The Score – Saskatoon 0 – Kootenay 3
What Happened – Waiting for the push back from the Blades that never really materialized, the Ice controlled this one from start to finish. If not for Stanford’s heroics in the second, this one would’ve been a blowout.
The Turning Point – After a rare shift of pressure by the Blades a centering pass to the Ice slot was corralled by McNabb. With no real outlet he turned on the speed on a 3-on-2 the other way. King and Eaking drove the net taking both defenders with them. McNabb dangled to the slot, waited and buried as pretty a goal as you’ll see. The demoralized Blades never recovered.
The Lines - On this night the big line of Eakin, King and Boomer never scored but again, they were tops defensively because you-know-who didn't score either. In fact Jesse Ismond - who took King's place on the top power play unit cashed in early - McNabb and Antilla scored. Antilla wasn't with his usual linemates however as he was with Drew Czweronka and Eric Benoit when he notched his 6th.
The Match-Ups - The same as game's one and two. Eakin went head-to-head with Schenn for the most part but the real kicker was the addition of Czerwonka from the shoulder injury that's kept him out of the last five games. On that third unit he gave the likes of Brent Benson - Saskatoon's best player in games one and two - fits. His injury is clearly still giving him trouble but he was great in his return.
The Cage - After taking a high-stick from a follow through of a Blade shot, Cody Eakin didn't miss a shift but returned in the second sporting a cage.
The Goals – After killing three consecutive Blade power plays the Ice got a shot at their own late in the first with Stransky off for interference. Kris Knoblauch played a hunch and used Jesse Ismond on the number one unit. It paid off. Brayden McNabb took a puck in the shallow slot after a timely pinch and sent a shot to Stanford. He stopped it, juggled it and then watched Ismond lay flat out to poke in his first of the playoffs. 1-0 Ice… To start the second, following some pressure by the Blades, Brayden McNabb corralled a bouncing puck and skated the length of the ice, dangled into the slot with a wide-open chance, waited, skated some more, and waited until Stanford was down and out before wiring a wrist-shot past him to make it 2-0… In the third Drew Czerwonka put a shot on Stanford that he couldn’t handle. Joe Antilla, on a hard drive to the net, potted his sixth of the playoffs and sealed Saskatoon’s fate on this night.
The PK – Two quick penalties by the Ice – one by King and another on Ismond – continued on an early theme for this series: too many Ice penalties. Fortunately for the Ice the theme started in Toon Town kept up. The Blades managed one shot and in the first PK they were outshot 2-0. They had a chance later in the first but couldn't conver. That would be all the chances they'd get on the power play and that 0-12 stat the Blades are in possession of for the series is perhaps the most telling of all.
The Delayed Penalty – Steven Stanford, perhaps shell-shocked from the 17 shots barrage thrown at him in the second, mistakenly left the net in the second when he thought the Ice were getting a delayed penalty. When Kootenay got possession and started up ice, he hastily retreated.
The Hit (Almost) – Taking a rather suicidal pass at his own blueline with Matt Fraser lurking in the neutral zone, Brayden Schenn looked at the last possible second before Fraser got him. It almost woke him up as the LA Kings wonderkid almost scored 30 seconds later.
The Fun Police – Are you kidding me? Knock it off yellow-jackets. In a building full of energy – supplied largely by the boys in blue paint and the boys (I think they were boys) in full leotard bodysuits. The boys in blue paint and even the leotard gang around the Blades penalty box both got chastised by the ushers on this night. Unless they’re doing something wrong (they weren’t), stop raining on their parade. That energy in the building tonight? They were responsible for a lot of it. The leotard gang got fan(s) of the game shortly after that. Go figure. One long-time fan was even seen given one of them (game-night staff) an earful for being so prude.
The (old) Voice – There was a familiar face on the Shaw Broadcast tonight as Kirk Fraser was the broadcast’s host. Fraser was the original voice of the Ice when the club first moved to Cranbrook in 1998. After performing the same duties for the Kamloops Blazers the past 11 seasons, he took a gig with Shaw in 2010.
The Crowd – 3065 – Electric on this night. TV Broadcast or not the place was jumpin’
Rec Plex Three Stars
1. Brayden McNabb – was a horse, a highlight reel goal and two assists
2. Steven Stanford – Did his part and more. He teammates need to do theirs if this series is going past Wednesday night.
3. Nathan Lieuwen – Rock solid once again. I might’ve given him first star honours just to keep the streak of 1st star nods going.
What it means – The Blades are teetering on the brink. They’re not scoring and Kootenay’s about to show them the exit. The only team to come back from a 3-0 deficit? The 1996 Spokane Chiefs who accomplished the feat against the Portland Winterhawks.
Up Next: Wednesday back at the Plex as the Ice try to close out the series.
Summary:
Kootenay leads best-of-seven series 3-0
Blades 0 @ Ice 3
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for playoff game between the Saskatoon and the Kootenay Ice; April 12, 2011.
Jesse Ismond's first of the playoffs held up as the eventual game-winner while Nathan Lieuwen stopped all 22 shots he faced as the Ice defeated the Blades 3-0 to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Confernce semi-final.
After killing three straight penalties Kootenay opened the scoring on a late power play when Jesse Ismond got his first of the playoff diving into the crease to stab in a loose puck.
In the second Brayden McNabb extended the lead on an end-to-end rush that ended with him dangling into the offensive zone, waiting out Blade goaltender Steven Stanford before firing a wrist shot past him to make it 2-0.
Joe Antilla added some further insurance in the third by jumping on a rebound for his 6th of the playoffs to make it 3-0.
Lieuwen stopped all 22 shots he faced for the win and his second shutout of the playoffs while Steven Stanford was stellar, stopping 33 of 36 shots in taking the loss.
The series continues tomorrow night in Cranbrook for game four.
First Period
1. Kootenay, Ismond 1 (McNabb, Eakin) 18:34 (pp)
Penalties -- King Ktn (goaltender interference) 2:28, Ismond Ktn (roughing) 5:32, Leach Ktn (checking-from-behind) 15:22, Stansky Sas (interference) 18:18.
Second Period
2. Kootenay, McNabb 3 1:58
Penalties -- Deitz Sas (elbowing) 6:33, Olsen Sas (high-sticking) 12:45.
Third Period
3. Kootenay, Antilla 6 (Czerwonka, McNabb) 12:18
Penalties -- Dziurzynski Sas (cross-checking) 10:04, King Ktn Stransky Sas (roughing) 13:22.
Shots on goal by:
Kootenay: 10 17 9 - 36
Saskatoon: 6 4 12 - 22
Goal -- Kootenay: Nathan Lieuwen (W, 7-2); Saskatoon: Steven Stanford (L, 4-5).
Power plays (goals-chances) --
Saskatoon: 0-3
Kootenay: 1-4
Referee -- Matt Kirk, Andy Thiessen. Linesman -- Mike Roberts, Scott Sharun.
Attendance -- 3065 (4264)
Scratches --
Saskatoon: Tanner Sohn, Levi Bews, Tommy Stipancik.
Kootenay: Adam Rossignol, Brock Montgomery (mono - indefinite)
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
5 comments:
I am sounding like a broken record, but attendance at only 3060That just cannot be right as I surveyed the empty seats, there weren't that many. You put all the standing room people down into them, those in the boxes, you have more than 3060. As you mentioned before Jeff, 50/50 usually $1.00 per patron. Last night 50/50 over $ 4,000. Someone does not know how the hell to count.
All I can say is that these boys are for real, can't wait for tonite!
GO ICE GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think the attendance is deceiving. I taped the game on my PVR so I could check out what was said, etc. when I got home. Although it looked like a good crowd, which I feel whenever we do hit 3000 is awesome, when I watched the taped game, there were a lot of seats that were empty when the cameras went around the arena. Also, as far as the $1.00 per patron for the 50/50, that is just a guess. For example, my friend and I spend $7.00 each at every game. I see lots of people who have more than $1.00 worth of tickets. Also, as I understand it, if there are any free tickets given away for any reason, those tickets aren't counted. I don't know, of course, if there are any free tickets for playoff games. I am not going to worry about whether they counted right or not; all I am interested in is that we continue to push and get an even bigger crowd out tonight. These boys need our support; they said in their interviews during the broadcast last night that they fed off the electricity from the crowd and how much they appreciate our support, how great it was to play in front of their home crowd. So we have to keep it going for them. Let's just do it. After all, this isn't my team or your team; its OUR team. GO ICE GO!!
Hey Kootenay ICE Fans:
Wasn’t that one of the best games ever played by the ICE last night at the Plex? We hit the 3000 mark in attendance. Way to go. Now its time to turn it up a notch. Let’s see if we can get an even bigger crowd to cheer our team on as they attempt to cut the Blades off four straight tonight. The players said they fed off the atmosphere and electricity in the crowd last night. Let’s keep it going for them. Let’s get out there and wrangle a few more friends and neighbours. They will thank you for inviting them to witness something really special. After all, this isn’t my team or your team; it’s OUR team. GO ICE GO!!
Forgot to mention Jeff I totally agree the "YELLOW JACKETS" are absolutley brutal....I stood last nite and they had to get security because someone had "feet" on the seat....
We are at at a hockey game as long as the boys and fans are doing things "within" reason just stand there and be quiet, this is the playoffs for crying out loud that building should be electric!!!
GO ICE GO!!!!
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