Starting last night in Medicine Hat by scoring four goals in the last nine minutes and beating the Tigers in the shootout the Kamloops Blazers waltzed into Cranbrook about 5AM, four blueliners and all, and 16 hours later left with two points in a wild 8-5 win over the Ice.
Goaltender Brett Teskey got the start but surrendered three goals on nine shots including a last minute goal in the first to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. Teskey got the hook in favour of Nathan Lieuwen - who I thought would start tonight while Teskey got the Raiders last night but I digress - but didn't fair much better giving up four goals on 15 shots, at least one he should've had.
Kootenay didn't give up on this one however and despite Blazer leads of 4-1 and 5-2 battled back to a 6-5 result early in the third period but a questionable call on D James Martin on a high hit gave the Blazers power play another crack and they converted to make it 7-5. Kootenay didn't get any closer than that and the Blazers added an empty-netter to make it 8-5.
Dylan Willick notched a couple for the Blazers while Jordan DePape had a goal and two helpers and was a +4. Cody Eakin had a goal and two assists while Kevin King added a goal and an assist in a losing cause. Matt Fraser had a tough night with at -4.
With the loss Kootenay drops to 40-19-1-3 and 84 points while the Tigers leapfrog the Ice with 85 points with their win over PA tonight. This game was one of the two that the Ice had in hand over the Rebels in the quest to catch them for the Central Division title. Only a major tumble by the Rebels will allow that to happen now as the Rebels hold a seven-point lead with nine games remaining for the Ice.
Tough loss to an opponent they rarely see but tougher still when it looks as though the club took them a little much for granted and then didn't get the goaltending when needed. Kootenay heads out on a tough three-game road trip starting Wednesday in Brandon, Friday in Saskatoon and Saturday in Prince Albert. The Blades are tough enough but the Wheat Kings are hungry and peaking at a good time, having gone 8-2 over their last ten and about to overtake the Oil Kings for sixth in the conference standings.
Mmmmm... maybe third is a little overrated at this rate because the Warriors look a whole lot more palatable than the Wheat Kings right now.
And still more on the Chynoweth/Bartel interview that caused a stir around the league and just as much around the rink over the weekend - it was topic numero uno on four conversations I had alone - Mr. Drinnan at his Taking Note blog over there on the right has a conversation starter on 'Chynoweth's options' as it was put in the interview and on the blog about what he might do both short term and long term. It's an entertaing read of the possible places that the Ice could end up, though to be honest, I always wonder why the Bucket List of locations is always longer than exhausting the possible solutions to the club's attendance woes.
Then again, and I'll say it again, maybe, just maybe, 2500 is all small town Cranbrook will offer on a long-term basis. Swift Current, just a shade smaller than Cranbrook, averages 2100; Prince Albert, bigger than Cranbrook by about 10,000, checks in at just over 2200; Prince George is 2227 - with 75,000 people. Lethbridge checks in a 2960 with 86,000 people. The OHL's Owen Sound Attack - a city of 21,000 - attracts 2534. In the QMJHL Baie-Comeau, Acadie-Bathhurst, Rouyn-Noranda are all small-markets that average below 2000 a game.
Maybe it just comes with the territory.
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