The Score - Pats/Ice

The Score – Regina 2 – Kootenay 5

What Happened – A very entertaining and evenly matched game both teams ditched the defensive schemes for the some end-to-end hockey. The rookie goaltender Mackenzie made some key stops and the Ice capitalized on their chances. The Pats couldn’t.

The Goals – Kootenay found themselves with an early five-on-three and couldn’t cash-in. Four minutes later Joe Antilla took an interference penalty, the Pats were allowed to break-out of their zone, and into the Ice zone uninhibited. Chandler Stephenson fed a great pass to the slot where Lane Scheidl fired a wrist shot that squeezed through Skapski… The Ice tied it at 16:15 when Dylan McKinley outworked Pats D Kyle Burroughs for the puck and fed Max Reinhart wide-open in front of rookie goaltender Adam Beukeboom. He doesn’t miss many of those and didn’t, scoring his first of the season… With the Ice on the power play Joey Leach did a great job of keeping the puck in once on a Pats clear and then almost did it again, only this time his vertical only popped it enough for Jordan Weal to take off on a 2-on-1 with a streaking Brandon Underwood. He beat Skapski for this second of the season… Just as the same powerplay expired, Johnny Niebrandt wired a great wrist shot from the point that Adam Rossignol neatly deflected past Beukeboom to tie it… The Pats ended up in the box again and this time the Ice made them pay for it. Max, with his third point of the night, fired a shot that McKinley tipped between Beukeboom’s legs… In the third with the Pats pressing for the tying goal Jesse Ismond laid a hit on Pats D Jack Rodewald who coughed up the puck on the half-wall. Elgin Pearce picked it up, rushed the net and scored his first of the season on a nifty backhand. Ismond didn’t get an apple on the play but he should have. .. Max added an empty-net goal to finish off a four-point night and the win.

No Replay – Not long after the Ice tied it in the first Pats D Brandon Davidson found Chandler Stephenson with a great 125-foot pass at the Ice blueline. D John Niebrandt bothered him enough on the breakaway that Skapski steered the puck to the corner only to have Stephenson retrieve it and feed Lane Scheidl cross-ice for the one-timer. Skapski stopped just enough of it as it almost rolled across the line before being cleared. It was waived no-goal but I’m sure I wasn’t the only waiting for the replay booth to call down and say it was a goal. The call never came.

The Starters – Pats F Dryden Hunt, a former Kimberley resident, was in the starting line-up for his return to the East Kootenay.

Diesel Donation – Ryan ‘Diesel’ Dayman presented cheques to three local groups – Cranbrook Minor Hockey, Cranbrook Minor Baseball and the Cranbrook Girls Bugle Band – with donations worth some $40,000 raised at his inaugural invitational golf tournament in August at Wildstone golf course in Cranbrook featuring many NHL’ers both current and retired. The former Kimberley Dynamiter, Dayman is now a local realtor.

The Save – After a particular horrendous set within their own zone early in the second Skapski stopped Pat forward Andrew Reider point blank but had the rebound squeak out to Jordon Weal on his forehand at about ten feet. Somehow Skapski got across to stop a sure goal.

Finding his groove – In his second game with Max as his pivot forward Dylan McKinley is starting to develop some chemistry with his linemates and looking more and more comfortable. Great deflection for the game-winner.

The Turning Point – In the third period with the Ice still clinging to a one goal lead Skapski was flopping around in a goal-mouth scramble. Like his save in the second period he somehow managed to stop another sure goal that again ignited his teammates.

The Crowd – 2909 on Cranbrook Minor Ball night.

Up Next – The Ice improve to 3-0-0-1 on the season and tops in the WHL. Yes, I know, it’s September. The club will travel to Calgary for an afternoon tilt on Sunday at the Saddledome with the Hitmen. The schedule gets harder as the Ice are in Edmonton mid-week and then Red Deer Saturday.

Rec Plex Three Stars
1. C Max Reinhart – Four point night
2. G Mackenzie Skapski – the kid shook off some early game jitters and made some great stops
3. F Lane Sheidl – Dangerous all night

Game Summary:


Pats 2 @ Ice 5

CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for regular season game between the Regina Pats and the Kootenay Ice; September 30, 2011

Max Reinhart scored two goals and added two assists as the Kootenay won their third straight game, defeating the Regina Pats 5-2 in WHL action Friday night.
The Pats opened the scoring on the power play when Lane Scheidl notched his 2nd of the season past Ice starter Mackenzie Skapski at 6:31. Just under ten minutes later Dylan McKinley found Reinhart alone in the slot. He buried his first of the season past Pats starter Adam Beukeboom to tie it.
In the second the Pats re-took the lead when Brandon Underwood scored a short-handed marked but the Ice would bounce back on goals by Adam Rossignol, with his 3rd, and Dylan McKinley with his first of the season to take a 3-2 lead into the final period.
The Ice would put the game away late on Elgin Pearce's first of the season before Reinhart would finish off the four point night with an empty-net goal.
Skapski stopped 26 of 28 shots for his first win of the season while Beukeboom took the loss, stopping 22 of 26 shots.


First Period
1. Regina, Scheidl 2 (Stephenson, Weal) 6:31 (pp)
2. Kootenay, M. Reinhart 1 (McKinley) 16:15

Penalties -- Stephenson Reg (hooking) 0:39, Jobke Reg (delay-of-game) 1:42, Antilla Ktn (interference) 5:29, Paulsen Ktn (holding) 12:16.

Second Period
3. Regina, Underwood 2 (Weal) 10:06 (sh)
4. Kootenay, Rossignol 3 (Niebrandt, M. Reinhart) 11:55
5. Kootenay, McKinley 1 (Reinhart, Leach) 14:48 (pp)



Penalties -- Bidlevskii Reg (interference) 9:42, Volek Reg (hooking) 14:09.

Third Period
6. Kootenay, Pearce 1 (Dirk) 17:14
7. Kootenay, Reinhart 2 (Leach, McKinley) 19:15 (en)


Penalties -- Hunt Reg (tripping) 10:15.


Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 13 9 5 - 27
Regina: 10 12 6 - 28

Goal -- Kootenay: Mackenzie Skapski (W, 1-0); Regina Adam Beukeboom (L, 0-1).

Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 1-5
Regina: 1-2


Referee -- Ryan Benbow, Jason Nissen. Linesman -- Anthony Guzzo, Jim Maniago.

Attendance -- 2909 (4264)

Scratches --
Kootenay: Jeff Hubic, Luke Philp, Jesse Wood-Schatz, Drew Czerwonka (shoulder - two weeks), Jaedon Deschaneau.
Regina: Ricard Blidstrand, Nils Moser, Dyson Stevenson, Campbell Elyniuk, Tyler Borstmeyer.