The Score – Kootenay 5 – Swift Current 4 (Shootout)
What Happened – Kootenay won this one in a walk, until they stopped walking in the third and a 4-1 lead turned into a 4-4 tie. Cody Eakin and Max Reinhart scored in the shootout to give the Ice the bonus point. This one was a bit of snoozer until Kootenay took their foot off the gas and the Broncos got back in it.
The Turning Point – In the shootout Max Reinhart skated in on Bronco goaltender Mark Friesen and was stopped, only to have the puck deflect straight up and down his back and into the net. Easy top ten on the strange goal list.
The Goals – As to be expected Kootenay came out guns a’blazin to start this one and looked to run away with it early. The opened the scoring on a nice, patient move by Brayden McNabb at the blueline who then skated in and found rookie Adam Rossignol who put in his 2nd of the season at 3:12… Seven minutes later Cody Eakin burned his old team on a 2-on-1 early with a wrist shot that beat Mark Friesen through his glove in one he’d like to have back or a shot Eakin knew exactly where to put on his old teammate… The Broncos didn’t cave however and despite missing five regulars got on the board with Hayden Rintoul in the box on a 4-on-3 power play when Taylor Vause corralled a bouncing puck and threw a no-look backhand pass to a waiting Brad Hoban on the doorstep to beat MacKenzie Skapski to make it 2-1… 1:25 into the second Joe Antilla got his 21st of the season after some hard work to get the puck to the point. A Joey Leach shot bounced off him to make it 3-1… Ten minutes later Steele Boomer got his 13th of the season after corralling a puck off the half-wall and fanning on the shot that knuckled over Friesen to make it 4-1… In the third with Boomer off for a weak goaltender interference call, Bronco import forward Stepan Novotny beat Skapski on the backhand for his 21st of the season to keep the Broncos close… They’d get closer with just over four minutes left when Adam Lowry converted a three-on-two rush when he captured his own rebound, a juicy one, and buried it to make it a one-goal game… The collapse was complete when the Broncos pulled Friesen and Graham Black scored his first WHL goal to tie the game on a goal-mouth scramble.
The Local – F Brandon Bruce, a rookie forward with the Broncos who has been a healthy scratch for the last 20 or so games, wasn’t dressed again Friday night. The significance? Bruce is a Cranbrook product and the Broncos didn’t think it much to dress him. Bad form, especially with a line-up riddled with injuries missing five regulars.
The Breakaway/Fight – Another to add to the something I’ve never seen before; with his linemate Adam Rossignol on a clearcut breakaway, Brendan Hurley drops the mitts with Tanner Muth 20 feet away. Rossignol was stopped but at least the play wasn’t blown down before he had a chance to shoot. Hurley ended up on the losing end of the tilt.
The Rookie – Okay, maybe Bruce didn’t play to make room for rookie Graham Black (probably not) who checked in with his first WHL goal with 23 seconds left in the game the 18-year-old scores the tying goal to send the game into OT and complete the comeback. Black was the leading scorer in Saskatchewan AAA Midget with the Regina Pats-Canadiens who signed with the Broncos after they traded acquired him in December from the Oil Kings for a conditional pick. Black was weighing his NCAA options before deciding to sign with the Broncos.
The Goaltender – At one end Mark Friesen shrugged off a slow start to stop 42 of 46 shots to keep his team in the game and got 3rd star honours for his troubles. At the Ice end rookie call-up Mackenzie Skapski was solid in his third start with the Ice but rebounds were a clear issue for the rookie on this night. On that note, if I’m back-up Brett Teskey, what am I thinking? Yeah, I get the experience thing but still, who's the back-up? And this is this year, not next. Skapski will be with the club until the 27th.
The Commish – Had a chance to talk at length with Ron Robison on the evening and about the uncertainty surrounding the Chilliwack Bruins and the relocation rumours as well as the attendance issues in Cranbrook. I’ll have more with that over the weekend. He did clarify one thing; The Jumbotron requirement of all the WHL buildings by the 2012 season is a recommendation rather than a hard requirement. He said that with Lethbridge having their building upgrade completed and Moose Jaw ready to open a new building next season only Kootenay, Swift Current and Medicine Hat do not have Jumbtrons throughout the WHL. The City of Swift Current has it in their budget for next year while Medicine Hat is expected to have a new building in the next two years – at the cost of $80 million – but the Rec Plex will likely be last in line for a Jumbo, when, or if, the City approves it in the budget. I’m not overly hopeful. 2014, at the earliest.
The Crowd – 2590
Rec Plex Three Stars
1. Cody Eakin – goal, dangerous all night
2. Joe Antilla – goal; 21 on the season
3. Mark Friesen – puckstopper kept his club in it
What it means – For the Broncos, they fought to the end but their playoff chances are done with the loss and PA winning tonight. For the Ice, the win clinches fourth in the Eastern Conference and home-ice to start the playoffs March 25. The Tigers beat the Rebels in OT tonight and maintain their four point lead on the Ice for third. The Rebels are six up on the Ice, all with the same amount of four games left. Catching either is mathematically possible but not very probable.
Up Next: Kootenay’s in Spokane tomorrow for a date with the Chiefs.
Game Summary:
Broncos 4 @ Ice 5 (Shootout)
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for regular season game between the Swift Current Broncos and Kootenay Ice; March 11, 2011.
It took four shooters in the shootout to do it but the Kootenay Ice finally put the Swift Current Broncos away 5-4 in WHL action Friday night.
Kootenay jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Adam Rossignol, with his 2nd on the year, and Cody Eakin, with his 33rd before Brad Hoban scored to make it 2-1 headed into the second period.
Joe Antilla and Steele Boomer gave the Ice a 4-1 lead with second period markers headed into the third. But the Broncos would claw their way back on goals by Stepan Novotny, Adam Lowry and rookie Graham Black, who scored his first WHL goal with only 23 seconds left to tie the game.
Overtime solved nothing and then in the shootout with both teams tied at one, Max Reinhart beat Bronco goaltender Mark Friesen on a goal Friesen thought he stopped only to have the puck go straight up in the air and come down on his back and trickle into the net, giving the Ice the shootout win.
Mackenzie Skapski got the start for the Ice and the win, stopping 18 of 22 shots while Mark Friesen stopped 42 of 46 shots in a stellar effort, taking the loss.
First Period
1. Kootenay, Rossignol 2 (McNabb, Hurley) 3:12
2. Kootenay, Eakin 33 (McNabb, Skapski) 10:32
3. Swift Current, Hoban 20 (Vause, Verdino) 14:53 (pp)
Penalties -- Boomer Ktn (hooking) 4:44, Craig SC Fraser Ktn (fighting) 7:18, Peddle SC Boomer Ktn (unsportsmanlike conduct) 12:48, Rintoul Ktn (cross-checking) 13:06.
Second Period
4. Kootenay, Antilla 21 (Leach, King) 1:25
5. Kootenay, Boomer 13 11:25
Penalties -- Eakin Ktn (hooking) 13:00, Derko SC (tripping) 14:59, Muth SC Hurley Ktn (fighting) 18:39.
Third Period
6. Swift Current, Novotny 21 5:59 (pp)
7. Swift Current, Lowry 18 (Vause, Nedomiel)15:55
8. Swift Current, Black 1 (Lowry, Hoban) 19:37.
Penalties -- Boomer Ktn (goaltender interference) 5:25, Magnus SC (goaltender interference) 6:59, Fraser Ktn Verdino SC (roughing) 8:46, Leach Ktn (interference) 13:34.
Overtime
No Scoring.
Penalties -- None.
Shootout - Kootenay wins 2-1
Swift Current - Hoban (stopped), Black (goal), Novotny (stopped), Bloom (missed).
Kootenay - Ismond (missed), Eakin (goal), Fraser (stopped), Reinhart (goal).
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 13 19 12 2 - 46
Swift Current: 9 3 8 2 - 22
Goal -- Kootenay: Mackenzie Skapski (W,1-1); Swift Current: Mark Friesen (L, 24-34-0-2)
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 0-2
Swift Current: 2-5
Referee -- Steve Papp, Colin Watt. Linesman -- Jim Maniago, Jeff Jobson.
Attendance -- 2590 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Brett Teskey (healthy), Luke Paulsen (shoulder - four weeks), Brock Montgomery (hip - one week).
Swift Current: Jordan Evans, Justin Dowling, Brandon Bruce, Killian Hutt, Ryan Aasman, Dillon Wagner.
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman.
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