The news didn't get any better for the Ice, this time one of their future rearguards has shunned the organization. D Michael King of Prince George, a 3rd round pick (59th overall) in 2008 has decided to play for the BCHL's Westside Warriors next season. The PG product, who will be 17 next year, has decided to go the NCAA route.
The Prince George Citizen has the story here.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Ice melt away...
For the Daily Townsman...
After a red hot start, Ice melt away
by Jeff Bromley
Let the post-mortem begin.
A season that started so badly, teetering on the brink of disaster, and then teased ever so much with a run of epic proportions through the middle of the campaign, ended in the exact opposite way it began Sunday night in Medicine Hat. The Tigers completed the four-game comeback with a 4-1 series victory to end Kootenay’s season 4-2.
It was a swing of momentum that left the players, the fans and the organization with their collective jaws dropped in disbelief. Up 2-0 on the Tigers and in firm control of the series having outscored the Hat 10-2 to that point, the Ice was in the driver’s seat. Eight days later they’re on the dusty shoulder of the WHL Playoff highway.
It begs, even pleads, the question; what in the world happened?
How did a team that had everything going their way suddenly hit a brick wall called Bunz? A goaltender they put nine through in the first two games surrendered only four over the last four games. How? Well, in keeping with the vehicular theme, speed kills and the Tigers beat the Ice at every turn over the last four games. But it was more than that. The Tabbies managed to keep one of the league’s most dynamic scorers – Dustin Sylvester - off the scoresheet over the same span. 93 points in the regular season and held to just two in the playoffs; on the list of reasons why spring came early this year that one might be near the top. It wouldn’t be without an effort from the five-year Ice forward. At one point in the third period of game six he did his best impression of lifting the team on his shoulders to try and spur a comeback – much like he’d done many times throughout his career here and a provincial Bantam Championship in Kelowna in 2004 – but like his teammates he would be stymied time and time again and his long career with the Ice would end with little fanfare for such an important piece of the franchise. Maybe he needed help, that vacant 20-year-old spot hanging out there like a vat full of what if's. It would be a rather solemn end to a storied tale in Kootenay for the Kelowna product.
If they couldn’t score over the last four games, keeping the puck out the net was a necessity. It didn’t happen.
Shutting out the Tigers in game two and probably on no bigger high in his junior career after game two starter Todd Mathews was at times spectacular and at times questionable but throughout couldn’t change the tide of Tigers that had suddenly figured out the 19-year-old and exploited him for nine goals over seven periods before giving way to Nathan Lieuwen, who fared only somewhat better but with the same result. If you don’t get goaltending in the playoffs you won’t win. In the last four games Kootenay didn’t and Medicine Hat did, plain and simple. It seems like a long, long time ago that Tiger goaltender Tyler Bunz was pulled in a game one 6-2 loss. His teammates adjusted, blocked shot after shot and collapsed on their goaltender when he needed it most. Bunz stopped the first shot and more often that not didn’t need to stop another with the Tigers clearing away the most of the second chances. Going forward the Ice now have a huge decision to make between the pipes for next season, but that's a column for another day.
The highly-touted Ice blueline? The Tigers’ speed were too much for them. Were they young? You bet. Going forward the club’s blueline might not feature a new face next season, with only the graduation of Ryan Molle to contend with. But the future isn’t now, and it seems a long, long time away.
The Tigers took Kootenay’s defensive scheme – not that it was a big secret – and played it to a tee, clogging the neutral zone and capitalizing on turnover after turnover. I don’t know what was more surprising; the fact that the normally run and gun Tigers were trapping it up or that they were doing it better than the Ice was.
Finally the fans, or at least those who didn’t bother to show up, no, you didn’t do a lot to contribute to the downfall, that occurs on the ice. But for a city that generated the most votes by a country mile in the 12-city Hockeyville contest – almost 400,000 – drawing almost 350 less per game than the regular season average for a highly-charged, and entertaining, hockey game leaves just as big a question mark as the four-game collapse did. Maybe they’re sick of winning seasons, of the regular and not the playoff kind. Maybe there’s just not enough of them anymore, fans and winning playoff series, in the decade since that first magical playoff run.
Whatever the reasons are, for both the no-shows on the ice and in the seats, where the norm is to usually crow about the future with a young squad such as the 2009-10 Kootenay Ice, losing early in the spring and complaing about the lack of interest, is starting to be.
After a red hot start, Ice melt away
by Jeff Bromley
Let the post-mortem begin.
A season that started so badly, teetering on the brink of disaster, and then teased ever so much with a run of epic proportions through the middle of the campaign, ended in the exact opposite way it began Sunday night in Medicine Hat. The Tigers completed the four-game comeback with a 4-1 series victory to end Kootenay’s season 4-2.
It was a swing of momentum that left the players, the fans and the organization with their collective jaws dropped in disbelief. Up 2-0 on the Tigers and in firm control of the series having outscored the Hat 10-2 to that point, the Ice was in the driver’s seat. Eight days later they’re on the dusty shoulder of the WHL Playoff highway.
It begs, even pleads, the question; what in the world happened?
How did a team that had everything going their way suddenly hit a brick wall called Bunz? A goaltender they put nine through in the first two games surrendered only four over the last four games. How? Well, in keeping with the vehicular theme, speed kills and the Tigers beat the Ice at every turn over the last four games. But it was more than that. The Tabbies managed to keep one of the league’s most dynamic scorers – Dustin Sylvester - off the scoresheet over the same span. 93 points in the regular season and held to just two in the playoffs; on the list of reasons why spring came early this year that one might be near the top. It wouldn’t be without an effort from the five-year Ice forward. At one point in the third period of game six he did his best impression of lifting the team on his shoulders to try and spur a comeback – much like he’d done many times throughout his career here and a provincial Bantam Championship in Kelowna in 2004 – but like his teammates he would be stymied time and time again and his long career with the Ice would end with little fanfare for such an important piece of the franchise. Maybe he needed help, that vacant 20-year-old spot hanging out there like a vat full of what if's. It would be a rather solemn end to a storied tale in Kootenay for the Kelowna product.
If they couldn’t score over the last four games, keeping the puck out the net was a necessity. It didn’t happen.
Shutting out the Tigers in game two and probably on no bigger high in his junior career after game two starter Todd Mathews was at times spectacular and at times questionable but throughout couldn’t change the tide of Tigers that had suddenly figured out the 19-year-old and exploited him for nine goals over seven periods before giving way to Nathan Lieuwen, who fared only somewhat better but with the same result. If you don’t get goaltending in the playoffs you won’t win. In the last four games Kootenay didn’t and Medicine Hat did, plain and simple. It seems like a long, long time ago that Tiger goaltender Tyler Bunz was pulled in a game one 6-2 loss. His teammates adjusted, blocked shot after shot and collapsed on their goaltender when he needed it most. Bunz stopped the first shot and more often that not didn’t need to stop another with the Tigers clearing away the most of the second chances. Going forward the Ice now have a huge decision to make between the pipes for next season, but that's a column for another day.
The highly-touted Ice blueline? The Tigers’ speed were too much for them. Were they young? You bet. Going forward the club’s blueline might not feature a new face next season, with only the graduation of Ryan Molle to contend with. But the future isn’t now, and it seems a long, long time away.
The Tigers took Kootenay’s defensive scheme – not that it was a big secret – and played it to a tee, clogging the neutral zone and capitalizing on turnover after turnover. I don’t know what was more surprising; the fact that the normally run and gun Tigers were trapping it up or that they were doing it better than the Ice was.
Finally the fans, or at least those who didn’t bother to show up, no, you didn’t do a lot to contribute to the downfall, that occurs on the ice. But for a city that generated the most votes by a country mile in the 12-city Hockeyville contest – almost 400,000 – drawing almost 350 less per game than the regular season average for a highly-charged, and entertaining, hockey game leaves just as big a question mark as the four-game collapse did. Maybe they’re sick of winning seasons, of the regular and not the playoff kind. Maybe there’s just not enough of them anymore, fans and winning playoff series, in the decade since that first magical playoff run.
Whatever the reasons are, for both the no-shows on the ice and in the seats, where the norm is to usually crow about the future with a young squad such as the 2009-10 Kootenay Ice, losing early in the spring and complaing about the lack of interest, is starting to be.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Kootenay's on the edge of elimination
UPDATE: After reviewing the tape on the Tigers website it's still not clear that Ismond tagged up when both Fraser and Reinhart are skating the blueline by the tape but it is somewhat clearer that they both wait before entering the zone and then the camera angles out. No homerism here but even if the group tag is close - and it was from my vantage point which is directly opposite Maniago but three stories up - it's usually waved off. Guess not this time.
The Score – Medicine Hat 5 – Kootenay 2
What Happened – The Ice jumped out to an early lead but some sub-par goaltending by Todd Mathews put the club in too deep a hole to dig themselves out of. Their season is now on the line Sunday night in Medicine Hat.
The Goals – The Ice didn’t take long to establish home-ice advantage when James Martin knocked down a Tiger dump-in attempt and then Steele Boomer pushed the puck past a Tiger defender to Kevin King which created a 2-on-1. King didn’t need it. His wrist shot beat Tyler Bunz over the right shoulder as the Tiger goaltender was out of position to make it 1-0… Matt Konan tied just over two minutes later with a slapshot off a Bretton Cameron rebound from 25 feet that beat Todd Mathews who was deep in his net… Two minutes after that Jace Coyle beat Mathews from about the same distance for the second goal, this time one he should’ve had, to make it 2-1… The Ice could’ve blamed a brutal icing call by Linesman Steve Cochrane late in the first on the Tigers’ third goal and wouldn’t be far off the mark. After icing it once and not being able to change Cochrane blew down an icing that the Tiger defender let up skating for at about the blueline, though the puck only barely crossed the redline. Another face-off, another no change. With Matt Fraser’s line stuck on the ice Kootenay cleared the zone but only to the Tigers blueline. All five rushed off for a change with just under ten seconds left in the period but a quick up pass to Kale Kessy, who then skated to the top of the right circle and rifled a wrister under the cross-bar, made it 3-1 and chase Mathews from the nets. Leach and Molle got the minus but they barely made it onto the ice… In the second an early power play paid off for the club’s ailing specialty teams when Dominik Pacovsky floated a wrist shot that beat a screened Bunz… With time dwindling and their chances fading McNabb couldn’t get the puck to Dustin Sylvester in the slot and instead bounced the puck off Linden Vey and a 2-on-1 in the other direction ensued. Vey used his decoy perfectly, deked around a fallen Hayden Rintoul and tucked the Tigers’ fourth goal between Lieuwen’s legs… Finally Bretton Cameron put the Tigers’ fifth goal into the empty-net to push the Ice to the brink.
Keep your head up – Emerson Etem must be developing some sort of Spidey sense. After getting clocked by Joey Leach in Game one Ice D Brayden McNabb just missed him on the exact same spot in the neutral zone when Etem lifted his head just in time.
Some Life – In the second a two minute flurry by Sylvester, King, McNabb et al drew about four quality chances and a slashing call to Isherwood. It awoke the sleepy Rec Plex crowd and injected some much-needed energy into the building.
The Right Call – After yet another chance, this time a blast by McNabb that rung off the cross-bar, the rebound dropped to Boomer’s skate and then was kicked in. Easy call by referee Trevor Hanson.
The Wrong Call – After blowing the icing call late in the first that lead to the third Tiger goal, if you were a Linesman it continued to be a tough night, for the Ice at least. With just over four minutes left in the second Brayden McNabb fired a blast into the Tiger zone, the three forwards tagged up but Jim Maniago didn’t think so, proceeding to yell off-side. Nobody heard him, including Jesse Ismond who buried a blast that didn’t count. Bad call.
The Elbow – Late in the second a clearing pass by the Ice got by Matt Fraser and was kept in by Tiger D Tomas Kundratek. In what looked like was his shot sent back into the zone that caught Matt Fraser in the face, it was in fact a elbow by Cole Grbavac just a second earlier. Fraser left the ice under duress but returned to start the third with a bubble on. Ice coach Mark Holick said that he appeared to suffer a cracked cheekbone just below his right ear. The club plans on sending the tape into the league for supplementary discipline.
The Save – In the third, after the first sustained pressure by the Tigers in about a period and a half Dustin Sylvester took a lead pass and burned around Jace Coyle and had Bunz out of position. The Tiger goaltender made a great toe save to preserve the one-goal lead.
The End? – Was this the last time Dustin Sylvester played a game at the Rec Plex? Not according to him. “I can’t look at it that way,” said the Ice captain. “We’ve got another game yet and possibly two. We played a good game tonight and were all over them.”
The Crowd – 2598
The Rec Plex Three Stars
1. G Tyler Bunz – Stellar in the second
2. C Steele Boomer – two assists
3. RW Kevin King – Goal, assist
The Coach – He wasn’t commenting on the linesman’s call on this night but you could sense his frustration. “I’m not getting into it,” Holick said. “I can’t afford to make those comments.” He didn’t get the goaltending he wanted from Todd Mathews and it begged the question; who would get the start Sunday night? “Those goals take the wind out of your sails,” he said. “You can’t score from there. Not at this time of year, not in the playoffs, not acceptable.” And his starter? “We’ll talk about that. I’m not going to let my emotions get the best of me but obviously he had a night that he can’t have. We’ll address that internally but we have 48 hours to make that decision.”
Up Next – The season is on the line Sunday night in Medicine Hat and it’s televised on Shaw. Gametime is 6PM.
Game Summary:
Medicine Hat leads best-of-seven series 3-2
Tigers 5 @ Ice 2
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for playoff game between the Medicine Hat Tigers and the Kootenay Ice, March 26, 2010;
The Kootenay Ice opened the scoring early but the Medicine Hat Tigers replied with three straight goals in the first period en route to a 5-2 win and a 3-2 lead over the Kootenay Ice in their WHL best-of-seven playoff Friday night.
Kevin King gave the Ice a 1-0 lead 1:22 into the game but goals by Matt Konan, Jace Coyle and Kale Kessy - with the game-winner - turned the game in the Tigers' favour. Kootenay made it a one-goal game in the second when Dominik Pacovsky scored a power play marker from the point but that's as close as the Ice would get. The Tigers would get two more in the third, one by Linden Vey and an empty-netter by Bretton Cameron to make the final 5-2.
Tyler Bunz was stellar in stopping 31 of 33 shots while Todd Mathews, who was pulled at the end of the first in favour of Nathan Lieuwen, stopped 11 of 14 shots to take the loss.
Game Six goes Sunday night in Medicine Hat.
First Period
1. Kootenay, King 4 (Boomer, Martin) 1:22
2. Medicine Hat, Konan 1 (Cameron) 4:09
3. Medicine Hat, Coyle 2 (Konan, Okal) 6:35
4. Medicine Hat, Kessy 1 (Hamilton, McKay) 19:53
Penalties -- Antilla Ktn (interference) 9:16, Fraser Ktn (tripping) 13:18.
Second Period
5. Kootenay, Pacovsky 2 (Boomer, King) 4:32 (pp)
Penalties -- Vey MH (hooking) 2:47, Isherwood MH (slashing) 7:52, Reinhart Ktn (roughing) Cameron MH (cross-checking) 8:28,
Third Period
6. Medicine Hat, Vey 1 14:09
7. Medicine Hat, Cameron 1 17:52 (en)
Penalties -- Reinhart Ktn (holding) Fraser Ktn (misconduct) 14:30, Leach Ktn (slashing) 15:17, McNabb Ktn (roughing) King MH (cross-checking) 17:37.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 10 18 5 - 33
Medicine Hat: 14 3 6 - 23
Goal -- Kootenay: Todd Mathews 11 of 14 shots: Lieuwen 20:00 of second (L, 2-3) ; Medicine Hat: Tyler Bunz (W,3-2).
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 1-2
Medicine Hat: 0-4
Referee -- Derek Herman, Trevor Hanson. Linesman -- Jim Maniago, Steve Cochrane.
Attendance -- 2598 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Jagger Dirk, Brendan Hurley.
Medicine Hat: Dylan Busenius, Reid Petryk, Curtis Valk, Tanner Sohn.
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
The Score – Medicine Hat 5 – Kootenay 2
What Happened – The Ice jumped out to an early lead but some sub-par goaltending by Todd Mathews put the club in too deep a hole to dig themselves out of. Their season is now on the line Sunday night in Medicine Hat.
The Goals – The Ice didn’t take long to establish home-ice advantage when James Martin knocked down a Tiger dump-in attempt and then Steele Boomer pushed the puck past a Tiger defender to Kevin King which created a 2-on-1. King didn’t need it. His wrist shot beat Tyler Bunz over the right shoulder as the Tiger goaltender was out of position to make it 1-0… Matt Konan tied just over two minutes later with a slapshot off a Bretton Cameron rebound from 25 feet that beat Todd Mathews who was deep in his net… Two minutes after that Jace Coyle beat Mathews from about the same distance for the second goal, this time one he should’ve had, to make it 2-1… The Ice could’ve blamed a brutal icing call by Linesman Steve Cochrane late in the first on the Tigers’ third goal and wouldn’t be far off the mark. After icing it once and not being able to change Cochrane blew down an icing that the Tiger defender let up skating for at about the blueline, though the puck only barely crossed the redline. Another face-off, another no change. With Matt Fraser’s line stuck on the ice Kootenay cleared the zone but only to the Tigers blueline. All five rushed off for a change with just under ten seconds left in the period but a quick up pass to Kale Kessy, who then skated to the top of the right circle and rifled a wrister under the cross-bar, made it 3-1 and chase Mathews from the nets. Leach and Molle got the minus but they barely made it onto the ice… In the second an early power play paid off for the club’s ailing specialty teams when Dominik Pacovsky floated a wrist shot that beat a screened Bunz… With time dwindling and their chances fading McNabb couldn’t get the puck to Dustin Sylvester in the slot and instead bounced the puck off Linden Vey and a 2-on-1 in the other direction ensued. Vey used his decoy perfectly, deked around a fallen Hayden Rintoul and tucked the Tigers’ fourth goal between Lieuwen’s legs… Finally Bretton Cameron put the Tigers’ fifth goal into the empty-net to push the Ice to the brink.
Keep your head up – Emerson Etem must be developing some sort of Spidey sense. After getting clocked by Joey Leach in Game one Ice D Brayden McNabb just missed him on the exact same spot in the neutral zone when Etem lifted his head just in time.
Some Life – In the second a two minute flurry by Sylvester, King, McNabb et al drew about four quality chances and a slashing call to Isherwood. It awoke the sleepy Rec Plex crowd and injected some much-needed energy into the building.
The Right Call – After yet another chance, this time a blast by McNabb that rung off the cross-bar, the rebound dropped to Boomer’s skate and then was kicked in. Easy call by referee Trevor Hanson.
The Wrong Call – After blowing the icing call late in the first that lead to the third Tiger goal, if you were a Linesman it continued to be a tough night, for the Ice at least. With just over four minutes left in the second Brayden McNabb fired a blast into the Tiger zone, the three forwards tagged up but Jim Maniago didn’t think so, proceeding to yell off-side. Nobody heard him, including Jesse Ismond who buried a blast that didn’t count. Bad call.
The Elbow – Late in the second a clearing pass by the Ice got by Matt Fraser and was kept in by Tiger D Tomas Kundratek. In what looked like was his shot sent back into the zone that caught Matt Fraser in the face, it was in fact a elbow by Cole Grbavac just a second earlier. Fraser left the ice under duress but returned to start the third with a bubble on. Ice coach Mark Holick said that he appeared to suffer a cracked cheekbone just below his right ear. The club plans on sending the tape into the league for supplementary discipline.
The Save – In the third, after the first sustained pressure by the Tigers in about a period and a half Dustin Sylvester took a lead pass and burned around Jace Coyle and had Bunz out of position. The Tiger goaltender made a great toe save to preserve the one-goal lead.
The End? – Was this the last time Dustin Sylvester played a game at the Rec Plex? Not according to him. “I can’t look at it that way,” said the Ice captain. “We’ve got another game yet and possibly two. We played a good game tonight and were all over them.”
The Crowd – 2598
The Rec Plex Three Stars
1. G Tyler Bunz – Stellar in the second
2. C Steele Boomer – two assists
3. RW Kevin King – Goal, assist
The Coach – He wasn’t commenting on the linesman’s call on this night but you could sense his frustration. “I’m not getting into it,” Holick said. “I can’t afford to make those comments.” He didn’t get the goaltending he wanted from Todd Mathews and it begged the question; who would get the start Sunday night? “Those goals take the wind out of your sails,” he said. “You can’t score from there. Not at this time of year, not in the playoffs, not acceptable.” And his starter? “We’ll talk about that. I’m not going to let my emotions get the best of me but obviously he had a night that he can’t have. We’ll address that internally but we have 48 hours to make that decision.”
Up Next – The season is on the line Sunday night in Medicine Hat and it’s televised on Shaw. Gametime is 6PM.
Game Summary:
Medicine Hat leads best-of-seven series 3-2
Tigers 5 @ Ice 2
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for playoff game between the Medicine Hat Tigers and the Kootenay Ice, March 26, 2010;
The Kootenay Ice opened the scoring early but the Medicine Hat Tigers replied with three straight goals in the first period en route to a 5-2 win and a 3-2 lead over the Kootenay Ice in their WHL best-of-seven playoff Friday night.
Kevin King gave the Ice a 1-0 lead 1:22 into the game but goals by Matt Konan, Jace Coyle and Kale Kessy - with the game-winner - turned the game in the Tigers' favour. Kootenay made it a one-goal game in the second when Dominik Pacovsky scored a power play marker from the point but that's as close as the Ice would get. The Tigers would get two more in the third, one by Linden Vey and an empty-netter by Bretton Cameron to make the final 5-2.
Tyler Bunz was stellar in stopping 31 of 33 shots while Todd Mathews, who was pulled at the end of the first in favour of Nathan Lieuwen, stopped 11 of 14 shots to take the loss.
Game Six goes Sunday night in Medicine Hat.
First Period
1. Kootenay, King 4 (Boomer, Martin) 1:22
2. Medicine Hat, Konan 1 (Cameron) 4:09
3. Medicine Hat, Coyle 2 (Konan, Okal) 6:35
4. Medicine Hat, Kessy 1 (Hamilton, McKay) 19:53
Penalties -- Antilla Ktn (interference) 9:16, Fraser Ktn (tripping) 13:18.
Second Period
5. Kootenay, Pacovsky 2 (Boomer, King) 4:32 (pp)
Penalties -- Vey MH (hooking) 2:47, Isherwood MH (slashing) 7:52, Reinhart Ktn (roughing) Cameron MH (cross-checking) 8:28,
Third Period
6. Medicine Hat, Vey 1 14:09
7. Medicine Hat, Cameron 1 17:52 (en)
Penalties -- Reinhart Ktn (holding) Fraser Ktn (misconduct) 14:30, Leach Ktn (slashing) 15:17, McNabb Ktn (roughing) King MH (cross-checking) 17:37.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 10 18 5 - 33
Medicine Hat: 14 3 6 - 23
Goal -- Kootenay: Todd Mathews 11 of 14 shots: Lieuwen 20:00 of second (L, 2-3) ; Medicine Hat: Tyler Bunz (W,3-2).
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 1-2
Medicine Hat: 0-4
Referee -- Derek Herman, Trevor Hanson. Linesman -- Jim Maniago, Steve Cochrane.
Attendance -- 2598 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Jagger Dirk, Brendan Hurley.
Medicine Hat: Dylan Busenius, Reid Petryk, Curtis Valk, Tanner Sohn.
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tigers tie series
It didn't take more than a bit of home cooking to get the Tigers back in the series, that an a steady parade to the penalty box along with a short-handed goal or two, as Medicine Hat sent Kootenay packing with a 5-1 win Wednesday night.
The series now switches back to the Cranbrook Rec Plex Friday night where the Ice hope that their fortunes and their fans will be much better and bigger.
The series now switches back to the Cranbrook Rec Plex Friday night where the Ice hope that their fortunes and their fans will be much better and bigger.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Tigers back in series....
The Kootenay Ice missed a glorious opportunity to put their foot on the throat of the Medicine Hat Tigers tonight but instead let them out of the cage and back into the series in a 4-1 loss in Game Three tonight. The Ice still lead the best-of-seven series 2-1 with Game Four Wednesday night in the Hat.
Emerson Etem opened the scoring for the Tigers in the first but the Ice tied it after a point-shot rebounded off the back-wall and then was poked in behind Tyler Bunz. In the second the Tigers got the eventual game-winner on the power play when the Cranbrook product did in his home-town squad and poked in a rebound after Mathews stopped the initial shot. Though they'd been the better team that first half of the second the Ice couldn't mount any real sustained amount of pressure to get the tying marker after.
When they had the opportunity late in the third a drop pass by Joey Leach that was intercepted by the Tigers produced a 2-on-1 and a 3-1 lead for the Tigers when Wacey Hamilton backhanded the insurance marker past Mathews. An empty-net goal was added to seal the win for the Tabbies.
After the third goal Tiger forward Bretton Cameron was fingered for a major charging penalty which drew the wrath of D Brayden McNabb. Both were tossed but Cameron got the extra major - it was a penalty but a charging major? Kootenay could be the beneficiaries of an overeaction by the refs after the Saskatoon-Red Deer mess Sunday. The penalty draws an automatic review by the league and could be a suspension for tommorrow's game but I'd be very surprised if that was the case.
Watched the game on the grainy internet feed so I could've missed how bad the charge was.
More importantly the Ice need to correct an inconsistent effort on the night in which pucks didn't get to the net, traffic in front of Bunz was minimal and turnovers were plenty compared to Games one and two. Opportunities to take control of series don't come very often. Tonight was one of them and they let it slip away. Tommorrow is a big game and the Ice will want to be up 3-1 returning to the Rec Plex Friday night. Essentially on this night the Tigers tore a page out of the Ice playbook and executed it perfectly, even down to the clogged up neutral zone that produced turnover after turnover.
Oh and one more thing, for those who care about such things the Tiger captain Wacey Hamilton took a swipe at the Ice fans in the Medicine Hat News Monday or at least the ones who didn't bother to come to Games one and two. "There never really is any atmosphere in Cranbrook, it’s a tough place to play in because of that,” Hamilton told Sean Rooney of the News, referring to the lack of fans in the stands at the Rec Plex.
Highlites will be here overnight while Matt Coxford, who's in the Hat, will have his gamer here. The Medicine Hat News gamer is here.
Emerson Etem opened the scoring for the Tigers in the first but the Ice tied it after a point-shot rebounded off the back-wall and then was poked in behind Tyler Bunz. In the second the Tigers got the eventual game-winner on the power play when the Cranbrook product did in his home-town squad and poked in a rebound after Mathews stopped the initial shot. Though they'd been the better team that first half of the second the Ice couldn't mount any real sustained amount of pressure to get the tying marker after.
When they had the opportunity late in the third a drop pass by Joey Leach that was intercepted by the Tigers produced a 2-on-1 and a 3-1 lead for the Tigers when Wacey Hamilton backhanded the insurance marker past Mathews. An empty-net goal was added to seal the win for the Tabbies.
After the third goal Tiger forward Bretton Cameron was fingered for a major charging penalty which drew the wrath of D Brayden McNabb. Both were tossed but Cameron got the extra major - it was a penalty but a charging major? Kootenay could be the beneficiaries of an overeaction by the refs after the Saskatoon-Red Deer mess Sunday. The penalty draws an automatic review by the league and could be a suspension for tommorrow's game but I'd be very surprised if that was the case.
Watched the game on the grainy internet feed so I could've missed how bad the charge was.
More importantly the Ice need to correct an inconsistent effort on the night in which pucks didn't get to the net, traffic in front of Bunz was minimal and turnovers were plenty compared to Games one and two. Opportunities to take control of series don't come very often. Tonight was one of them and they let it slip away. Tommorrow is a big game and the Ice will want to be up 3-1 returning to the Rec Plex Friday night. Essentially on this night the Tigers tore a page out of the Ice playbook and executed it perfectly, even down to the clogged up neutral zone that produced turnover after turnover.
Oh and one more thing, for those who care about such things the Tiger captain Wacey Hamilton took a swipe at the Ice fans in the Medicine Hat News Monday or at least the ones who didn't bother to come to Games one and two. "There never really is any atmosphere in Cranbrook, it’s a tough place to play in because of that,” Hamilton told Sean Rooney of the News, referring to the lack of fans in the stands at the Rec Plex.
Highlites will be here overnight while Matt Coxford, who's in the Hat, will have his gamer here. The Medicine Hat News gamer is here.
Blades Banished
The fall-out from the line-brawl in Game Two of the Saskatoon-Red Deer series after Rebel forward Josh Cowen ran Blade goaltender Steven Stanford which touched off a melee on the next shift in which Blade GM Lorne Molleken sent out five players with specific instructions.
The followed the command and dropped the mitts as soon as the puck was.
WHL Disciplinarian Richard Doerksen handed down his sentence today and it wasn't pretty:
- Josh Cowen Red Deer Four games for charge major and g.m. at Saskatoon on March 21.
- Red Deer $250.00 for warm-up violation at Saskatoon on March 21.
- Saskatoon $250.00 for warm-up violation versus Red Deer on March 21.
- Saskatoon $500.00 for second multiple fight of season versus Red Deer on March 21
- Saskatoon $3,500.00 for actions of Club versus Red Deer on March 21.
- Rdy McNaught Saskatoon Five games for instigator, fight and g.m., and repeat offender versus Red Deer on March 21.
- Molleken Saskatoon Four games for g.m. versus Red Deer on March 21.
- Sena Acolaste Three games for instigator, fight and g.m. versus Red Deer
Darian Dziurzynski Saskatoon Three games for one man fight and g.m. versus Red Deer
Duncan Siemens Saskatoon Three games for instigator, fight and g.m. versus Red Deer
With the Blades up 2-0 in the series and having lost some serious manpower including their coach could this be the impetus to get the Rebels back in the series?
The followed the command and dropped the mitts as soon as the puck was.
WHL Disciplinarian Richard Doerksen handed down his sentence today and it wasn't pretty:
- Josh Cowen Red Deer Four games for charge major and g.m. at Saskatoon on March 21.
- Red Deer $250.00 for warm-up violation at Saskatoon on March 21.
- Saskatoon $250.00 for warm-up violation versus Red Deer on March 21.
- Saskatoon $500.00 for second multiple fight of season versus Red Deer on March 21
- Saskatoon $3,500.00 for actions of Club versus Red Deer on March 21.
- Rdy McNaught Saskatoon Five games for instigator, fight and g.m., and repeat offender versus Red Deer on March 21.
- Molleken Saskatoon Four games for g.m. versus Red Deer on March 21.
- Sena Acolaste Three games for instigator, fight and g.m. versus Red Deer
Darian Dziurzynski Saskatoon Three games for one man fight and g.m. versus Red Deer
Duncan Siemens Saskatoon Three games for instigator, fight and g.m. versus Red Deer
With the Blades up 2-0 in the series and having lost some serious manpower including their coach could this be the impetus to get the Rebels back in the series?
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Coyle looking to swing the momentum
For the Daily Townsman...
Coyle looking for new life back in the Hat
by Jeff Bromley
Puck luck; the bounces; sustained momentum; call it what you will but the Medicine Hat Tigers insist they’re getting none of it through the first two games of their WHL Playoff quarter-final with the Kootenay Ice that now switches back to the Gas City for games three and four Tuesday and Wednesday.
Down 2-0 in the best-of-seven after lopsided losses to start the series Tiger blueliner Jace Coyle hopes his club’s fortunes change before it’s too late. “It’s been tough,” said the Cranbrook product, who finished the regular season second among Tiger d-men in scoring with 10 goals and 36 assists. “We just haven’t been getting the bounces that we need, especially around the net. Mathews has made some big saves for them but we just have to keep putting pucks on net and going hard to it.”
Contrary to the scouting report on the Ice goaltender going hard to the Ice net is something the Tigers have been doing little of over the first two games of the series, giving Mathews a relatively easy ride through two games. But they’re also trying to avoid a trip to the penalty box Coyle says, though usually that’s Mathews’ modus operandi. “We’re trying not to put ourselves in a position where the ref can make a call on us. Usually when it comes down to it they give the benefit of the doubt to the goalie so we’ve got to be smart about it.”
Coyle coach, Tiger bench boss Willie Desjardins, agrees that risking the referees wrath when it comes to the Ice crease isn’t on the agenda, at least not yet. “We’ve just left him alone,” said Desjardins. “We just want to play hard and not make it a factor.”
What has been a factor is that Mathews has clearly outplayed his younger counterpart in Tiger goaltender Tyler Bunz thus far. The importance of goaltending in the post-season notwithstanding, Bunz, who just turned 18 in February, has seen his stats balloon to a goals against average of 5.01 and a save percentage of .849. Desjardins however is not about to throw his goaltender under the bus, though the sophomore was pulled in favour of back-up Deven Dubyk in Game one. “He was okay last night too,” Desjardins said, giving his goaltender a vote of confidence. “I just took him out because I thought we needed a change (Friday) but he played okay.”
“They’re just scoring on their chances. We have our chances but we’re just not scoring. If we score it’s totally different. They’ve capitalized and they’ve totally outplayed us. They’re a good team and they outplayed us here. We’ll go home and try to regroup.”
Coyle agreed that his home away from home the past two seasons should make a difference in the series. “We need to start putting pressure on their defence,” Coyle said. “It’ll definitely help being back in our barn with good crowd and a lot of energy there. This is a tough building to play in.”
Quick Hits – Despite Coyle’s remarks about the Rec Plex being a tough building to play in it might’ve been harder if it was somewhat fuller. Friday’s crowd of 2335 was the second-smallest crowd to witness a regular season or playoff game in the building’s ten-year history. The smallest being the 2312 in game four of the 2004 playoffs, a sweep at the hands of the Kelowna Rockets. Saturday’s was marginally better, attracting 2452.
For HockeyNow...
Ice take 2-0 series lead over Tigers
By Jeff Bromley
Heading into the WHL Playoffs the scouting report on Kootenay Ice goaltender Todd Mathews was simple: get in his crease, get in his face and get him off his game. Down 2-0 in their WHL Playoff Quarter-final the Medicine Hat Tigers might not have got the memo.
Surrendering only two goals in the first two games Mathews backstopped his club to a 2-0 series lead after wins of 6-2 and 4-0 in game one and two at the Cranbrook Rec Plex over the weekend. The best-of-seven series switches to the Arena Tuesday and Wednesday for games’ three and four. “I don’t know if I’m going to shoot myself in the foot for saying this but (Saturday) was probably the easiest shut-out I’ve had, ever,” said Mathews after dumping the Tigers 4-0 Saturday in which he stopped 20 shots and only two in the third period. “But really, it’s because of our defence. We didn’t give up very many key opportunities except maybe one pretty good one in the first period and maybe a couple in the second but no breakaways, no odd-man rushes and even if there were the forwards are hustling back to prevent anything from happening.”
What was happening was the Ice was shutting down the WHL’s second-most potent offense behind only the goalfest in Brandon and they were doing it without some major heroics from their goaltender.
On Friday the Tigers struck first and took a 1-0 lead on a goal by likely NHL first-round draft pick Emerson Etem but the Ice answered back five minutes later on Kevin King's first of the playoffs. Matt MacKay put the Tigers up 2-1 but with 30 seconds later Matt Fraser tied the game at two for the Ice to send the club’s even headed into the break. Sparked by the tying goal the Ice scored an early power play goal and were off to the races, scoring three more to make the final 6-2. Saturday night two goals by King along with singles by Max Reinhart and Elgin Pearce paced the Ice to a 4-0 win. “We’ve been good in our end and we’ve been good from our end out,” said Ice head coach Mark Holick. “We’re getting contributions from other people to score some goals and you need that to win in the playoffs. Having said that, this is far from over. The last time I looked you still had to win four to win a series.”
Choosing his words carefully in order to ward off any signs of over confidence, for the Medicine Hat Tigers hopes are those words are prophetic as a loss Tuesday night would almost certainly spell an first round exit. And while good goaltending is usually key for teams to win in the playoffs, the lack of it from Tiger starter Tyler Bunz – chased from the nets in game one after surrendering four goals on 24 shots – has been the early difference in the series, though Tigers head coach wasn’t placing all the blame on his goaltender. “He was okay last night too,” Desjardins said. “I just took him out because I thought we needed a change (Friday) but he played okay.”
“They’re just scoring on their chances. We have had our chances but we’re just not scoring. If we score it’s totally different. They’ve capitalized and they’ve totally outplayed us. They’re a good team and they outplayed us here. We’ll go home and try to regroup.”
Ice forward Kevin King, with three goals in the first two games, says his club is playing with a special confidence that’s helping the puck find the back of the net. Given his first goal, a five-on-three shot from the slot that he didn’t get all of yet it still went in, along with his second power play goal – a high rebound knocked down and scored from a near-impossible angle – goes a ways in substantiating that theory. “There wasn’t a lot of room from what I saw but I guess the stick sees a different angle,” said King. “But he’s a young goaltender and we’re going to try and get as many pucks to the net as we can. Playoffs are a different season than the regular season and younger guys sometimes have a tougher time.”
Quick Hits – Holick was named the Eastern Conference nominee for the WHL Coach of the Year award. He'll face-off against Everett's Craig Hartsburg... Ice forward Matt Fraser, 19, was named the club's Humanitarian of the Year after helping raise $14,000for EK Regional Hospital Foundation this season. His name will stand for the WHL and CHL award to be named April 28... D Brayden McNabb was named to the WHL's first all-star team while LW Dustin Sylvester got the nod for the second All-star team... C Elgin Pearce, 17, of Vancouver is enjoying a break-out playoffs with a goal and two assists in the series’ first two games… Friday’s crowd of 2335 was the second-smallest crowd to witness a regular season or playoff game in the building’s ten-year history. The smallest being the 2312 in game four of the 2004 playoffs, a sweep at the hands of the Kelowna Rockets. Saturday’s was marginally better, attracting 2452… If necessary game five goes back at the Rec Plex Friday night.
Coyle looking for new life back in the Hat
by Jeff Bromley
Puck luck; the bounces; sustained momentum; call it what you will but the Medicine Hat Tigers insist they’re getting none of it through the first two games of their WHL Playoff quarter-final with the Kootenay Ice that now switches back to the Gas City for games three and four Tuesday and Wednesday.
Down 2-0 in the best-of-seven after lopsided losses to start the series Tiger blueliner Jace Coyle hopes his club’s fortunes change before it’s too late. “It’s been tough,” said the Cranbrook product, who finished the regular season second among Tiger d-men in scoring with 10 goals and 36 assists. “We just haven’t been getting the bounces that we need, especially around the net. Mathews has made some big saves for them but we just have to keep putting pucks on net and going hard to it.”
Contrary to the scouting report on the Ice goaltender going hard to the Ice net is something the Tigers have been doing little of over the first two games of the series, giving Mathews a relatively easy ride through two games. But they’re also trying to avoid a trip to the penalty box Coyle says, though usually that’s Mathews’ modus operandi. “We’re trying not to put ourselves in a position where the ref can make a call on us. Usually when it comes down to it they give the benefit of the doubt to the goalie so we’ve got to be smart about it.”
Coyle coach, Tiger bench boss Willie Desjardins, agrees that risking the referees wrath when it comes to the Ice crease isn’t on the agenda, at least not yet. “We’ve just left him alone,” said Desjardins. “We just want to play hard and not make it a factor.”
What has been a factor is that Mathews has clearly outplayed his younger counterpart in Tiger goaltender Tyler Bunz thus far. The importance of goaltending in the post-season notwithstanding, Bunz, who just turned 18 in February, has seen his stats balloon to a goals against average of 5.01 and a save percentage of .849. Desjardins however is not about to throw his goaltender under the bus, though the sophomore was pulled in favour of back-up Deven Dubyk in Game one. “He was okay last night too,” Desjardins said, giving his goaltender a vote of confidence. “I just took him out because I thought we needed a change (Friday) but he played okay.”
“They’re just scoring on their chances. We have our chances but we’re just not scoring. If we score it’s totally different. They’ve capitalized and they’ve totally outplayed us. They’re a good team and they outplayed us here. We’ll go home and try to regroup.”
Coyle agreed that his home away from home the past two seasons should make a difference in the series. “We need to start putting pressure on their defence,” Coyle said. “It’ll definitely help being back in our barn with good crowd and a lot of energy there. This is a tough building to play in.”
Quick Hits – Despite Coyle’s remarks about the Rec Plex being a tough building to play in it might’ve been harder if it was somewhat fuller. Friday’s crowd of 2335 was the second-smallest crowd to witness a regular season or playoff game in the building’s ten-year history. The smallest being the 2312 in game four of the 2004 playoffs, a sweep at the hands of the Kelowna Rockets. Saturday’s was marginally better, attracting 2452.
For HockeyNow...
Ice take 2-0 series lead over Tigers
By Jeff Bromley
Heading into the WHL Playoffs the scouting report on Kootenay Ice goaltender Todd Mathews was simple: get in his crease, get in his face and get him off his game. Down 2-0 in their WHL Playoff Quarter-final the Medicine Hat Tigers might not have got the memo.
Surrendering only two goals in the first two games Mathews backstopped his club to a 2-0 series lead after wins of 6-2 and 4-0 in game one and two at the Cranbrook Rec Plex over the weekend. The best-of-seven series switches to the Arena Tuesday and Wednesday for games’ three and four. “I don’t know if I’m going to shoot myself in the foot for saying this but (Saturday) was probably the easiest shut-out I’ve had, ever,” said Mathews after dumping the Tigers 4-0 Saturday in which he stopped 20 shots and only two in the third period. “But really, it’s because of our defence. We didn’t give up very many key opportunities except maybe one pretty good one in the first period and maybe a couple in the second but no breakaways, no odd-man rushes and even if there were the forwards are hustling back to prevent anything from happening.”
What was happening was the Ice was shutting down the WHL’s second-most potent offense behind only the goalfest in Brandon and they were doing it without some major heroics from their goaltender.
On Friday the Tigers struck first and took a 1-0 lead on a goal by likely NHL first-round draft pick Emerson Etem but the Ice answered back five minutes later on Kevin King's first of the playoffs. Matt MacKay put the Tigers up 2-1 but with 30 seconds later Matt Fraser tied the game at two for the Ice to send the club’s even headed into the break. Sparked by the tying goal the Ice scored an early power play goal and were off to the races, scoring three more to make the final 6-2. Saturday night two goals by King along with singles by Max Reinhart and Elgin Pearce paced the Ice to a 4-0 win. “We’ve been good in our end and we’ve been good from our end out,” said Ice head coach Mark Holick. “We’re getting contributions from other people to score some goals and you need that to win in the playoffs. Having said that, this is far from over. The last time I looked you still had to win four to win a series.”
Choosing his words carefully in order to ward off any signs of over confidence, for the Medicine Hat Tigers hopes are those words are prophetic as a loss Tuesday night would almost certainly spell an first round exit. And while good goaltending is usually key for teams to win in the playoffs, the lack of it from Tiger starter Tyler Bunz – chased from the nets in game one after surrendering four goals on 24 shots – has been the early difference in the series, though Tigers head coach wasn’t placing all the blame on his goaltender. “He was okay last night too,” Desjardins said. “I just took him out because I thought we needed a change (Friday) but he played okay.”
“They’re just scoring on their chances. We have had our chances but we’re just not scoring. If we score it’s totally different. They’ve capitalized and they’ve totally outplayed us. They’re a good team and they outplayed us here. We’ll go home and try to regroup.”
Ice forward Kevin King, with three goals in the first two games, says his club is playing with a special confidence that’s helping the puck find the back of the net. Given his first goal, a five-on-three shot from the slot that he didn’t get all of yet it still went in, along with his second power play goal – a high rebound knocked down and scored from a near-impossible angle – goes a ways in substantiating that theory. “There wasn’t a lot of room from what I saw but I guess the stick sees a different angle,” said King. “But he’s a young goaltender and we’re going to try and get as many pucks to the net as we can. Playoffs are a different season than the regular season and younger guys sometimes have a tougher time.”
Quick Hits – Holick was named the Eastern Conference nominee for the WHL Coach of the Year award. He'll face-off against Everett's Craig Hartsburg... Ice forward Matt Fraser, 19, was named the club's Humanitarian of the Year after helping raise $14,000for EK Regional Hospital Foundation this season. His name will stand for the WHL and CHL award to be named April 28... D Brayden McNabb was named to the WHL's first all-star team while LW Dustin Sylvester got the nod for the second All-star team... C Elgin Pearce, 17, of Vancouver is enjoying a break-out playoffs with a goal and two assists in the series’ first two games… Friday’s crowd of 2335 was the second-smallest crowd to witness a regular season or playoff game in the building’s ten-year history. The smallest being the 2312 in game four of the 2004 playoffs, a sweep at the hands of the Kelowna Rockets. Saturday’s was marginally better, attracting 2452… If necessary game five goes back at the Rec Plex Friday night.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
The Score - Tigers/Ice Game 2 - Kootenay leads 2-0
Highlites will be available here shortly
The Score – Kootenay 4 – Medicine Hat 0
What Happened – The Tigers were the tentative ones to start on this night and it showed. Save for the beginning of the second period when they emerged with some jump, the Tigers were struggling to find a consistent game all night. On the flip side Kootenay’s played perhaps their two most complete games of the season to start the playoffs.
The Goals – With the Tigers down two men after Matt Konan high-sticked Jesse Ismond, Steele Boomer found Kevin King in the slot on the 5-on-3 who then one-timed his shot, fanned, but still had the change-up go through Bunz’ legs to give the Ice a 1-0 lead… In the second forward Jesse Ismond blocked a shot at the Ice blueline and both Matt Fraser and Max Reinhart were off the races on the delayed 2-on-1. Fraser found a streaking Reinhart in the middle and he buried a wrist-shot low to the stick-side to make it 2-0…Still in the second and again on the power play Kevin King corralled a Dominick Pacovsky point-shot and from a near-impossible angle managed to drop it to his stick and bang by Tyler Bunz… In the third 17-year-old Elgin Pearce continued his stellar play with a burst of speed through the neutral zone, dished to Czerwonka and drove the net to receive a beauty pass and redirect his first ever WHL playoff goal to make it 4-0.
The Iron Lotus – With Kale Kessy streaking down the left-wing Ice D Luke Paulsen caught him a great bodycheck right in front of the timekeepers bench. Paulsen’s momentum had his back leg swing back, a la the Iron Lotus of Blades of Steel fame, and smashed the glass onto timekeeper John MacDonald. The Rec Plex arena staff had it replaced and cleaned up in 13 minutes flat. I kid you not, Chaz Micheal Micheals’ theme song the ‘Stroke’ by Billy Squire came over the PA a minute after play resumed.
The Numbers – Through the first two games the Tigers, the league’s second-highest scoring team in the regular season, have been out-scored 10-2; gone 0-12 on the power play and haven’t scored since 17:07 of the first period of Game One, a span of 102 minutes and 53 seconds.
The Tussle – After what he thought was a dangerous hit on his defence partner Hayden Rintoul by Tiger captain Wacey Hamilton, Brayden McNabb – who has arguably been Kootenay’s best player over the playoff’s first two contests – took exception and the two wrestled to the ice after a few haymakers were thrown. Interestingly enough Hamilton signalled to McNabb to throw off his bucket before the punches were thrown. Knowing that the action would cost him another ten minutes because of the stupid rule about removing your helmet before a fight instituted at the beginning of the season, McNabb declined and started swinging.
The Mouthpiece III – Like a bad sequel, when things got frustrating for the Tigers, Tomas Kundratek was front and centre once again. This time after taking a penalty for roughing after the whistle he proceeded to kick a dropped stick, skate to the glass and goad the fans in section L and M and then got tossed for his efforts. Much to their delight.
The Turning Point – With his club holding a 1-0 lead in the second period Jesse Ismond blocked a point-shot that sent Fraser and Reinhart off to the races. Reinhart’s wrister gave the home side a boost and they never looked back.
The Crowd – 2453 – Like the hockey club, it’s headed in the right direction but there’s a long, long way to go.
The Rec Plex Three Stars
1. Kevin King – Two goals, on fire through two games
2. Todd Mathews – A relatively easy night for his first playoff shutout
3. Max Reinhart – Key second goal.
Up Next – The Tigers retreat to the friendly confines of the Arena in the Hat where they’ll try to turn this series around Tuesday night.
Game Summary:
Kootenay leads best of seven series 2-0
Tigers 0 @ Ice 4
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for playoff game between the Kootenay Ice and Medicine Hat Tigers; March 20, 2010
Kevin King's second goal of the playoffs was all that was needed as Kootenay Ice goaltender Todd Mathews stopped all 20 shots he faced for his first WHL playoff shutout in a 4-0 win over the Medicine Hat Tigers in WHL playoff action Saturday.
After King put the Ice up 1-0 after one period Max Reinhart, with his first of the playoffs, along with another goal by King - this time on the power play - paced the Ice to a 3-0 second period lead. Elgin Pearce notched his first career playoff goal in the third to put the Ice up 4-0 and send the series back to Medicine Hat with the Ice up 2-0.
Mathews stopped every shot he faced for the shutout while Tyler Bunz, stopping 25 of 29 shots, took the loss.
The series resumes Tuesday night in Medicine Hat.
First Period
1. Kootenay, King 2 (Boomer, McNabb) 9:50 (pp)
Penalties -- King Ktn Cameron MH (unsportsmanlike conduct) 5:43, Kundratek MH (slashing) 8:43, Konan MH (high-sticking) 8:57, Leach Ktn (roughing) 15:03, Fraser (elbowing) 18:03, Cameron MH (roughing) 18:23.
Second Period
2. Kootenay, Reinhart 1 (Fraser, Ismond) 7:35
3. Kootenay, King 3 (Pacovsky, Sylvester) 11:36 (pp)
Penalties -- Coyle MH (tripping) 10:06, McNabb Ktn Hamilton MH (fighting) 10:20, Bench Minor MH (too-many-men - served by King) 16:34, Leach Ktn (tripping) 19:59.
Third Period
4. Kootenay, Pearce 1 (Czerwonka) 4:56
Penalties -- Fraser Ktn Grbavac MH (misconducts) 10:28, Kundratek MH (tripping) 13:47, Kundratek MH (double roughing - served by Bredo, misconduct) Sylvester Ktn (roughing) 16:10, Antilla Ktn (roughing) 18:30, Leach Ktn (tripping) 19:52.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 14 9 6 - 29
Medicine Hat: 7 11 2 - 20
Goal -- Kootenay: Todd Mathews (W, 2-0); Medicine Hat: Tyler Bunz - (L, 0-2)
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 2-7
Medicine Hat: 0-5
Referee -- Pat Smith, Derek Zalaski. Linesman -- Justin Hall, Scott Prior
Attendance -- 2452 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Jagger Dirk, Brendan Hurley.
Medicine Hat: Dylan Busenius, Reid Petryk, Curtis Valk, Tanner Sohn.
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
The Score – Kootenay 4 – Medicine Hat 0
What Happened – The Tigers were the tentative ones to start on this night and it showed. Save for the beginning of the second period when they emerged with some jump, the Tigers were struggling to find a consistent game all night. On the flip side Kootenay’s played perhaps their two most complete games of the season to start the playoffs.
The Goals – With the Tigers down two men after Matt Konan high-sticked Jesse Ismond, Steele Boomer found Kevin King in the slot on the 5-on-3 who then one-timed his shot, fanned, but still had the change-up go through Bunz’ legs to give the Ice a 1-0 lead… In the second forward Jesse Ismond blocked a shot at the Ice blueline and both Matt Fraser and Max Reinhart were off the races on the delayed 2-on-1. Fraser found a streaking Reinhart in the middle and he buried a wrist-shot low to the stick-side to make it 2-0…Still in the second and again on the power play Kevin King corralled a Dominick Pacovsky point-shot and from a near-impossible angle managed to drop it to his stick and bang by Tyler Bunz… In the third 17-year-old Elgin Pearce continued his stellar play with a burst of speed through the neutral zone, dished to Czerwonka and drove the net to receive a beauty pass and redirect his first ever WHL playoff goal to make it 4-0.
The Iron Lotus – With Kale Kessy streaking down the left-wing Ice D Luke Paulsen caught him a great bodycheck right in front of the timekeepers bench. Paulsen’s momentum had his back leg swing back, a la the Iron Lotus of Blades of Steel fame, and smashed the glass onto timekeeper John MacDonald. The Rec Plex arena staff had it replaced and cleaned up in 13 minutes flat. I kid you not, Chaz Micheal Micheals’ theme song the ‘Stroke’ by Billy Squire came over the PA a minute after play resumed.
The Numbers – Through the first two games the Tigers, the league’s second-highest scoring team in the regular season, have been out-scored 10-2; gone 0-12 on the power play and haven’t scored since 17:07 of the first period of Game One, a span of 102 minutes and 53 seconds.
The Tussle – After what he thought was a dangerous hit on his defence partner Hayden Rintoul by Tiger captain Wacey Hamilton, Brayden McNabb – who has arguably been Kootenay’s best player over the playoff’s first two contests – took exception and the two wrestled to the ice after a few haymakers were thrown. Interestingly enough Hamilton signalled to McNabb to throw off his bucket before the punches were thrown. Knowing that the action would cost him another ten minutes because of the stupid rule about removing your helmet before a fight instituted at the beginning of the season, McNabb declined and started swinging.
The Mouthpiece III – Like a bad sequel, when things got frustrating for the Tigers, Tomas Kundratek was front and centre once again. This time after taking a penalty for roughing after the whistle he proceeded to kick a dropped stick, skate to the glass and goad the fans in section L and M and then got tossed for his efforts. Much to their delight.
The Turning Point – With his club holding a 1-0 lead in the second period Jesse Ismond blocked a point-shot that sent Fraser and Reinhart off to the races. Reinhart’s wrister gave the home side a boost and they never looked back.
The Crowd – 2453 – Like the hockey club, it’s headed in the right direction but there’s a long, long way to go.
The Rec Plex Three Stars
1. Kevin King – Two goals, on fire through two games
2. Todd Mathews – A relatively easy night for his first playoff shutout
3. Max Reinhart – Key second goal.
Up Next – The Tigers retreat to the friendly confines of the Arena in the Hat where they’ll try to turn this series around Tuesday night.
Game Summary:
Kootenay leads best of seven series 2-0
Tigers 0 @ Ice 4
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for playoff game between the Kootenay Ice and Medicine Hat Tigers; March 20, 2010
Kevin King's second goal of the playoffs was all that was needed as Kootenay Ice goaltender Todd Mathews stopped all 20 shots he faced for his first WHL playoff shutout in a 4-0 win over the Medicine Hat Tigers in WHL playoff action Saturday.
After King put the Ice up 1-0 after one period Max Reinhart, with his first of the playoffs, along with another goal by King - this time on the power play - paced the Ice to a 3-0 second period lead. Elgin Pearce notched his first career playoff goal in the third to put the Ice up 4-0 and send the series back to Medicine Hat with the Ice up 2-0.
Mathews stopped every shot he faced for the shutout while Tyler Bunz, stopping 25 of 29 shots, took the loss.
The series resumes Tuesday night in Medicine Hat.
First Period
1. Kootenay, King 2 (Boomer, McNabb) 9:50 (pp)
Penalties -- King Ktn Cameron MH (unsportsmanlike conduct) 5:43, Kundratek MH (slashing) 8:43, Konan MH (high-sticking) 8:57, Leach Ktn (roughing) 15:03, Fraser (elbowing) 18:03, Cameron MH (roughing) 18:23.
Second Period
2. Kootenay, Reinhart 1 (Fraser, Ismond) 7:35
3. Kootenay, King 3 (Pacovsky, Sylvester) 11:36 (pp)
Penalties -- Coyle MH (tripping) 10:06, McNabb Ktn Hamilton MH (fighting) 10:20, Bench Minor MH (too-many-men - served by King) 16:34, Leach Ktn (tripping) 19:59.
Third Period
4. Kootenay, Pearce 1 (Czerwonka) 4:56
Penalties -- Fraser Ktn Grbavac MH (misconducts) 10:28, Kundratek MH (tripping) 13:47, Kundratek MH (double roughing - served by Bredo, misconduct) Sylvester Ktn (roughing) 16:10, Antilla Ktn (roughing) 18:30, Leach Ktn (tripping) 19:52.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 14 9 6 - 29
Medicine Hat: 7 11 2 - 20
Goal -- Kootenay: Todd Mathews (W, 2-0); Medicine Hat: Tyler Bunz - (L, 0-2)
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 2-7
Medicine Hat: 0-5
Referee -- Pat Smith, Derek Zalaski. Linesman -- Justin Hall, Scott Prior
Attendance -- 2452 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Jagger Dirk, Brendan Hurley.
Medicine Hat: Dylan Busenius, Reid Petryk, Curtis Valk, Tanner Sohn.
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
Friday, March 19, 2010
Kootenay takes 1-0 lead
The series everyone picked to be the closest was only so for the first period. After the first it was all Ice...
UPDATE - The WHL and Tigers website has highlites of the game here.
The Score – Kootenay 6 – Medicine Hat 2
What Happened – The Tigers had the better start but a late first period goal by Matt Fraser gave the Ice a better finish.
The Goals – A turnover in their own zone lead to Linden Vey centering a pass to Emerson Etem that Mathews orginally stopped but ended up out of position. Etem's shot trickled into the net… Brayden McNabb fed a great pass to Kevin King through the neutral zone that started a flurry of chances around Bunz. Dustin Sylvester hit Bunz in the mask with a shot, picked up his own rebound and fed the point to McNabb. He wristed a laser that Kevin King got a stick on to tie it at one… Willie Desjardins mixed up his lines somewhat and it paid off handsomely with a pretty three-on-one down low. With D Hayden Rintoul caught up ice, Matt McKay finished off for a crease tap-in to make it 2-1… Kootenay tied it once again on a three-on-two started by Max Reinhart who saucered a beauty to Matt Fraser who split the D with a 2-on-1, used Jesse Ismond as his decoy and ripped a wrister that squeezed through Bunz... In the second Kootenay came out firing and with Cranbrook product Jace Coyle in the box Kootenay's power play finally clicked when Hayden Rintoul banked a hard wrist shot off a Tiger d-man to make it 3-2… Kootenay took a two-goal lead when Drew Czerwonka sent a tough, neutral zone pass to Brock Montgomery who took a solid hit and never wavered. Montgomery gained speed on a two-on-one and with Pearce as the decoy he wired a wrist shot over the shoulder of Bunz that sent him to the showers in favour of Deven Dubyk and gave the Ice a 4-2 lead… In the third things didn't fair any better for the Tigers as Ice captain Dustin Sylvester, with the Tigers D searching for the puck in their feet on an Ice rush, found it, sprung in on Dubyk and buried a wrist shot to make it 5-2… With a shot that would make Minnesota Fats proud Joey Leach sent a 195-foot bank-shot off the glass in to the corner pocket of the empty-net to round out the scoring.
The Biggest Cheer – When back-referee Ryan Bonnett tripped over the Ice logo in the third. Classic.
The Hits – In the third, right at the ten minute mark – on the same shift, no less – James Martin crushed Tomas Kundratek against the boards to end a Tiger rush. Not 20 seconds later Joey Leach lined up Emerson Etem in the neutral zone with a lethal blow that sent the Tiger super rookie to the ice and then the dressing room for repairs. Leach got two for interference while Etem missed only a few shifts. With Mark Isherwood's penalty expiring D Hayden Rintoul received a blind-side hit – yes, similar to the ones the NHL's trying to eliminate but with little luck – by Isherwood that sent Rintoul to the Ice. There was no call on the play.
The Mouthpiece – After a spirited scrum after the Leach penalty behind the Ice net Brayden McNabb and Bretton Cameron got into a shoving match. After it was settled Cameron noticed McNabb's mouthguard on the ice and proceeded to fire it down the ice past the Tiger bench, much to McNabb's ire.
The Mouthpiece Part II – In the game's last minute a scrum ensued right in front of the Ice bench with Tiger forwards Kale Kessy and Tomas Kundratek right in the mix. When they separated the hoard it was Kundratek challenging the Ice bench. Has to be the first time I've seen an import so, uh, aggressive. All that was missing was the waving arms.
The Hook – Unlike the gold medal game at the world juniors in which he was panned for leaving goaltender Jake Allen in too long, Tiger coach Willie Desjardins pulled Tyler Bunz after Kootenay's fourth goal. It was only 4-2 but Desjardins wasn't giving him near the leeway on this night when his starter wasn't sharp.
The Turning Point – Trailing 2-1 with a so-so start to the game Matt Fraser's wrister that beat Bunz with 30 seconds left in the first period sparked the Ice to come out flying in the second. The Tigers never recovered.
The Crowd – 2335 – The second-smallest crowd to witness regular season or playoff game at the Rec Plex. The smallest was 2312 game four in the first round of the 2004 playoffs, a four-game sweep at the hands of the Kelowna Rockets.
The Rec Plex Three Stars
1. D Brayden McNabb – Rock solid with a mean streak.
2. RW Kevin King - goal, assist
3. C Elgin Pearce – Two Assists
Up Next – Game Two goes Saturday night at the Rec Plex.
Kootenay leads best of seven series 1-0
Tigers 2 @ Ice 6
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for playoff game between the
Kootenay Ice and Medicine Hat Tigers; March 19, 2010
Kevin King and Dustin Sylvester each had a goal and assist as the Kootenay Ice
dumped the Medicine Hat Tigers 6-2 to take a 1-0 lead in their best of seven
playoff series Friday night.
Emerson Etem opened the scoring for the Tigers at the 5:56 mark only to have the
Ice tie on a wrist-shot by Kevin King four minutes later. Matt MacKay put the
Tigers back up 2-1 at 17:07 but Matt Fraser tied it with 30 seconds left in the
period.
The late goal spurred the Ice, who got second period goals from Hayden Rintoul
and Brock Montgomery - the latter which chased Tiger goaltender Tyler Bunz from
the net in favour of Deven Dubyk, and then two more in the third period from
Sylvester and Joey Leach, with an empty-netter, to seal the 6-2 win.
Todd Mathews stopped 25 of 27 shots to get the win while Tyler Bunz stopped 20
of 24 shots he faced to take the loss.
Game Two goes Saturday night in Cranbrook.
First Period
1. Medicine Hat, Etem 1 (Vey, King) 5:56
2. Kootenay, King 1 (McNabb, Sylvester) 9:17
3. Medicine Hat, MacKay 1 (Cameron, Hamilton) 17:07
4. Kootenay, Fraser 1 (Reinhart) 19:30
Penalties -- MacKay MH (tripping) 3:38, Fraser Ktn (delay-of-game) 11:18, Carr
MH (hooking) 12:43.
Second Period
5. Kootenay, Rintoul 1 (McNabb, King) 11:41 (pp)
6. Kootenay, Montgomery 1 (Czerwonka, Pearce) 15:55
Penalties -- Gal MH (hooking) 1:46, McNabb Ktn (tripping) 5:23, Coyle MH
(checking-from-behind) 9:59, Konan MH Fraser Ktn (unsportsmanlike conduct)
10:56.
Third Period
7. Kootenay, Sylvester 1 (Pearce, Rintoul) 1:37
8. Kootenay, Leach 1 16:16 (sh) (en)
Penalties -- Leach Ktn (hooking) 4:04, Reinhart Ktn (slashing) 6:31, Isherwood
MH (tripping) 7:38, Leach Ktn (interference) 9:57, Isherwood MH (tripping)
11:36, Martin Ktn (tripping) 14:50, Kessy MH (charging) 16:28, Kale Kessy MH
(roughing, misconduct) Kundratek MH (misconduct) Magnus Ktn (roughing), Antilla
Ktn (roughing) 19:14, Cameron MH (misconduct) 19:48.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 11 15 6 - 32
Medicine Hat: 11 9 7 - 27
Goal -- Kootenay: Todd Mathews (W, 1-0); Medicine Hat: Tyler Bunz - 20-24 shots
- Dubyk 15:55 of second (L, 0-1)
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 1-7
Medicine Hat: 0-8
Referee -- Ryan Bonnett, Reagan Vetter. Linesman -- Tyler Adair, Jim Maniago.
Attendance -- 2335 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Jagger Dirk, Brendan Hurley.
Medicine Hat: Dylan Busenius, Reid Petryk, Curtis Valk, Tanner Sohn.
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
UPDATE - The WHL and Tigers website has highlites of the game here.
The Score – Kootenay 6 – Medicine Hat 2
What Happened – The Tigers had the better start but a late first period goal by Matt Fraser gave the Ice a better finish.
The Goals – A turnover in their own zone lead to Linden Vey centering a pass to Emerson Etem that Mathews orginally stopped but ended up out of position. Etem's shot trickled into the net… Brayden McNabb fed a great pass to Kevin King through the neutral zone that started a flurry of chances around Bunz. Dustin Sylvester hit Bunz in the mask with a shot, picked up his own rebound and fed the point to McNabb. He wristed a laser that Kevin King got a stick on to tie it at one… Willie Desjardins mixed up his lines somewhat and it paid off handsomely with a pretty three-on-one down low. With D Hayden Rintoul caught up ice, Matt McKay finished off for a crease tap-in to make it 2-1… Kootenay tied it once again on a three-on-two started by Max Reinhart who saucered a beauty to Matt Fraser who split the D with a 2-on-1, used Jesse Ismond as his decoy and ripped a wrister that squeezed through Bunz... In the second Kootenay came out firing and with Cranbrook product Jace Coyle in the box Kootenay's power play finally clicked when Hayden Rintoul banked a hard wrist shot off a Tiger d-man to make it 3-2… Kootenay took a two-goal lead when Drew Czerwonka sent a tough, neutral zone pass to Brock Montgomery who took a solid hit and never wavered. Montgomery gained speed on a two-on-one and with Pearce as the decoy he wired a wrist shot over the shoulder of Bunz that sent him to the showers in favour of Deven Dubyk and gave the Ice a 4-2 lead… In the third things didn't fair any better for the Tigers as Ice captain Dustin Sylvester, with the Tigers D searching for the puck in their feet on an Ice rush, found it, sprung in on Dubyk and buried a wrist shot to make it 5-2… With a shot that would make Minnesota Fats proud Joey Leach sent a 195-foot bank-shot off the glass in to the corner pocket of the empty-net to round out the scoring.
The Biggest Cheer – When back-referee Ryan Bonnett tripped over the Ice logo in the third. Classic.
The Hits – In the third, right at the ten minute mark – on the same shift, no less – James Martin crushed Tomas Kundratek against the boards to end a Tiger rush. Not 20 seconds later Joey Leach lined up Emerson Etem in the neutral zone with a lethal blow that sent the Tiger super rookie to the ice and then the dressing room for repairs. Leach got two for interference while Etem missed only a few shifts. With Mark Isherwood's penalty expiring D Hayden Rintoul received a blind-side hit – yes, similar to the ones the NHL's trying to eliminate but with little luck – by Isherwood that sent Rintoul to the Ice. There was no call on the play.
The Mouthpiece – After a spirited scrum after the Leach penalty behind the Ice net Brayden McNabb and Bretton Cameron got into a shoving match. After it was settled Cameron noticed McNabb's mouthguard on the ice and proceeded to fire it down the ice past the Tiger bench, much to McNabb's ire.
The Mouthpiece Part II – In the game's last minute a scrum ensued right in front of the Ice bench with Tiger forwards Kale Kessy and Tomas Kundratek right in the mix. When they separated the hoard it was Kundratek challenging the Ice bench. Has to be the first time I've seen an import so, uh, aggressive. All that was missing was the waving arms.
The Hook – Unlike the gold medal game at the world juniors in which he was panned for leaving goaltender Jake Allen in too long, Tiger coach Willie Desjardins pulled Tyler Bunz after Kootenay's fourth goal. It was only 4-2 but Desjardins wasn't giving him near the leeway on this night when his starter wasn't sharp.
The Turning Point – Trailing 2-1 with a so-so start to the game Matt Fraser's wrister that beat Bunz with 30 seconds left in the first period sparked the Ice to come out flying in the second. The Tigers never recovered.
The Crowd – 2335 – The second-smallest crowd to witness regular season or playoff game at the Rec Plex. The smallest was 2312 game four in the first round of the 2004 playoffs, a four-game sweep at the hands of the Kelowna Rockets.
The Rec Plex Three Stars
1. D Brayden McNabb – Rock solid with a mean streak.
2. RW Kevin King - goal, assist
3. C Elgin Pearce – Two Assists
Up Next – Game Two goes Saturday night at the Rec Plex.
Kootenay leads best of seven series 1-0
Tigers 2 @ Ice 6
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for playoff game between the
Kootenay Ice and Medicine Hat Tigers; March 19, 2010
Kevin King and Dustin Sylvester each had a goal and assist as the Kootenay Ice
dumped the Medicine Hat Tigers 6-2 to take a 1-0 lead in their best of seven
playoff series Friday night.
Emerson Etem opened the scoring for the Tigers at the 5:56 mark only to have the
Ice tie on a wrist-shot by Kevin King four minutes later. Matt MacKay put the
Tigers back up 2-1 at 17:07 but Matt Fraser tied it with 30 seconds left in the
period.
The late goal spurred the Ice, who got second period goals from Hayden Rintoul
and Brock Montgomery - the latter which chased Tiger goaltender Tyler Bunz from
the net in favour of Deven Dubyk, and then two more in the third period from
Sylvester and Joey Leach, with an empty-netter, to seal the 6-2 win.
Todd Mathews stopped 25 of 27 shots to get the win while Tyler Bunz stopped 20
of 24 shots he faced to take the loss.
Game Two goes Saturday night in Cranbrook.
First Period
1. Medicine Hat, Etem 1 (Vey, King) 5:56
2. Kootenay, King 1 (McNabb, Sylvester) 9:17
3. Medicine Hat, MacKay 1 (Cameron, Hamilton) 17:07
4. Kootenay, Fraser 1 (Reinhart) 19:30
Penalties -- MacKay MH (tripping) 3:38, Fraser Ktn (delay-of-game) 11:18, Carr
MH (hooking) 12:43.
Second Period
5. Kootenay, Rintoul 1 (McNabb, King) 11:41 (pp)
6. Kootenay, Montgomery 1 (Czerwonka, Pearce) 15:55
Penalties -- Gal MH (hooking) 1:46, McNabb Ktn (tripping) 5:23, Coyle MH
(checking-from-behind) 9:59, Konan MH Fraser Ktn (unsportsmanlike conduct)
10:56.
Third Period
7. Kootenay, Sylvester 1 (Pearce, Rintoul) 1:37
8. Kootenay, Leach 1 16:16 (sh) (en)
Penalties -- Leach Ktn (hooking) 4:04, Reinhart Ktn (slashing) 6:31, Isherwood
MH (tripping) 7:38, Leach Ktn (interference) 9:57, Isherwood MH (tripping)
11:36, Martin Ktn (tripping) 14:50, Kessy MH (charging) 16:28, Kale Kessy MH
(roughing, misconduct) Kundratek MH (misconduct) Magnus Ktn (roughing), Antilla
Ktn (roughing) 19:14, Cameron MH (misconduct) 19:48.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 11 15 6 - 32
Medicine Hat: 11 9 7 - 27
Goal -- Kootenay: Todd Mathews (W, 1-0); Medicine Hat: Tyler Bunz - 20-24 shots
- Dubyk 15:55 of second (L, 0-1)
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 1-7
Medicine Hat: 0-8
Referee -- Ryan Bonnett, Reagan Vetter. Linesman -- Tyler Adair, Jim Maniago.
Attendance -- 2335 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Jagger Dirk, Brendan Hurley.
Medicine Hat: Dylan Busenius, Reid Petryk, Curtis Valk, Tanner Sohn.
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Ice-Tigers Playoff Preview Capsule
Ice – Tigers Playoff Preview 2010
By Jeff Bromley
History – The two Central Division Rivals have met only once in the post-season. Two years ago the Ice dumped the Tigers in five games, including an overtime win in Game Two when Arnaud Jacquemet scored to tie the game with two-tenths of a second left in the game. Jacquemet ended it 33 seconds into overtime to put the Ice up 2-0 in the series essentially breaking the spirit of the Tigers.
Head to Head – Kootenay (43-24-3-2; 91 points) finished one point clear of Medicine Hat (41-23-3-5; 90 points) in the Eastern Conference standings. The two clubs split the season series 3-3 or by the Hockey world’s new math and the Tigers point of view, 3-2-1.
Top Scorers – C/LW Dustin Sylvester (4g, 5a) lit it up for the Ice against the Tabbies while Tristan King did the same to the Ice, racking up 3 goals and 6 assists.
Key Injuries – For a change both clubs are completely healthy headed into the post-season.
Goaltenders – Pacing his club with a 31-19-3-2 record for the super-sophomore, Tiger goaltender Tyler Bunz blossomed this season as the club’s 17-year-old starter and will only get better. Todd Mathews picked up where he left off after salvaging last year’s season and seizing the number one job back in October. His 33 wins are one off the club record set by Dan Blackburn as a rookie back in 99-2000 and equalled by Jeff Glass in 2004-05. If Mathews can keep his cool with the Tigers in his face the 19-year-old can win a series by himself. Give the Edge – to Kootenay.
Defence – Somebody once said defence wins championships and if the Tigers have a key weakness it’s on the blueline. Their lack of star power is made up by their mobile, offence-minded rearguards. Kootenay enjoys a distinct size advantage on the backend and if they can catch them, could wear down the Tigers’ speedy forwards in a long series. Edge – Sizeable to Kootenay
Offence – Here’s where the Tigers shine. The club’s 276 goals this season were second only to the goal-fest in Brandon. Like the Ice the Tigers have six 20+ goal scorers on their roster but dig deeper and you’ll find more depth. Bretton Cameron and rookie Emerson Etem lead the Tigers in the goal-scoring department on a team that can reach far down the roster when needed. Kootenay will need help from their third and fourth lines to match the Tigers depth. Edge – Medicine Hat.
Coaching – The Tigers are lead by their surly head coach and GM Willie Desjardins who coached Team Canada at the World Juniors this past Christmas to a silver medal finish. He’s also won a championship or two, you might recall, and has been at the helm of Medicine Hat’s remarkable run over the past seven years. Kootenay’s bench boss Mark Holick, just named the Eastern Conference nominee for Coach of the Year, has what it takes to match wits, if not the resume. Edge – Pick ‘em.
Intangibles – Want a catch line for this series? How about size matters? Kootenay enjoys a sizeable advantage over the smaller, speedier Tigers and if this thing turns into a war, I like Kootenay’s bigger forwards and bigger d-men to wear the Tigers down. If it’s a goal fest for the Tigers this one could be over in a hurry. Edge – Kootenay
Prediction – In the last hurrah before he graduates from junior hockey Dustin Sylvester, a notorious Tiger-tamer in his career, has a chance to push his hockey club deep into the playoffs. In the post-season it’s the blueline that’s king and in this match-up Kootenay’s got the edge. Ice in six.
By Jeff Bromley
History – The two Central Division Rivals have met only once in the post-season. Two years ago the Ice dumped the Tigers in five games, including an overtime win in Game Two when Arnaud Jacquemet scored to tie the game with two-tenths of a second left in the game. Jacquemet ended it 33 seconds into overtime to put the Ice up 2-0 in the series essentially breaking the spirit of the Tigers.
Head to Head – Kootenay (43-24-3-2; 91 points) finished one point clear of Medicine Hat (41-23-3-5; 90 points) in the Eastern Conference standings. The two clubs split the season series 3-3 or by the Hockey world’s new math and the Tigers point of view, 3-2-1.
Top Scorers – C/LW Dustin Sylvester (4g, 5a) lit it up for the Ice against the Tabbies while Tristan King did the same to the Ice, racking up 3 goals and 6 assists.
Key Injuries – For a change both clubs are completely healthy headed into the post-season.
Goaltenders – Pacing his club with a 31-19-3-2 record for the super-sophomore, Tiger goaltender Tyler Bunz blossomed this season as the club’s 17-year-old starter and will only get better. Todd Mathews picked up where he left off after salvaging last year’s season and seizing the number one job back in October. His 33 wins are one off the club record set by Dan Blackburn as a rookie back in 99-2000 and equalled by Jeff Glass in 2004-05. If Mathews can keep his cool with the Tigers in his face the 19-year-old can win a series by himself. Give the Edge – to Kootenay.
Defence – Somebody once said defence wins championships and if the Tigers have a key weakness it’s on the blueline. Their lack of star power is made up by their mobile, offence-minded rearguards. Kootenay enjoys a distinct size advantage on the backend and if they can catch them, could wear down the Tigers’ speedy forwards in a long series. Edge – Sizeable to Kootenay
Offence – Here’s where the Tigers shine. The club’s 276 goals this season were second only to the goal-fest in Brandon. Like the Ice the Tigers have six 20+ goal scorers on their roster but dig deeper and you’ll find more depth. Bretton Cameron and rookie Emerson Etem lead the Tigers in the goal-scoring department on a team that can reach far down the roster when needed. Kootenay will need help from their third and fourth lines to match the Tigers depth. Edge – Medicine Hat.
Coaching – The Tigers are lead by their surly head coach and GM Willie Desjardins who coached Team Canada at the World Juniors this past Christmas to a silver medal finish. He’s also won a championship or two, you might recall, and has been at the helm of Medicine Hat’s remarkable run over the past seven years. Kootenay’s bench boss Mark Holick, just named the Eastern Conference nominee for Coach of the Year, has what it takes to match wits, if not the resume. Edge – Pick ‘em.
Intangibles – Want a catch line for this series? How about size matters? Kootenay enjoys a sizeable advantage over the smaller, speedier Tigers and if this thing turns into a war, I like Kootenay’s bigger forwards and bigger d-men to wear the Tigers down. If it’s a goal fest for the Tigers this one could be over in a hurry. Edge – Kootenay
Prediction – In the last hurrah before he graduates from junior hockey Dustin Sylvester, a notorious Tiger-tamer in his career, has a chance to push his hockey club deep into the playoffs. In the post-season it’s the blueline that’s king and in this match-up Kootenay’s got the edge. Ice in six.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Mathews on the edge...
For the Daily Townsman...
Mathews playing on the edge
by Jeff Bromley
Kootenay Ice goaltender Todd Mathews plays with an edge, that’s no secret. The 19-year-old puck-stopper walks a fine line in the net, seemingly ready to boil over at any given moment, just as ready to make the spectacular save or chop you down if you’re in his way.
You can bet that the Medicine Hat Tigers will try to do just that, get in his way; in his crease and in his head. He's used to it.
Mathews doesn't fit the mold of the modern goaltender. He plays a hybrid style, more of a reflex goaltender rather than a sheer butterfly template. Think Martin Brodeur with shades of Billy Smith or maybe Ron Hextall. He's loud and if you make a mistake will let you know about it.
Notching his 33rd win of the season in Saturday’s finale, just one off the team record of 34 set by Jeff Glass in 2005, the playoff fortunes of the Kootenay Ice will undoubtedly rest squarely on the shoulders of the brash Californian. A career year with 2.75 goals against average and a .907 save percentage; his numbers show he’s capable. That’s a question that’s not in doubt. His other eye-popping stat – 50 penalty minutes, good for 11th on the club and far and away the most by any goaltender in the WHL – is the most concerning stat.
Can Mathews make sure that fine line doesn’t get crossed come playoff time? “Over the last few weeks and months I’ve been working on my timing,” said Mathews after his 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings. “The coaches have let me know that it’s not that big of a deal if I get a penalty, it’s just making sure that it’s at the right time. There’s a time and place.”
You can bank on that time and place not being game one against the Tigers. With a premium put on the goaltenders during playoff time having Mathews in the crease and not in the box, or at least one of his teammates in lieu of, will be key to any playoff success and his coach has made that abundantly clear. “Of course I've talked to him about it,” said Ice head coach Mark Holick when ask about his goaltender’s penchant for penalties. “The last three games he’s been very disciplined but we also don’t want him to lose his intensity, passion and focus and in his last three he’s been all those. He hasn’t done anything silly and hasn’t cost us, he’s been really good.”
“But come playoff time we can’t afford needless penalties.”
It’s no secret that Mathews’ reputation precedes him and like a heavyweight who’ll
get fingered for two or more in a scrum just for being there, and like the Tigers the zebras are acutely aware of him as well. Still, Mathews makes no apologies for his, uh, outgoing style. “The refs, they know me and I think they work with me a bit. Over a course of the year you develop a bit of relationship and they let me know where the line is and if I cross it I’m getting a penalty.”
“As for the Tigers, yeah, they know me but I know them as well and I can take advantage of that as well.”
Plan A of the Tigers playbook will be to get into Mathews face, crease, head – whatever it takes to get him off his game. The lingering question will be how much will Mathews put up with and how long will the affable goaltender last before he boils over?
“They’re going to be all over his crease just like the last two games we played them,” said Holick. “We’ve talked about it and he’s got to realize that’s going to happen.”
Mathews playing on the edge
by Jeff Bromley
Kootenay Ice goaltender Todd Mathews plays with an edge, that’s no secret. The 19-year-old puck-stopper walks a fine line in the net, seemingly ready to boil over at any given moment, just as ready to make the spectacular save or chop you down if you’re in his way.
You can bet that the Medicine Hat Tigers will try to do just that, get in his way; in his crease and in his head. He's used to it.
Mathews doesn't fit the mold of the modern goaltender. He plays a hybrid style, more of a reflex goaltender rather than a sheer butterfly template. Think Martin Brodeur with shades of Billy Smith or maybe Ron Hextall. He's loud and if you make a mistake will let you know about it.
Notching his 33rd win of the season in Saturday’s finale, just one off the team record of 34 set by Jeff Glass in 2005, the playoff fortunes of the Kootenay Ice will undoubtedly rest squarely on the shoulders of the brash Californian. A career year with 2.75 goals against average and a .907 save percentage; his numbers show he’s capable. That’s a question that’s not in doubt. His other eye-popping stat – 50 penalty minutes, good for 11th on the club and far and away the most by any goaltender in the WHL – is the most concerning stat.
Can Mathews make sure that fine line doesn’t get crossed come playoff time? “Over the last few weeks and months I’ve been working on my timing,” said Mathews after his 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings. “The coaches have let me know that it’s not that big of a deal if I get a penalty, it’s just making sure that it’s at the right time. There’s a time and place.”
You can bank on that time and place not being game one against the Tigers. With a premium put on the goaltenders during playoff time having Mathews in the crease and not in the box, or at least one of his teammates in lieu of, will be key to any playoff success and his coach has made that abundantly clear. “Of course I've talked to him about it,” said Ice head coach Mark Holick when ask about his goaltender’s penchant for penalties. “The last three games he’s been very disciplined but we also don’t want him to lose his intensity, passion and focus and in his last three he’s been all those. He hasn’t done anything silly and hasn’t cost us, he’s been really good.”
“But come playoff time we can’t afford needless penalties.”
It’s no secret that Mathews’ reputation precedes him and like a heavyweight who’ll
get fingered for two or more in a scrum just for being there, and like the Tigers the zebras are acutely aware of him as well. Still, Mathews makes no apologies for his, uh, outgoing style. “The refs, they know me and I think they work with me a bit. Over a course of the year you develop a bit of relationship and they let me know where the line is and if I cross it I’m getting a penalty.”
“As for the Tigers, yeah, they know me but I know them as well and I can take advantage of that as well.”
Plan A of the Tigers playbook will be to get into Mathews face, crease, head – whatever it takes to get him off his game. The lingering question will be how much will Mathews put up with and how long will the affable goaltender last before he boils over?
“They’re going to be all over his crease just like the last two games we played them,” said Holick. “We’ve talked about it and he’s got to realize that’s going to happen.”
Saturday, March 13, 2010
The Score - Ice/Oil Kings
The Score – Kootenay 2 – Edmonton 1
What Happened – On paper this should’ve been a walk. At least six regulars out of the line-up; a rookie goaltender and a team with nothing to play for almost played the spoiler on this night. Check that, goaltender Laurent Brossoit, almost played the spoiler, stopping 49 shots in the 2-1 Ice win. Kootenay threw everything at the kid and he stood tall for all but two shots.
The Goals – After a first five that featured at least 10 chances for both clubs a rush into the Edmonton zone saw Sylvester delay just inside the line, watch everybody but James Martin pass him, dish it to Martin who then wired his 8th… Outshot 27-9 the visitors cashed in on their tenth shot after losing a face-off with Sebastian Svendsen deflecting a Robin Soudek point-shot that got by Todd Mathews to tie it at one…. With some uncanny puck-sense Sylvester picked up the puck on a neutral zone clear and somehow threaded a pass to Kevin King who accelerated in on Brossoit and only moved only when it was by him to make it 2-1.
The Awards – Kootenay handed out their year-end awards prior to the start of the game Saturday: Players Award – Dustin Sylvester; Regular Season MVP – Dustin Sylvester; Best D-man – Brayden McNabb; Rookie of the Year – Joey Leach; Most Improved – James Martin; Scholastic Player of the Year – Nathan Lieuwen; Most Underrated Player – Ryan Molle; East Kootenay Community Credit Union Community Relations Player of the Year Award - Matt Fraser. Fraser, who worked tirelessly on his campaign to raise funds for the East Kootenay Foundation for Health, helped raise over $14,000 towards the cause.
The 4th(??) Line – Though some might see it as a demotion for forward Joe Antilla who spent most of the season on the third unit, playing between Dominick Pacovsky and Christian Magnus isn’t so bad. At one point in the second period the trio hemmed the Oil Kings in their own zone for over two minutes, generating four or five scoring chances.
The Review – In the third period with the Ice pressing – that happened a lot on this night – Kevin King poked a loose puck past Brossoit but referee Ryan Thompson waived it off because he’d blown the play dead. He didn’t go upstairs for a review. In the closing stages of the game a scramble around goaltender Todd Mathews net produced a late whistle that the timekeeper didn’t hear and thus let the clock run down about six seconds further than it should. Thompson went upstairs to set the time straight, and rightly so, but in relation to the first waived-off goal I’m told the video review booth will call down to the timekeeper’s bench if Thompson was wrong. I thought he was but obviously the video guys thought differently. How long again do we have to wait for the league-mandated replay screen in the building?
The close call – Early in the third period Ice forward Steele Boomer went hard into the end boards and left the game favouring his right shoulder. He returned at the ten minute mark looking no worse for wear.
What it means – The win gives the Ice a 43-24-3-2 record on the season, good for 4th in the Eastern conference and a long way from the 5-11 start to the season. The Ice will host the Medicine Hat Tigers starting Friday for game one of the WHL Playoffs. The 43 wins is the best showing by an Ice since 2006-07 when they notched 49.
The Crowd – 2998 – the announced average attendance this season was 2807, a drop of 263 per game - though there's been no school ticket program for the most part this season - from a year ago.
Rec Plex Three Stars:
1. G Laurent Brossoit – An incredible 49 save performance
2. LW Dustin Sylvester – Two assists caps a great 20-year-old season with 93 points, tied with Adam Cracknell for the third-highest point-total by an Ice player (Jarrett Stoll – 106 in 2000-01 and Jay Henderson – 94 in 1997-98)
3. RW Kevin King – Game-winner
Up Next – The Tigers are here Friday for Game one of the Best-of-Seven quarter-final series.
Oil Kings 1 @ Ice 2
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for regular season game between the Edmonton Oil Kings and the Kootenay Ice. March 13, 2010
It took 51 shots fired at Edmonton Oil King rookie goaltender Laurent Brossoit but the Kootenay Ice managed to put two goals by the 16-year-old and held on for a 2-1 win and clinched home-ice advantage in the first round of the WHL Playoffs.
James Martin opened the scoring for the Ice 5:22 into the game with a point-blast that eluded Brossoit for a 1-0 Ice lead.
The Oil Kings would tie it on Sebastian Svendsen's 12th of the season 7:04 into the second but Kevin King, with his 28th, would get the eventual game-winner at 14:07.
Todd Mathews stopped 20 of 21 shots to preserve the win while Brossoit stopped 49 of 51 shots and was named the game's first star in taking the loss.
With the win the Ice will host the Medicine Hat Tigers to open the WHL Playoffs on Friday.
First Period
1. Kootenay, Martin 8 (Sylvester, King) 5:22
Penalties --Svendsen Edm (hooking) 7:30, Fraser Ktn (tripping) 13:12, Hlookoff Edm (holding) 15:07, Laroque Edm (hooking) 15:53, Boomer Ktn (hooking) 19:42.
Second Period
2. Edmonton, Svendsen 12 (Soudek, St. Croix) 7:04
3. Kootenay, King 28 (Sylvester) 14:07
Penalties -- Antilla Ktn (delay-of-game) 17:02, Burns Edm (unsportsmanlike conduct) Rintoul Ktn (high-sticking) 19:49.
Third Period
No Scoring.
Penalties -- Bench Minor Edm (too-many-men - served by Wilson) 3:12, Proulx Edm (slashing) 7:28, Laroque Edm (hooking) 10:57, Foster Edm Mathews Ktn (roughing - served by Reinhart) 19:57.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 22 12 17 - 51
Edmonton: 8 8 5 - 21
Goal -- Kootenay: Todd Mathews (W, 33-14-3-2) Edmonton: Laurent Brossoit (L, 0-1-0-0)
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 0-6
Edmonton: 0-3
Referee -- Jeff Ingram, Ryan Thompson. Linesman -- Steve Cochrane, Tyler Adair.
Attendance -- 2998 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Luke Paulsen (healthy), Brendan Hurley (healthy).
Edmonton: Cam Lanigan, Adrien Van de Mosselaer, Mark Pysyk, Stephane Legaultj, Devin Balness, Dylan Wruck, Rhett Rachinski, Lane Werbowksi.
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
What Happened – On paper this should’ve been a walk. At least six regulars out of the line-up; a rookie goaltender and a team with nothing to play for almost played the spoiler on this night. Check that, goaltender Laurent Brossoit, almost played the spoiler, stopping 49 shots in the 2-1 Ice win. Kootenay threw everything at the kid and he stood tall for all but two shots.
The Goals – After a first five that featured at least 10 chances for both clubs a rush into the Edmonton zone saw Sylvester delay just inside the line, watch everybody but James Martin pass him, dish it to Martin who then wired his 8th… Outshot 27-9 the visitors cashed in on their tenth shot after losing a face-off with Sebastian Svendsen deflecting a Robin Soudek point-shot that got by Todd Mathews to tie it at one…. With some uncanny puck-sense Sylvester picked up the puck on a neutral zone clear and somehow threaded a pass to Kevin King who accelerated in on Brossoit and only moved only when it was by him to make it 2-1.
The Awards – Kootenay handed out their year-end awards prior to the start of the game Saturday: Players Award – Dustin Sylvester; Regular Season MVP – Dustin Sylvester; Best D-man – Brayden McNabb; Rookie of the Year – Joey Leach; Most Improved – James Martin; Scholastic Player of the Year – Nathan Lieuwen; Most Underrated Player – Ryan Molle; East Kootenay Community Credit Union Community Relations Player of the Year Award - Matt Fraser. Fraser, who worked tirelessly on his campaign to raise funds for the East Kootenay Foundation for Health, helped raise over $14,000 towards the cause.
The 4th(??) Line – Though some might see it as a demotion for forward Joe Antilla who spent most of the season on the third unit, playing between Dominick Pacovsky and Christian Magnus isn’t so bad. At one point in the second period the trio hemmed the Oil Kings in their own zone for over two minutes, generating four or five scoring chances.
The Review – In the third period with the Ice pressing – that happened a lot on this night – Kevin King poked a loose puck past Brossoit but referee Ryan Thompson waived it off because he’d blown the play dead. He didn’t go upstairs for a review. In the closing stages of the game a scramble around goaltender Todd Mathews net produced a late whistle that the timekeeper didn’t hear and thus let the clock run down about six seconds further than it should. Thompson went upstairs to set the time straight, and rightly so, but in relation to the first waived-off goal I’m told the video review booth will call down to the timekeeper’s bench if Thompson was wrong. I thought he was but obviously the video guys thought differently. How long again do we have to wait for the league-mandated replay screen in the building?
The close call – Early in the third period Ice forward Steele Boomer went hard into the end boards and left the game favouring his right shoulder. He returned at the ten minute mark looking no worse for wear.
What it means – The win gives the Ice a 43-24-3-2 record on the season, good for 4th in the Eastern conference and a long way from the 5-11 start to the season. The Ice will host the Medicine Hat Tigers starting Friday for game one of the WHL Playoffs. The 43 wins is the best showing by an Ice since 2006-07 when they notched 49.
The Crowd – 2998 – the announced average attendance this season was 2807, a drop of 263 per game - though there's been no school ticket program for the most part this season - from a year ago.
Rec Plex Three Stars:
1. G Laurent Brossoit – An incredible 49 save performance
2. LW Dustin Sylvester – Two assists caps a great 20-year-old season with 93 points, tied with Adam Cracknell for the third-highest point-total by an Ice player (Jarrett Stoll – 106 in 2000-01 and Jay Henderson – 94 in 1997-98)
3. RW Kevin King – Game-winner
Up Next – The Tigers are here Friday for Game one of the Best-of-Seven quarter-final series.
Oil Kings 1 @ Ice 2
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for regular season game between the Edmonton Oil Kings and the Kootenay Ice. March 13, 2010
It took 51 shots fired at Edmonton Oil King rookie goaltender Laurent Brossoit but the Kootenay Ice managed to put two goals by the 16-year-old and held on for a 2-1 win and clinched home-ice advantage in the first round of the WHL Playoffs.
James Martin opened the scoring for the Ice 5:22 into the game with a point-blast that eluded Brossoit for a 1-0 Ice lead.
The Oil Kings would tie it on Sebastian Svendsen's 12th of the season 7:04 into the second but Kevin King, with his 28th, would get the eventual game-winner at 14:07.
Todd Mathews stopped 20 of 21 shots to preserve the win while Brossoit stopped 49 of 51 shots and was named the game's first star in taking the loss.
With the win the Ice will host the Medicine Hat Tigers to open the WHL Playoffs on Friday.
First Period
1. Kootenay, Martin 8 (Sylvester, King) 5:22
Penalties --Svendsen Edm (hooking) 7:30, Fraser Ktn (tripping) 13:12, Hlookoff Edm (holding) 15:07, Laroque Edm (hooking) 15:53, Boomer Ktn (hooking) 19:42.
Second Period
2. Edmonton, Svendsen 12 (Soudek, St. Croix) 7:04
3. Kootenay, King 28 (Sylvester) 14:07
Penalties -- Antilla Ktn (delay-of-game) 17:02, Burns Edm (unsportsmanlike conduct) Rintoul Ktn (high-sticking) 19:49.
Third Period
No Scoring.
Penalties -- Bench Minor Edm (too-many-men - served by Wilson) 3:12, Proulx Edm (slashing) 7:28, Laroque Edm (hooking) 10:57, Foster Edm Mathews Ktn (roughing - served by Reinhart) 19:57.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 22 12 17 - 51
Edmonton: 8 8 5 - 21
Goal -- Kootenay: Todd Mathews (W, 33-14-3-2) Edmonton: Laurent Brossoit (L, 0-1-0-0)
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 0-6
Edmonton: 0-3
Referee -- Jeff Ingram, Ryan Thompson. Linesman -- Steve Cochrane, Tyler Adair.
Attendance -- 2998 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Luke Paulsen (healthy), Brendan Hurley (healthy).
Edmonton: Cam Lanigan, Adrien Van de Mosselaer, Mark Pysyk, Stephane Legaultj, Devin Balness, Dylan Wruck, Rhett Rachinski, Lane Werbowksi.
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Ice clinch fifth, Peewees finish fifth...
Back from a fifth-place finish at Peewee Provincials in time to catch Kootenay's first win in their last six tries at the Rec Plex with a 5-1 win over the Rebels Wednesday night.
The win leaves the Ice in the driver's seat for fourth place and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs as Kootenay improves to 41-24-3-2 with 87 points, one clear of the Medicine Hat Tigers. Both clubs have two games left to play.
The win gives the Ice the fifth place spot over the Rebels.
Here's the scenario: If if Kootenay doesn't win Friday in Red Deer, in regulation or even loses in OT or a shootout, the Rebels can catch them but won't win the tie-breaker. If Red Deer wins in regulation and wins their final game Sunday against Calgary while Kootenay loses to Edmonton on Saturday, the two club's would be tied in points, wins and points accumulated between the two for the season series (nine) with 4-3-0-1 (Rebels) or 4-3-1-0 (Ice) records, respectively. If I read the WHL tiebreaking procedure correctly the third tie-breaker would come into effect. The better ratio of total goals for minus totals goals against, in which Kootenay holds a big edge. If it were to go to the games played between the two, it is dead even at 22. But that won't come into play because Kootenay's ratio is plus-34 while Red Deer is minus-11. They won't make up that much ground in two games.
Kootenay just has to win one to face the Tigers for fifth and win both to host the Tigers in the first round of the playoffs Friday, March 19, or have Medicine Hat drop both their last two games. It's unlikely that the Tigers would lose both of their last two games against the Hurricanes but I also thought it was unlikely the Canes would play spoilers and dump the Rebels Tuesday night in Lethbridge, 5-2.
The Rebels can still finish fifth but need to win both of their games, the Ice to split, and the Tigers to lose both which would give the Ice fourth, the Rebels fifth and the Tigers sixth.
Other thoughts - D Joe Leach had a career night with four assists and was a plus-five on the night... C Elgin Pearce, 17, moved up to the third line between Brock Montgomery and Drew Czerwonka. Both Pearce and Montgomery had late insurance goals while Czerwonka was a physical force.
The win leaves the Ice in the driver's seat for fourth place and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs as Kootenay improves to 41-24-3-2 with 87 points, one clear of the Medicine Hat Tigers. Both clubs have two games left to play.
The win gives the Ice the fifth place spot over the Rebels.
Here's the scenario: If if Kootenay doesn't win Friday in Red Deer, in regulation or even loses in OT or a shootout, the Rebels can catch them but won't win the tie-breaker. If Red Deer wins in regulation and wins their final game Sunday against Calgary while Kootenay loses to Edmonton on Saturday, the two club's would be tied in points, wins and points accumulated between the two for the season series (nine) with 4-3-0-1 (Rebels) or 4-3-1-0 (Ice) records, respectively. If I read the WHL tiebreaking procedure correctly the third tie-breaker would come into effect. The better ratio of total goals for minus totals goals against, in which Kootenay holds a big edge. If it were to go to the games played between the two, it is dead even at 22. But that won't come into play because Kootenay's ratio is plus-34 while Red Deer is minus-11. They won't make up that much ground in two games.
Kootenay just has to win one to face the Tigers for fifth and win both to host the Tigers in the first round of the playoffs Friday, March 19, or have Medicine Hat drop both their last two games. It's unlikely that the Tigers would lose both of their last two games against the Hurricanes but I also thought it was unlikely the Canes would play spoilers and dump the Rebels Tuesday night in Lethbridge, 5-2.
The Rebels can still finish fifth but need to win both of their games, the Ice to split, and the Tigers to lose both which would give the Ice fourth, the Rebels fifth and the Tigers sixth.
Other thoughts - D Joe Leach had a career night with four assists and was a plus-five on the night... C Elgin Pearce, 17, moved up to the third line between Brock Montgomery and Drew Czerwonka. Both Pearce and Montgomery had late insurance goals while Czerwonka was a physical force.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Pre-playoff hiatus
Just a note that due to Karate tournaments and Peewee Provincials things will be light here over the next week.
Will return late next week to set up the playoff run.
Will return late next week to set up the playoff run.
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