Ice/Warriors Gamer

For the Daily Townsman

Ice edge Warriors to take game three

by Jeff Bromley

As the spring blizzard that hit the Kootenay’s late Friday night ensured an icy trip home for the Moose Jaw Warriors, inside the Cranbrook Rec Plex Saturday things were just as stormy as the Ice poured 49 shots at the Warrior nets in a 3-1 win to take a 3-2 lead back to Moose Jaw Sunday night.

After a scoreless opening frame the shutout hockey continued for goaltenders Nathan Lieuwen and Thomas Heemskerk right up until the 18:31 mark of the second when Max Reinhart fired a power play shot from the blueline that deflected and beat Heemskerk through the legs to give the Ice a 1-0 lead. In the third Cody Eakin’s wicked wrist-shot from the deep slot 14:04 into the third period stood up as the game-winner for the 2958 on hand, the largest crowd of the playoffs at the Rec Plex. “I just got a lucky bounce that came right to me,” said Reinhart of the game’s first goal. “It went off a defenseman’s stick and in so it wasn’t so much me working any better out there, just a lucky bounce.”

Lucky or not it was clear that the Ice were scratching their heads as to how they were going to get a puck by Heeemskerk as up until that point he’d stopped 32 of them directed his way, but once one got by him the Ice built on that to start the third. “Every game’s been that way, the first team to score has won so that was huge for us and put a lot of pressure on them to come back.”

After Eakin’s big shot to take a 2-0 lead with less than six minutes remaining Moose Jaw’s fate seemed to be sealed but a four-on-four chance by the Ice to make it 3-0 didn’t convert and sent the Warriors back on a three-on-two the other way. A pretty three-way passing play found the Warriors’ leading scorer Quinton Howden at the side of the net to tap-in his fourth of the series to make it 2-1 with 4:12 left in the game, breaking Nathan Lieuwen’s shutout streak at 116 minutes and 12 seconds. Joe Antilla let the Ice faithful breath again as the Ice had to kill a late penalty with Eakin off for tripping with an empty-net, short-handed goal to seal the win. “We had our fair share of opportunities to score,” said Ice head coach Kris Knoblauch. “In the second we had a lot of shots on the power play and finally Reinhart’s trickled in but both goaltenders played well.”

A strange game that lacked flow in the first due to the tight calls of the zebras, it opened up in the second and third when the whistles were put away for the most part. Six minors were issued to the Ice while the Warriors were fingered for five infractions; the only goal being Reinhart’s shot late in the second. “I don’t think they plan on going into the game calling it really tight and then letting it go,” offered Knoblauch. “But the officiating always looks better after a win and I’ll leave it at that.”

Quick Hits – The Ice honoured their Midget Tier II namesake in the first intermission as the Cranbrook Ice captured the BC Midget title in Salmon Arm last week… Ice forward Brock Montgomery, who Knoblauch said played his best game of the playoffs in the Game four shutout-win in Moose Jaw, is out indefinitely with Mono. LW Drew Czerwonka missed his second game with an upper body injury that’s likely a shoulder problem with his left arm in a sling while D Luke Paulsen (shoulder) is now day-to-day and could play if the series shifts back to Cranbrook Tuesday night for game seven.... Those wondering if Ice first round pick forward Sam Reinhart might be available due to the club's recent injuries can stop as the youngest Reinhart helped lead the Vancouver Northwest Giants to a BC Major Midget title and a berth in the Telus Cup national midget championships in St. John's, Nfld with a 2-0 best-of-three series win over the Alberta Midget champs, the Red Deer Optimist Chiefs. Reinhart's Midget Giants open the national championships April 18 against the Western Regional winner being played out in Moose Jaw.