Ice lose 4th straight

Don't look now but, uh oh.

Returning from a 9-game road trip in which the club won the first six but dropped the last three, Ice goaltender Nathan Lieuwen had a rare off night letting four goals by him on 13 shots before being pulled 6:20 into the second period in favour of Mackenzie Skapski.

On Teddy Bear and Touque toss night the Ice were handed a great opportunity to bring the bears down but instead surrendered a short-handed goal to Hunter Shinkaruk. Elgin Pearce would tie the game 25 seconds later with his 10th to bring a couple thousand bears, mittens and toques down from the stands.

Reid Petryk on a rebound halfway through the first would restore the Tigers one-goal lead but it was the second period that things really went sour for the Ice.

And early goal by Trevor Cox from the slot with Lieuwen caught deep in the net gave the visitors a 3-1 lead and then a power play goal by Bettauer through a maze of bodies made it 4-1 and chased Lieuwen to the bench.

Five minutes later, Skapski - who played well in relief - was hung out to dry by his teammates as they conducted a brutal change after getting stuck on the ice for a spell and gave up a two-on-one and Scott Mackay beat him between the legs for a 5-1 lead.

Goals by Brendan Hurley, Joe Leach and Dylen McKinlay late made the game close before Mackay scored into an empty-net.

Skapski will actually be stuck with the loss after giving up the eventual game-winner to Mackay.

The Ice drop to 19-9-1-2 and 41 points. With the Oil Kings win Edmonton takes over first place in the Central and Eastern Conference with 43 points.

Coupled with the four-game losing streak the Ice will also lose Max Reinhart to Team Canada's Selection camp Saturday before they travel to Medicine Hat for the rematch Saturday. The Tigers will lose Tyler Bunz to the camp also.

Jaedon Deschaneau, Levi Cable and Mike Simpson were the scratches.

This one was a tough game to watch. Not from a fans standpoint - it was an offensive show for sure - but from a structural game standpoint, the Ice didn't play well. The Tigers played a bit of a trap - deviating from their regular run and gun style that Kootenay couldn't solve.

D Luke Paulsen had a tough night checking in with a dash-4.

To be honest, neither goaltender played well on the eve of the selection camp and though the Ice held Etem off the scoresheet - he had his chances - the same couldn't be said of Scott Mackay.

Good crowd on Teddy Bear night with 3053 on hand.

On a WJC note F Brett Connolly and F Devante Smith-Pelly have been released from the Tampa Bay Lightning and Anaheim Ducks respectively in a move that will tighten up the race for a forward spot on the club. Still think Max has a good shot at that 10th-forward/Defensive specialist role for the team but time will tell.

Are the trade winds blowing yet? What does this four-game skid do to the chances of the club making a deal to get deeper by the deadline? If this thing gets out of hand it will only cement the club staying put and playing with the hand they've been dealt.

Between now and the January 10 deadline the Ice have a schedule that favours them. The Ice play the Tigers, Broncos, Hurricanes and Rebels all twice and Spokane and Moose Jaw once each. All teams nine-ten points back of the Ice in the standings with the exception of the Tigers and Warriors.

This one will go down to the wire.

And as for the McNeill comment that he's available.... For a player that is surely to be a 1st round NHL pick this June and almost as surely to return next season to junior, McNeill being on the block is far-fetched, even for the struggling Raiders.

Based on that the cost would be prohibitive in that it would cost a pretty penny to get him and likely empty the cupboard prospect and draft pick-wise for the next season or two.