoff appearances!
The Medicine Hat News will have a gamer up here and the great highlites from the Tigers' website is here.
Kootenay hits the ice in Red Deer Tuesday night, the same night Canada takes on Germany in the qualification round. Turns out Sunday wasn't so super, except for the Yanks and the Russians and Swedes. Do you think Roberto Luongo will play? Cory Perry might skate harder for loose pucks or will Jarome Iginla stay on that Crosby line?
Long road to the gold now. Gotta always do things the hard way.
UPDATE: See, that's why math was never my strong suit. Thanks to Greg who posted this on the comments board: The WHL is correct; Kootenay has clinched the playoffs.
Yes, the 9th place team (Moose Jaw) has 12 games remaining and can get a maximum of 88 points, but the 7th place team (Swift Current) has only 8 games remaining. As they currently sit with 66 points, the most that they can get is 82, meaning that they cannot catch the Ice.
Congratulations to the Ice on 12 straight playoff appearances!
The Medicine Hat News will have a gamer up here and the great highlites from the Tigers' website is here.
Kootenay hits the ice in Red Deer Tuesday night, the same night Canada takes on Germany in the qualification round. Turns out Sunday wasn't so super, except for the Yanks and the Russians and Swedes. Do you think Roberto Luongo will play? Cory Perry might skate harder for loose pucks or will Jarome Iginla stay on that Crosby line?
Long road to the gold now. Gotta always do things the hard way.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Chiefs over Ice...
Nothing too formal today more than a few comments.... and just a note that I'll miss the club's next four home games due to my Peewee club's playoffs next weekend - including Saturday's big Hockeyville event in which CBC will be at the Plex - and then provincials in Kelowna, so posting could be a little spotty.
Kootenay lost their second straight game at home and dropped to 37-19-3-2 and still with 79 points and fourth in the Eastern Conference after losing 6-4 to the Spokane Chiefs Friday at the Rec Plex.
Another slow start put the Ice behind the eight-ball but this time it was an unlikely suspect - goaltender Todd Mathews - who had a tough start, watching three of the first five shots get behind him, though, to be fair only the first one he had much of the chance on.
Matt Fraser got the Ice on the board with his 27th of the season and then on the next face-off dropped the gloves with Chiefs D Brett Bartman. Fraser left the game after than and many feared that his shoulder had been re-injured. Upon further review Fraser showed up in the press box in the third with an eye that was swollen shut from the Bartman fight.
Hit of the night - Drew Czerwonka pasted Chief forward Tanner Mort in the third period with easily the biggest hit of the night. Mort, you may remember, attended Kootenay's training camp as a 15-year-old list invite last year. A Post Falls, Idaho product the Chiefs listed him out of their camp shortly thereafter.
The Ice scored three second period goals and actually took the lead as the great first period the Chiefs had faded away with a short-handed goal by Dustin Sylvester as he corraled a pass at the Chief blueline and roofed his fourth shortie of the season and 13th of his career, an Ice record. Max Reinhart tied it with a nice individual effort that he beat James Reid to tie it at three. The then took the lead on a seeing-eye shot by Brayden McNabb that got the joint jumping as the home side went up 4-3 at 18:26 of the second. 26 seconds later the building would deflate as Mathews just whiffed on a point-shot by Stefan Ulmer who got his second of the night.
The Chiefs would score the game-winner on a failed rim/clear by Mathews that was stopped at the point and sent to the side of the net where Tyler Johnson then found a wide-open Brady Brassart in the slot. He buried the eventually game-winner into the open net. The Chiefs added an empty-net goal just as time expired by Levko Koper a few seconds after Sylvester missed a glorious chance to tie it.
Kootenay finished the game with no power play opportunities, a club first.
Kootenay's on the road for the next four games starting Saturday in Lethbridge and Sunday in Medicine Hat. Don't look now but the red-hot Red Deer Rebels, who are 7-3 in the last ten games and now tied with the Tigers for fifth, five points back of the Ice who they play three times in the last eleven games of the season.
Kootenay's magic number - any combination of Kootenay wins or Prince Albert losses - remains a three to clinch a playoff berth.
Kootenay lost their second straight game at home and dropped to 37-19-3-2 and still with 79 points and fourth in the Eastern Conference after losing 6-4 to the Spokane Chiefs Friday at the Rec Plex.
Another slow start put the Ice behind the eight-ball but this time it was an unlikely suspect - goaltender Todd Mathews - who had a tough start, watching three of the first five shots get behind him, though, to be fair only the first one he had much of the chance on.
Matt Fraser got the Ice on the board with his 27th of the season and then on the next face-off dropped the gloves with Chiefs D Brett Bartman. Fraser left the game after than and many feared that his shoulder had been re-injured. Upon further review Fraser showed up in the press box in the third with an eye that was swollen shut from the Bartman fight.
Hit of the night - Drew Czerwonka pasted Chief forward Tanner Mort in the third period with easily the biggest hit of the night. Mort, you may remember, attended Kootenay's training camp as a 15-year-old list invite last year. A Post Falls, Idaho product the Chiefs listed him out of their camp shortly thereafter.
The Ice scored three second period goals and actually took the lead as the great first period the Chiefs had faded away with a short-handed goal by Dustin Sylvester as he corraled a pass at the Chief blueline and roofed his fourth shortie of the season and 13th of his career, an Ice record. Max Reinhart tied it with a nice individual effort that he beat James Reid to tie it at three. The then took the lead on a seeing-eye shot by Brayden McNabb that got the joint jumping as the home side went up 4-3 at 18:26 of the second. 26 seconds later the building would deflate as Mathews just whiffed on a point-shot by Stefan Ulmer who got his second of the night.
The Chiefs would score the game-winner on a failed rim/clear by Mathews that was stopped at the point and sent to the side of the net where Tyler Johnson then found a wide-open Brady Brassart in the slot. He buried the eventually game-winner into the open net. The Chiefs added an empty-net goal just as time expired by Levko Koper a few seconds after Sylvester missed a glorious chance to tie it.
Kootenay finished the game with no power play opportunities, a club first.
Kootenay's on the road for the next four games starting Saturday in Lethbridge and Sunday in Medicine Hat. Don't look now but the red-hot Red Deer Rebels, who are 7-3 in the last ten games and now tied with the Tigers for fifth, five points back of the Ice who they play three times in the last eleven games of the season.
Kootenay's magic number - any combination of Kootenay wins or Prince Albert losses - remains a three to clinch a playoff berth.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Score - Broncos - Ice
The Score – Swift Current 2 – Kootenay 1
What Happened – The Broncos played a perfect, if perfectly boring, road game. Got the lead and then played shut-down hockey, handing the Ice their first regulation loss at home since a 3-1 decision against the Calgary Hitmen December 11.
The Goals – Five minutes in Justin Dowling got a puck at the left face-off dot and let a bullet go that hit a stick and went just under the cross-bar… In the second Kootenay tied the game on the power play – just seconds after Steele Boomer and Hayden Rintoul were barking at each other coming off the ice for some miscommunication on the number one unit – Brayden McNabb sent a puck to the net that Jesse Ismond corralled, spun and fired that Clark stopped but had the rebound trickle to net-driving James Martin who banged in his 6th… The Broncos regained their one-goal lead with the Ice down two men – Bronco Coach Mark Lamb called a time-out to strategize – and Justin Dowling curled up around the blueline and fed Travis Bobbee with the one-timer. Mathews got over in time and stopped it, only to have it trickle through his pads.
The Bad Luck – Bronco forward Matt Tassone, in his last season of junior, returned from double shoulder surgery in November to boost the Broncos offense but has now suffered a hernia that has him out indefinitely and perhaps the season.
Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades – In the last minute the Ice had three glorious chances – one with Max Reinhart in the slot in which he couldn’t find the handle; another that hopped over the stick of Dustin Sylvester and in the dying seconds Matt Fraser was robbed by Morgan Clark with a huge glove save to preserve the win.
What it means – With the loss Kootenay falls to 37-18-3-2; 4th in the Eastern Conference
The Magic Number – Though the Ice lost the Prince Albert Raiders, who sit 9th in the Eastern Conference, lost to the Red Deer Rebels. Any combination of 3.5 Ice wins or Raider losses clinch Kootenay’s playoff berth.
The Crowd – 2530 – Tough to compete with Team Canada’s Olympic opener, a 8-0 blowout of Norway.
Daily Townsman Three Stars:
1. Justin Dowling – goal, assist.
2. Max Reinhart – Dangerous all night
3. Michael Stickland – Former Ice forward saved his best for the third
Up Next – The Spokane Chiefs are here Friday night.
What Happened – The Broncos played a perfect, if perfectly boring, road game. Got the lead and then played shut-down hockey, handing the Ice their first regulation loss at home since a 3-1 decision against the Calgary Hitmen December 11.
The Goals – Five minutes in Justin Dowling got a puck at the left face-off dot and let a bullet go that hit a stick and went just under the cross-bar… In the second Kootenay tied the game on the power play – just seconds after Steele Boomer and Hayden Rintoul were barking at each other coming off the ice for some miscommunication on the number one unit – Brayden McNabb sent a puck to the net that Jesse Ismond corralled, spun and fired that Clark stopped but had the rebound trickle to net-driving James Martin who banged in his 6th… The Broncos regained their one-goal lead with the Ice down two men – Bronco Coach Mark Lamb called a time-out to strategize – and Justin Dowling curled up around the blueline and fed Travis Bobbee with the one-timer. Mathews got over in time and stopped it, only to have it trickle through his pads.
The Bad Luck – Bronco forward Matt Tassone, in his last season of junior, returned from double shoulder surgery in November to boost the Broncos offense but has now suffered a hernia that has him out indefinitely and perhaps the season.
Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades – In the last minute the Ice had three glorious chances – one with Max Reinhart in the slot in which he couldn’t find the handle; another that hopped over the stick of Dustin Sylvester and in the dying seconds Matt Fraser was robbed by Morgan Clark with a huge glove save to preserve the win.
What it means – With the loss Kootenay falls to 37-18-3-2; 4th in the Eastern Conference
The Magic Number – Though the Ice lost the Prince Albert Raiders, who sit 9th in the Eastern Conference, lost to the Red Deer Rebels. Any combination of 3.5 Ice wins or Raider losses clinch Kootenay’s playoff berth.
The Crowd – 2530 – Tough to compete with Team Canada’s Olympic opener, a 8-0 blowout of Norway.
Daily Townsman Three Stars:
1. Justin Dowling – goal, assist.
2. Max Reinhart – Dangerous all night
3. Michael Stickland – Former Ice forward saved his best for the third
Up Next – The Spokane Chiefs are here Friday night.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Ice double up Blades
For the Cranbrook Daily Townsman...
Ice dull Blades 6-3
by Jeff Bromley
Muhammad Ali would be proud.
The Kootenay Ice used their best rope-a-dope impression as Todd Mathews stopped a barrage of 18 Saskatoon first period shots while both Kevin King and Jesse Ismond notched two goals each en route to a 6-3 win over the Eastern Conference leaders Sunday night at the Cranbrook Rec Plex.
Coming out of the gates flat for the second straight home date the Ice leaned heavily on their goaltender and at one point were out-shot 12-2 through the game’s first eight minutes. Head coach Mark Holick insisted that tiring out the Blades shot-wise wasn’t one of the club’s strategies. “I don’t know if was that bad,” said Holick, whose charges recovered to generate 12 shots and a 1-0 first period lead. “The shot total wasn’t where we’d like it to be but we missed the net about six times and failed to put shots on the net to generate chances. We also turned the puck over too many times, which obviously wasn’t the game-plan.”
“You can hang this one on Todd,” continued Holick. “If it’s not for Todd Mathews, especially on that five-on-three, I don’t think we get away with this one tonight.”
An appropriate choice of words, given the early circumstances as Mathews continued to stymie the Blades, including the aforementioned five-on-three with both Steele Boomer and Kevin King in the box, Kootenay killed it off and seemed to build on the momentum shift and the energy of the 2806 in attendance. At 16:34 of the first Boomer burst down the left-wing and found Dustin Sylvester in front of the net. Blade goaltender Adam Morrison stopped Sylvester’s back-hand but couldn’t corral the rebound. Kevin King did and backhanded his 21st past him to give the Ice an unlikely 1-0 first period lead. Mathews kept the lead when Blade forward Gaelen Patterson was hauled down by Jesse Ismond in the period's last minute, covering on a Brayden McNabb pinch gone awry, prompting referee Derek Herman to award a penalty shot that the 19-year-old turned aside.
Then the penalty trouble started for the visitors.
Carrying over from the first period with Josh Nicholls off for interference Patterson once again got away, this time on a two-on-one after McNabb got caught again, and this time he didn’t get hauled down and didn’t miss, wiring his 20th past Mathews to tie it at one. The odd-man rushes and short-handed chances – Patterson’s goal was the club’s tenth short-handed marker given up this season – are a topic of discussion with McNabb, and all of his teammates, but there’s no need to panic Holick said. “I’m not going to say he hasn’t struggled lately but in November when we were at a 40% clip on the power play for awhile he was a big part of the reason why,” said Holick. “He’s going to get that back. I’m going to stay loyal to guys in that situation. I’m not going to lie and say we haven’t talked about it and worked on video with everybody on it and why we’re turning pucks over at the blueline. It’s just something we’re going through. He’ll be fine.”
As it would turn out they would be more than fine as the home side took full advantage of the Blades inability to stay out of the box, with Jesse Ismond finishing off a pretty three-way power play goal to give the Ice the lead back at 2:29 of the second. Ismond would do it again five minutes later on a great cross-ice feed from Joe Antilla to make it 3-1. Kevin King and Matt Fraser would add two more to give the Ice a 5-1 lead at the second intermission.
Unlike their previous visit, an 8-1 thrashing, the visitors wouldn’t go quietly into the night this time scoring two quick goals in the third by Brent Benson and Jeremy Boyer before Steele Boomer’s 23rd of the season on a breakaway to put the Blades away. “The gameplan was to get the puck deep and bang some bodies,” said Boomer, whose goal and two assists earned him second star honours. “Sometimes it takes awhile to establish the forecheck and to get on the puck consistently. It’s something we’ve got to improve on. We did it well for awhile and kind of got away from it lately but we definitely picked it up.”
Quick Hits – A mini-melee ensued after Blade forward Charles Inglis cross-checking Brayden McNabb dangerously into the boards in the second period. Inglis was tossed, as was Drew Czerwonka and Darian Dziurzynksi for being involved in a second scrap, and Ismond sat out for 17 minutes after coming to his teammate's aid as Kootenay enjoyed a three minute power play that began with a rare three-on-three for 37 seconds... Scratches for the Ice were forwards Elgin Pearce and Brock Montgomery, who suffered a slight shoulder separation in the club’s 5-2 win in Edmonton Friday night. He is expected to miss 2-3 weeks… With the win, their third straight, Kootenay improves to 37-17-3-2 and are solidly in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, five points up on the Medicine Hat Tigers with three games in hand… Kootenay’s magic number for clinching a playoff spot sits at four. Any combination of Ice wins or Prince Albert Raiders losses equalling four gets Kootenay into the post-season for the 12th straight season… The Swift Current Broncos are at the Rec Plex Tuesday night. Gametime is 7PM.
Ice dull Blades 6-3
by Jeff Bromley
Muhammad Ali would be proud.
The Kootenay Ice used their best rope-a-dope impression as Todd Mathews stopped a barrage of 18 Saskatoon first period shots while both Kevin King and Jesse Ismond notched two goals each en route to a 6-3 win over the Eastern Conference leaders Sunday night at the Cranbrook Rec Plex.
Coming out of the gates flat for the second straight home date the Ice leaned heavily on their goaltender and at one point were out-shot 12-2 through the game’s first eight minutes. Head coach Mark Holick insisted that tiring out the Blades shot-wise wasn’t one of the club’s strategies. “I don’t know if was that bad,” said Holick, whose charges recovered to generate 12 shots and a 1-0 first period lead. “The shot total wasn’t where we’d like it to be but we missed the net about six times and failed to put shots on the net to generate chances. We also turned the puck over too many times, which obviously wasn’t the game-plan.”
“You can hang this one on Todd,” continued Holick. “If it’s not for Todd Mathews, especially on that five-on-three, I don’t think we get away with this one tonight.”
An appropriate choice of words, given the early circumstances as Mathews continued to stymie the Blades, including the aforementioned five-on-three with both Steele Boomer and Kevin King in the box, Kootenay killed it off and seemed to build on the momentum shift and the energy of the 2806 in attendance. At 16:34 of the first Boomer burst down the left-wing and found Dustin Sylvester in front of the net. Blade goaltender Adam Morrison stopped Sylvester’s back-hand but couldn’t corral the rebound. Kevin King did and backhanded his 21st past him to give the Ice an unlikely 1-0 first period lead. Mathews kept the lead when Blade forward Gaelen Patterson was hauled down by Jesse Ismond in the period's last minute, covering on a Brayden McNabb pinch gone awry, prompting referee Derek Herman to award a penalty shot that the 19-year-old turned aside.
Then the penalty trouble started for the visitors.
Carrying over from the first period with Josh Nicholls off for interference Patterson once again got away, this time on a two-on-one after McNabb got caught again, and this time he didn’t get hauled down and didn’t miss, wiring his 20th past Mathews to tie it at one. The odd-man rushes and short-handed chances – Patterson’s goal was the club’s tenth short-handed marker given up this season – are a topic of discussion with McNabb, and all of his teammates, but there’s no need to panic Holick said. “I’m not going to say he hasn’t struggled lately but in November when we were at a 40% clip on the power play for awhile he was a big part of the reason why,” said Holick. “He’s going to get that back. I’m going to stay loyal to guys in that situation. I’m not going to lie and say we haven’t talked about it and worked on video with everybody on it and why we’re turning pucks over at the blueline. It’s just something we’re going through. He’ll be fine.”
As it would turn out they would be more than fine as the home side took full advantage of the Blades inability to stay out of the box, with Jesse Ismond finishing off a pretty three-way power play goal to give the Ice the lead back at 2:29 of the second. Ismond would do it again five minutes later on a great cross-ice feed from Joe Antilla to make it 3-1. Kevin King and Matt Fraser would add two more to give the Ice a 5-1 lead at the second intermission.
Unlike their previous visit, an 8-1 thrashing, the visitors wouldn’t go quietly into the night this time scoring two quick goals in the third by Brent Benson and Jeremy Boyer before Steele Boomer’s 23rd of the season on a breakaway to put the Blades away. “The gameplan was to get the puck deep and bang some bodies,” said Boomer, whose goal and two assists earned him second star honours. “Sometimes it takes awhile to establish the forecheck and to get on the puck consistently. It’s something we’ve got to improve on. We did it well for awhile and kind of got away from it lately but we definitely picked it up.”
Quick Hits – A mini-melee ensued after Blade forward Charles Inglis cross-checking Brayden McNabb dangerously into the boards in the second period. Inglis was tossed, as was Drew Czerwonka and Darian Dziurzynksi for being involved in a second scrap, and Ismond sat out for 17 minutes after coming to his teammate's aid as Kootenay enjoyed a three minute power play that began with a rare three-on-three for 37 seconds... Scratches for the Ice were forwards Elgin Pearce and Brock Montgomery, who suffered a slight shoulder separation in the club’s 5-2 win in Edmonton Friday night. He is expected to miss 2-3 weeks… With the win, their third straight, Kootenay improves to 37-17-3-2 and are solidly in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, five points up on the Medicine Hat Tigers with three games in hand… Kootenay’s magic number for clinching a playoff spot sits at four. Any combination of Ice wins or Prince Albert Raiders losses equalling four gets Kootenay into the post-season for the 12th straight season… The Swift Current Broncos are at the Rec Plex Tuesday night. Gametime is 7PM.
The Score - Ice 6 - Blades 3
The Score – Kootenay 6 – Saskatoon 3
What Happened – For the second straight home game the Ice came out flat and relied on Todd Mathews to hold the fort before finding their legs and the back of the Blade net.
The Goals – Just after Referee Derek Herman missed a brutal high-stick on Max Reinhart, further endearing himself to the Rec Plex faithful, Steele Boomer broke down the left wing and dished the puck to the slot. Blade goaltender Adam Morrison stopped Sylvester’s backhand but couldn’t corral the rebound. Kevin King did and notched his 21st to put the Ice up 1-0… In the second an ill-advised pinch by Brayden McNabb produced a 2-on-1 for Patterson. This time he stayed upright and beat Mathews to tie it at one… On the same power play the Ice vindicated themselves with a pretty three-way passing play in which Jesse Ismond finished off on Morrison’s door-step to restore the one-goal lead… With another strong shift by Jesse Ismond and Joe Antilla, Antilla found Ismond wide open from about 15 feet for the one-timer. He didn’t miss… Four minutes later, with the Ice on the power play after Inglis was tossed, Steele Boomer once again burned down the left wing, went low and found a hard-charging Kevin King on a beautiful set-up. Kings second of the night made it 4-1… With the Blades in the box again Matt Fraser pushed in his 27th of the season – perhaps the quietest 27 goal scorer in the WHL – behind Morrison to make it 5-1. Interestingly enough the power play did not end as Josh Nicholls was fingered for hooking on the rush. The delayed call doesn’t get negated if the team on the power play scores… In the third the Blades would keep hanging around when Walker Wintoneak unleashed a howitzer that Mathews kicked out, right to Brent Benson who buried his 7th… The Blades made it 5-3 45 seconds later when Lucas Sutter found Jeremy Boyer in front of Mathews with his 9th… Steele Boomer, after he blocked Sam Klassen’s attempt to keep the puck on-side with his visor, was off to the races and beat Morrison on the back-hand deke to make it 6-3.
The Penalty Shot – Up 1-0 and on a power play late in the first period D Brayden McNabb was down low for a blast that was stopped by Morrison. The rebound was cleared around a covering Jesse Ismond who couldn’t stop it and then couldn’t catch Blade forward Gaelan Patterson, until just before he got to Todd Mathews. Ismond hauled Patterson down and the latter was awarded a penalty shot. The red-hot Mathews stopped him.
The Rope-a-dope – Is it a strategy? Goaltender Todd Mathews stopped 18 first period shots by the Blades, many of them of the spectacular variety, and with the Blades fully tired from shooting Kootenay’s power play took over from there.
The Stripes – On a night these two teams, who have grown quite a hate-on for each other, Derek (somebody in the crowd called him Peewee on more than one occasion) Herman could have used another set of eyes. He called 10 minors, eight on the Blades, and there could've been much more, on either side.
The Melee – In the second 17-year-old Charles Inglis cross-checked Ice D Brayden McNabb dangerously into the boards. Ismond then grabbed Inglis, rushing to his teammates defence, and started swinging. In the process Drew Czerwonka and Darian Dziurzynski squared-off in a second battle. The latter two were tossed as the second fight and Inglis got the major for cross-checking. With Lucas Sutter and Dustin Sylvester still in the box, a little three-on-three pond-hockey ensued.
Thrower-Hurley I – The two rookies threw-down in the first and wrestled their way to a couple of double roughing minors.
Thrower-Hurley II – Following Kootenay’s second goal the two threw down once again off the face-off. Hurley this time dropped Thrower with an overhand right.
And you though you had it tough – Looking to duck out of post-game interviews in a hurry, Ice coach Mark Holick dutifully answered reporters questions before heading home to shower his wife with both Valentine’s Day and birthday wishes. Jeesh, unlike some (period break Valentine’s giveaways, both guys were 0-2 in the gift-giving department) in the crowd tonight, he’d best not forget that one.
What it means – With the win, their third straight, Kootenay improves to 37-17-3-2; and puts still more real estate between them and the Medicine Hat Tigers, five points, for fourth in the Eastern conference.
The Magic Number – Any combination of four Kootenay wins and/or Prince Albert losses equalling four puts Kootenay in the post-season for the 12th straight year.
The Crowd – 2806 – A surly bunch that would’ve run Herman out of town on a rail had things not gone Kootenay’s way.
Rec Plex Three Stars
1. LW Jesse Ismond – Two goals.
2. C Steele Boomer – Goal, two big assists; was the difference on this night
3. RW Kevin King – Two goals, a beast.
Up Next – The Swift Current Broncos are at the Rec Plex Tuesday night.
Blades 3 @ Ice 6
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for regular season game between the Saskatoon Blades and the Kootenay Ice. February 14, 2010;
Kevin King and Jesse Ismond had two goals each as the Kootenay Ice doubled the Saskatoon Blades 6-3 in WHL action Sunday night. The Ice went up 1-0 on King's 21 of the season before the Blades tied it early in the second period with a short-handed goal by Gaelen Patterson. The then scored four straight goals, two by Ismond with his 18th and 19th of the season, one by King and another by Matt Fraser, to go up 5-1 by the second intermission. The Blades made things interesting in the third with two goals by Brent Benson and Jeremy Boyer before Steele Boomer ended his three-point night with a breakaway goal, his 23rd on the season to make it 6-3.
Todd Mathews got the win stopping 31 of 34 shots including 18 in the first period while Adam Morrison took the loss, stopping 30 of 36 shots.
First Period
1. Kootenay, King 21 (Sylvester, Boomer) 16:34
Penalties --Thrower Sas Hurley Ktn (dbl roughing) 9:22, Boomer Ktn (tripping) 10:37, King Ktn (interference) 11:15, Nicholls Sas (interference) 18:36,
Second Period
2. Saskatoon, Patterson 20 (Elliot) 2:02 (sh)
3. Kootenay, Ismond 18 (Rintoul, Reinhart) 2:59 (pp)
4. Kootenay, Ismond 19 (Antilla, Pacovsky) 7:12
5. Kootenay, King 22 (Boomer) 11:57 (pp)
6. Kootenay, Fraser 27 (Pacovsky, Paulsen) 19:11 (pp)
Penalties -- Inglis Sas (tripping) 1:40, Thrower Sas Hurley (fighting) 2:59, Toomey Sas (cross-checking) Pacovsky Ktn (unsportsmanlike conduct) 7:12, Sutter Sas Sylvester Ktn (unsportsmanlike conduct) 7:16, Fraser Ktn Klassen Sas (delay-of-game) 8:25, Inglis Sas (cross-checking major, fighting, misconduct) Ismond Ktn (instigator - served by Paulsen, fighting, misconduct) Czerwonka Ktn (fighting, misconduct) Dziurzynski Sas (fighting, double misconduct) 8:40, Sutter Sas (high-sticking) 17:16, Nicholls Sas (hooking) 19:11.
Third Period
7. Saskatoon, Benson 7 (Wintoneak, Kiziuk) 8:28
8. Saskatoon, Boyer 9 (Sutter, Toomey) 9:15
9. Kootenay, Boomer 23 15:18
Penalties -- Nieme Sas (cross-checking) 1:46, Viedensky Sas (goaltender interference) 18:18.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 12 16 8 - 36
Saskatoon: 18 6 10 - 34
Goal -- Kootenay: Todd Mathews (W, 28-8-3-2) Saskatoon: Adam Morrison (L, 15-9-0-3)
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 3-8
Saskatoon: 0-2
Referee -- Derek Herman. Linesman -- Jim Jobson, Jim Maniago.
Attendance -- 2806 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Elgin Pearce (healthy), Brock Montgomery (shoulder - 2-3 weeks).
Saskatoon: Teigan Zahn (leg - indefinite), Duncan Siemens (shoulder – 1-2 weeks), Curtis Hamilton (collarbone – indefinite), Curt Gogol (thumb – 3-5 weeks)
Penalty Shot - Patterson Sas - stopped 19:17 of 1st.
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
What Happened – For the second straight home game the Ice came out flat and relied on Todd Mathews to hold the fort before finding their legs and the back of the Blade net.
The Goals – Just after Referee Derek Herman missed a brutal high-stick on Max Reinhart, further endearing himself to the Rec Plex faithful, Steele Boomer broke down the left wing and dished the puck to the slot. Blade goaltender Adam Morrison stopped Sylvester’s backhand but couldn’t corral the rebound. Kevin King did and notched his 21st to put the Ice up 1-0… In the second an ill-advised pinch by Brayden McNabb produced a 2-on-1 for Patterson. This time he stayed upright and beat Mathews to tie it at one… On the same power play the Ice vindicated themselves with a pretty three-way passing play in which Jesse Ismond finished off on Morrison’s door-step to restore the one-goal lead… With another strong shift by Jesse Ismond and Joe Antilla, Antilla found Ismond wide open from about 15 feet for the one-timer. He didn’t miss… Four minutes later, with the Ice on the power play after Inglis was tossed, Steele Boomer once again burned down the left wing, went low and found a hard-charging Kevin King on a beautiful set-up. Kings second of the night made it 4-1… With the Blades in the box again Matt Fraser pushed in his 27th of the season – perhaps the quietest 27 goal scorer in the WHL – behind Morrison to make it 5-1. Interestingly enough the power play did not end as Josh Nicholls was fingered for hooking on the rush. The delayed call doesn’t get negated if the team on the power play scores… In the third the Blades would keep hanging around when Walker Wintoneak unleashed a howitzer that Mathews kicked out, right to Brent Benson who buried his 7th… The Blades made it 5-3 45 seconds later when Lucas Sutter found Jeremy Boyer in front of Mathews with his 9th… Steele Boomer, after he blocked Sam Klassen’s attempt to keep the puck on-side with his visor, was off to the races and beat Morrison on the back-hand deke to make it 6-3.
The Penalty Shot – Up 1-0 and on a power play late in the first period D Brayden McNabb was down low for a blast that was stopped by Morrison. The rebound was cleared around a covering Jesse Ismond who couldn’t stop it and then couldn’t catch Blade forward Gaelan Patterson, until just before he got to Todd Mathews. Ismond hauled Patterson down and the latter was awarded a penalty shot. The red-hot Mathews stopped him.
The Rope-a-dope – Is it a strategy? Goaltender Todd Mathews stopped 18 first period shots by the Blades, many of them of the spectacular variety, and with the Blades fully tired from shooting Kootenay’s power play took over from there.
The Stripes – On a night these two teams, who have grown quite a hate-on for each other, Derek (somebody in the crowd called him Peewee on more than one occasion) Herman could have used another set of eyes. He called 10 minors, eight on the Blades, and there could've been much more, on either side.
The Melee – In the second 17-year-old Charles Inglis cross-checked Ice D Brayden McNabb dangerously into the boards. Ismond then grabbed Inglis, rushing to his teammates defence, and started swinging. In the process Drew Czerwonka and Darian Dziurzynski squared-off in a second battle. The latter two were tossed as the second fight and Inglis got the major for cross-checking. With Lucas Sutter and Dustin Sylvester still in the box, a little three-on-three pond-hockey ensued.
Thrower-Hurley I – The two rookies threw-down in the first and wrestled their way to a couple of double roughing minors.
Thrower-Hurley II – Following Kootenay’s second goal the two threw down once again off the face-off. Hurley this time dropped Thrower with an overhand right.
And you though you had it tough – Looking to duck out of post-game interviews in a hurry, Ice coach Mark Holick dutifully answered reporters questions before heading home to shower his wife with both Valentine’s Day and birthday wishes. Jeesh, unlike some (period break Valentine’s giveaways, both guys were 0-2 in the gift-giving department) in the crowd tonight, he’d best not forget that one.
What it means – With the win, their third straight, Kootenay improves to 37-17-3-2; and puts still more real estate between them and the Medicine Hat Tigers, five points, for fourth in the Eastern conference.
The Magic Number – Any combination of four Kootenay wins and/or Prince Albert losses equalling four puts Kootenay in the post-season for the 12th straight year.
The Crowd – 2806 – A surly bunch that would’ve run Herman out of town on a rail had things not gone Kootenay’s way.
Rec Plex Three Stars
1. LW Jesse Ismond – Two goals.
2. C Steele Boomer – Goal, two big assists; was the difference on this night
3. RW Kevin King – Two goals, a beast.
Up Next – The Swift Current Broncos are at the Rec Plex Tuesday night.
Blades 3 @ Ice 6
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for regular season game between the Saskatoon Blades and the Kootenay Ice. February 14, 2010;
Kevin King and Jesse Ismond had two goals each as the Kootenay Ice doubled the Saskatoon Blades 6-3 in WHL action Sunday night. The Ice went up 1-0 on King's 21 of the season before the Blades tied it early in the second period with a short-handed goal by Gaelen Patterson. The then scored four straight goals, two by Ismond with his 18th and 19th of the season, one by King and another by Matt Fraser, to go up 5-1 by the second intermission. The Blades made things interesting in the third with two goals by Brent Benson and Jeremy Boyer before Steele Boomer ended his three-point night with a breakaway goal, his 23rd on the season to make it 6-3.
Todd Mathews got the win stopping 31 of 34 shots including 18 in the first period while Adam Morrison took the loss, stopping 30 of 36 shots.
First Period
1. Kootenay, King 21 (Sylvester, Boomer) 16:34
Penalties --Thrower Sas Hurley Ktn (dbl roughing) 9:22, Boomer Ktn (tripping) 10:37, King Ktn (interference) 11:15, Nicholls Sas (interference) 18:36,
Second Period
2. Saskatoon, Patterson 20 (Elliot) 2:02 (sh)
3. Kootenay, Ismond 18 (Rintoul, Reinhart) 2:59 (pp)
4. Kootenay, Ismond 19 (Antilla, Pacovsky) 7:12
5. Kootenay, King 22 (Boomer) 11:57 (pp)
6. Kootenay, Fraser 27 (Pacovsky, Paulsen) 19:11 (pp)
Penalties -- Inglis Sas (tripping) 1:40, Thrower Sas Hurley (fighting) 2:59, Toomey Sas (cross-checking) Pacovsky Ktn (unsportsmanlike conduct) 7:12, Sutter Sas Sylvester Ktn (unsportsmanlike conduct) 7:16, Fraser Ktn Klassen Sas (delay-of-game) 8:25, Inglis Sas (cross-checking major, fighting, misconduct) Ismond Ktn (instigator - served by Paulsen, fighting, misconduct) Czerwonka Ktn (fighting, misconduct) Dziurzynski Sas (fighting, double misconduct) 8:40, Sutter Sas (high-sticking) 17:16, Nicholls Sas (hooking) 19:11.
Third Period
7. Saskatoon, Benson 7 (Wintoneak, Kiziuk) 8:28
8. Saskatoon, Boyer 9 (Sutter, Toomey) 9:15
9. Kootenay, Boomer 23 15:18
Penalties -- Nieme Sas (cross-checking) 1:46, Viedensky Sas (goaltender interference) 18:18.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 12 16 8 - 36
Saskatoon: 18 6 10 - 34
Goal -- Kootenay: Todd Mathews (W, 28-8-3-2) Saskatoon: Adam Morrison (L, 15-9-0-3)
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 3-8
Saskatoon: 0-2
Referee -- Derek Herman. Linesman -- Jim Jobson, Jim Maniago.
Attendance -- 2806 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Elgin Pearce (healthy), Brock Montgomery (shoulder - 2-3 weeks).
Saskatoon: Teigan Zahn (leg - indefinite), Duncan Siemens (shoulder – 1-2 weeks), Curtis Hamilton (collarbone – indefinite), Curt Gogol (thumb – 3-5 weeks)
Penalty Shot - Patterson Sas - stopped 19:17 of 1st.
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
Friday, February 12, 2010
Ice beat Oil 5-2
The Kootenay Ice got their 36th win of the season tonight coming back from a 2-1 deficit in the second period with four straight goals to beat the Oil Kings 5-2 in Edmonton.
Dustin Sylvester had a goal and two assists to move into a tie for the lead in the WHL scoring race with 81 points with Trail's Craig Cunningham of the Vancouver Giants.
Nathan Lieuwen stopped 25 of 27 shots to get his 9th win of the season.
Steele Boomer with his 22nd, Matt Fraser with his 26th, Kevin King with his 20th of the season and Drew Czerwonka's 4th was the game-winner.
Sylvester's three-points puts him in contention for a scoring title, the first time since 2006 and 2007 when both Adam Cracknell and Steve Da Silva finished second.
Kootenay hosts Saskatoon at the Rec Plex on Sunday.
Dustin Sylvester had a goal and two assists to move into a tie for the lead in the WHL scoring race with 81 points with Trail's Craig Cunningham of the Vancouver Giants.
Nathan Lieuwen stopped 25 of 27 shots to get his 9th win of the season.
Steele Boomer with his 22nd, Matt Fraser with his 26th, Kevin King with his 20th of the season and Drew Czerwonka's 4th was the game-winner.
Sylvester's three-points puts him in contention for a scoring title, the first time since 2006 and 2007 when both Adam Cracknell and Steve Da Silva finished second.
Kootenay hosts Saskatoon at the Rec Plex on Sunday.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Ice Dump Warriors
For HockeyNow...
Kootenay survives road; climbs into contention in East
by Jeff Bromley
The thought of it wasn’t going to linger, they wouldn’t let it.
Blowing a two-goal lead Saturday to Jordan Eberle and the Regina Pats wasn’t going to creep into their game Tuesday at home against the Moose Jaw Warriors at least that was the plan.
The Kootenay Ice started tentative, looked unsure of themselves and played every bit the part of a the fragile hockey team Tuesday against the Warriors before snapping out of it and scoring four unanswered goals in the second and third periods to dump the visitors 5-2, breaking a mini two-game losing streak in the process. “It shows guys in that room are pretty passionate,” said Ice forward Joe Antilla, a Madeira Park product who scored Kootenay’s fourth goal. “After that loss guys took it pretty hard. Things were happening in the dressing room and guys took it upon themselves to work things out. We banded together and came out stronger.”
But not at first against the Warriors in the club’s first home game in almost two weeks. The 26-20-4-4 Warriors, with a tenuous hold on the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot with 60 points before the club’s road trip across the U.S. Division, opened the game with a decided advantage, catching the Ice flat-footed early. Coquitlam’s Jesse Paradis jumped on a rebound and put the Warriors up 1-0 five minutes into the game with his 8th. Ice captain Dustin Sylvester tied the game 2:25 later with a power play goal, his 30th of the season, to send the club’s to the break tied at one. The Warriors once again got the early jump with a two-on-one marker by Spencer Edwards less than a minute into the second period but Sylvester once again orchestrated the come back with a great feed to D Ryan Molle to tie it and then potting the eventual game-winner on a great re-direction to put the Ice up for good. “I was a little bit surprised to see Molle there,” said Sylvester of his stay-at-home d-man who got his second goal Tuesday. “He was yelling pretty loud so I gave it to him. Hats off to him for some great communication and he buried it.”
Kootenay head coach Mark Holick was concerned about his club’s start but liked how the club battled through it to turn the tide on the Warriors. “When you started throwing pucks up the middle or turning pucks over at your blueline, that’s when you start playing with fire but we did a pretty good job,” said Holick. “We cashed in on our chances tonight. The Warriors did a good job of blocking shots and we didn’t get a lot of shots at (Warrior goaltender Jeff Bosch) as we missed the net a lot but we did get five goals and that’s the total that matters.”
Quick Hits – Sylvester’s two goal, one assist performance put the Kelowna product solely into third place in the WHL scoring race with 78 points, one point behind Pat forward Jordan Eberle and three back of Vancouver Giants forward Craig Cunningham who holds the league-lead with 81 points… Kootenay’s Matt Fraser rounded out the scoring Tuesday with his 25th. … The win puts the Ice ( 35-17-3-2) three points up on the fifth-place Medicine Hat Tigers and one point back of the Central Division leading Calgary Hitmen. The Ice are in Edmonton on Friday
Kootenay survives road; climbs into contention in East
by Jeff Bromley
The thought of it wasn’t going to linger, they wouldn’t let it.
Blowing a two-goal lead Saturday to Jordan Eberle and the Regina Pats wasn’t going to creep into their game Tuesday at home against the Moose Jaw Warriors at least that was the plan.
The Kootenay Ice started tentative, looked unsure of themselves and played every bit the part of a the fragile hockey team Tuesday against the Warriors before snapping out of it and scoring four unanswered goals in the second and third periods to dump the visitors 5-2, breaking a mini two-game losing streak in the process. “It shows guys in that room are pretty passionate,” said Ice forward Joe Antilla, a Madeira Park product who scored Kootenay’s fourth goal. “After that loss guys took it pretty hard. Things were happening in the dressing room and guys took it upon themselves to work things out. We banded together and came out stronger.”
But not at first against the Warriors in the club’s first home game in almost two weeks. The 26-20-4-4 Warriors, with a tenuous hold on the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot with 60 points before the club’s road trip across the U.S. Division, opened the game with a decided advantage, catching the Ice flat-footed early. Coquitlam’s Jesse Paradis jumped on a rebound and put the Warriors up 1-0 five minutes into the game with his 8th. Ice captain Dustin Sylvester tied the game 2:25 later with a power play goal, his 30th of the season, to send the club’s to the break tied at one. The Warriors once again got the early jump with a two-on-one marker by Spencer Edwards less than a minute into the second period but Sylvester once again orchestrated the come back with a great feed to D Ryan Molle to tie it and then potting the eventual game-winner on a great re-direction to put the Ice up for good. “I was a little bit surprised to see Molle there,” said Sylvester of his stay-at-home d-man who got his second goal Tuesday. “He was yelling pretty loud so I gave it to him. Hats off to him for some great communication and he buried it.”
Kootenay head coach Mark Holick was concerned about his club’s start but liked how the club battled through it to turn the tide on the Warriors. “When you started throwing pucks up the middle or turning pucks over at your blueline, that’s when you start playing with fire but we did a pretty good job,” said Holick. “We cashed in on our chances tonight. The Warriors did a good job of blocking shots and we didn’t get a lot of shots at (Warrior goaltender Jeff Bosch) as we missed the net a lot but we did get five goals and that’s the total that matters.”
Quick Hits – Sylvester’s two goal, one assist performance put the Kelowna product solely into third place in the WHL scoring race with 78 points, one point behind Pat forward Jordan Eberle and three back of Vancouver Giants forward Craig Cunningham who holds the league-lead with 81 points… Kootenay’s Matt Fraser rounded out the scoring Tuesday with his 25th. … The win puts the Ice ( 35-17-3-2) three points up on the fifth-place Medicine Hat Tigers and one point back of the Central Division leading Calgary Hitmen. The Ice are in Edmonton on Friday
The Score - Ice over Warriors
Finally some fill in the void that has been this blog of late. Peewee hockey will do that sometimes. I guess I could've filled it with that but you might not be as interested....
The Score – Kootenay 5 – Moose Jaw 2
What Happened – Kootenay shook off a slow start against the Warriors and converted on their chances and in the end got better goaltending on this night.
The Goals – Right after he levelled Ice forward Drew Czerwonka at the bottom of the right circle Jesse Paradis cruised through the slot and picked up Cody Smuk’s point-shot rebound and got his 8th of the season past Mathews for a 1-0 Warrior lead… With the Ice on a power play Warrior goaltender Jeff Bosch played the pass with Dustin Sylvester curling off the half-wall into the slot. Bad idea as the Ice captain fired his 30th of the season past him to tie the game… Not long after killing a penalty to open the second Warrior forward Jason Bast out-battled Ice D Brayden McNabb for a puck at the Ice blueline and went in on a 2-on-1 with Spencer Edwards. A perfect pass enabled Edwards to tap in his 15th and was helped off the ice in obvious discomfort afterwards for his troubles. He would return… In an unlikely scenario, with the clubs skating four-on-four, Dustin Sylvester had a short-line to his second of the night on Bosch but dished the puck to Ryan Molle, yes, he of the one goal this season, in the slot. Molle beat Bosch with a wrister… Surprising everyone but his captain... Sylvester was at it again, this timing starting his own goal with a dump-in behind the net to Steele Boomer, who then found Kevin King at the right hash marks, who in turn found Sylvester streaking to the slot to redirect his 31st past Bosch to give the Ice their first lead of the night… In the third D James Martin sent a laser of a pass to a streaking Joe Antilla who hit his stride at the Warrior blueline and sent a wrist-shot past Bosch to make it 4-2. The goal deflated the Warriors and had the visitors looking like a different team than the one who started the night… Matt Fraser (see Hits) would round out the scoring with a short breakaway wrist-shot, his 25th of the season, to make it 5-2.
The Save – On a 60-foot 2-on-1 late in the second period, on an almost mirror image of the Warriors’ second goal, Todd Mathews stuck out the pad on Brendan Rowinski to keep the game 3-2.
The Hits – Two, on this night, Paradis’ levelling of Czerwonka just before opening the scoring and then late in the game when Kevin King sent Kendall McFaull – an apt name on this play – to the ice with a crushing hit just inside the blueline. Thomas Frazee, who did little Tuesday, got on the hit parade late in the game with a blind-side hit on Max Reinhart just inside the Warrior line. It did little other than spring Matt Fraser, who put the ice up 5-2. Announced as unassisted Reinhart should get an assist on the play.
The Heavyweight – Considered by many to be the premier WHL heavyweight, Dylan McIlrath, 17, wasn’t a factor on this night. The 6’5” 215-pounder had no takers Tuesday.
The Magic Number - For those wondering, Kootenay's magic number to clinch the club's 11th-straight appearance in the WHL Playoffs sits at 8. Any combination of eight wins or Swift Current loses equalling eight puts the Ice in.
What it means – Breathing room. Kootenay improves to 35-17-3-2; good for 75 points and still in fourth place in the Eastern Conference as the Hitmen trounced the Broncos 6-1 to remain a point up for first in the Central and second in the conference. The Ice move three points up on the idle Medicine Hat Tigers with still one game in hand.
The Crowd - 2595
Rec Plex Three Stars
1. C Dustin Sylvester – Three points sparked the club; good for third in WHL scoring
2. RW Spence Edwards – goal, assist
3. G Todd Mathews – Out-played his counterpart by a wide margin
Up Next – Kootenay travels to Edmonton to take on the lowly Oil Kings on Friday.
The Score – Kootenay 5 – Moose Jaw 2
What Happened – Kootenay shook off a slow start against the Warriors and converted on their chances and in the end got better goaltending on this night.
The Goals – Right after he levelled Ice forward Drew Czerwonka at the bottom of the right circle Jesse Paradis cruised through the slot and picked up Cody Smuk’s point-shot rebound and got his 8th of the season past Mathews for a 1-0 Warrior lead… With the Ice on a power play Warrior goaltender Jeff Bosch played the pass with Dustin Sylvester curling off the half-wall into the slot. Bad idea as the Ice captain fired his 30th of the season past him to tie the game… Not long after killing a penalty to open the second Warrior forward Jason Bast out-battled Ice D Brayden McNabb for a puck at the Ice blueline and went in on a 2-on-1 with Spencer Edwards. A perfect pass enabled Edwards to tap in his 15th and was helped off the ice in obvious discomfort afterwards for his troubles. He would return… In an unlikely scenario, with the clubs skating four-on-four, Dustin Sylvester had a short-line to his second of the night on Bosch but dished the puck to Ryan Molle, yes, he of the one goal this season, in the slot. Molle beat Bosch with a wrister… Surprising everyone but his captain... Sylvester was at it again, this timing starting his own goal with a dump-in behind the net to Steele Boomer, who then found Kevin King at the right hash marks, who in turn found Sylvester streaking to the slot to redirect his 31st past Bosch to give the Ice their first lead of the night… In the third D James Martin sent a laser of a pass to a streaking Joe Antilla who hit his stride at the Warrior blueline and sent a wrist-shot past Bosch to make it 4-2. The goal deflated the Warriors and had the visitors looking like a different team than the one who started the night… Matt Fraser (see Hits) would round out the scoring with a short breakaway wrist-shot, his 25th of the season, to make it 5-2.
The Save – On a 60-foot 2-on-1 late in the second period, on an almost mirror image of the Warriors’ second goal, Todd Mathews stuck out the pad on Brendan Rowinski to keep the game 3-2.
The Hits – Two, on this night, Paradis’ levelling of Czerwonka just before opening the scoring and then late in the game when Kevin King sent Kendall McFaull – an apt name on this play – to the ice with a crushing hit just inside the blueline. Thomas Frazee, who did little Tuesday, got on the hit parade late in the game with a blind-side hit on Max Reinhart just inside the Warrior line. It did little other than spring Matt Fraser, who put the ice up 5-2. Announced as unassisted Reinhart should get an assist on the play.
The Heavyweight – Considered by many to be the premier WHL heavyweight, Dylan McIlrath, 17, wasn’t a factor on this night. The 6’5” 215-pounder had no takers Tuesday.
The Magic Number - For those wondering, Kootenay's magic number to clinch the club's 11th-straight appearance in the WHL Playoffs sits at 8. Any combination of eight wins or Swift Current loses equalling eight puts the Ice in.
What it means – Breathing room. Kootenay improves to 35-17-3-2; good for 75 points and still in fourth place in the Eastern Conference as the Hitmen trounced the Broncos 6-1 to remain a point up for first in the Central and second in the conference. The Ice move three points up on the idle Medicine Hat Tigers with still one game in hand.
The Crowd - 2595
Rec Plex Three Stars
1. C Dustin Sylvester – Three points sparked the club; good for third in WHL scoring
2. RW Spence Edwards – goal, assist
3. G Todd Mathews – Out-played his counterpart by a wide margin
Up Next – Kootenay travels to Edmonton to take on the lowly Oil Kings on Friday.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Ice streak at four....
The Kootenay Ice stretched their winning streak to four straight wins, edging the Moose Jaw Warriors 2-1 Wednesday.
Dustin Sylvester opened the scoring for the Ice, scoring his 28th of the season in the first period. D Hayden Rintoul gave the Ice a 2-0 lead in the second period with his 6th that would turn out to be the game-winner. Thomas Frazee got the Warriors on the board in the third but that's all G Todd Mathews would let by with a stellar performance, stopping 37 of 38 shots and earned first star honours by stoning the team that sent him packing early last season.
The Moose Jaw Times-Herald has a small review here.
With the win Kootenay improves to 34-16-2-2 on the season and are now tied for the Central Division lead with the Medicine Hat Tigers with 72 points but have more wins and a better winning percentage which gives them the nod and second place in the Eastern Conference. They also have two games in hand over the Tigers. The win was the club's 30th since starting 4-11 on the season and beginning this string October 30. At that point in the season the club was 12th in the Eastern Conference, today their second and three points behind the Brandon Wheat Kings for first. Conceivably the club could find themselves in first place on the way home SuperBowl Sunday.
Dustin Sylvester opened the scoring for the Ice, scoring his 28th of the season in the first period. D Hayden Rintoul gave the Ice a 2-0 lead in the second period with his 6th that would turn out to be the game-winner. Thomas Frazee got the Warriors on the board in the third but that's all G Todd Mathews would let by with a stellar performance, stopping 37 of 38 shots and earned first star honours by stoning the team that sent him packing early last season.
The Moose Jaw Times-Herald has a small review here.
With the win Kootenay improves to 34-16-2-2 on the season and are now tied for the Central Division lead with the Medicine Hat Tigers with 72 points but have more wins and a better winning percentage which gives them the nod and second place in the Eastern Conference. They also have two games in hand over the Tigers. The win was the club's 30th since starting 4-11 on the season and beginning this string October 30. At that point in the season the club was 12th in the Eastern Conference, today their second and three points behind the Brandon Wheat Kings for first. Conceivably the club could find themselves in first place on the way home SuperBowl Sunday.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Late highlites....
A little late but the Ice won their second straight in a 2-1 shootout win over the Regina Pats Monday.
The league has a highlite package here.
Dustin Sylvester missed the game with the flu but is expected to play Wednesday night in Moose Jaw.
Kootenay's moved into fourth in the conference and second in the Central, two points back of the Medicine Hat Tigers with a 33-16-2-2 record and 70 points. Remember, division leaders get the first or second seed in the conference standings.
The league has a highlite package here.
Dustin Sylvester missed the game with the flu but is expected to play Wednesday night in Moose Jaw.
Kootenay's moved into fourth in the conference and second in the Central, two points back of the Medicine Hat Tigers with a 33-16-2-2 record and 70 points. Remember, division leaders get the first or second seed in the conference standings.
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