Following a few weeks of the Bantams and a week at the coast, we’re back
The Score – Spokane 2 – Kootenay 4
What Happened – The Ice goal some good goaltending – it’s rare when they don’t get that – and a fine time for Dylen McKinlay to notch his first-ever WHL hat-trick.
The Turning Point – They wouldn’t need the last second heroics on this night. Less than three minutes after the Chiefs tied it on the power play Joe Antilla took a pass and skated down the left-wing. His shot managed to beat Engel that the Chief goaltender definitely wanted back.
The Goals – Early in the second off a neutral zone face-off Jesse Ismond poked the puck past a committed Chief D-man that caused a short 2-on-1. Ismond fed a net-charging McKinlay who potted his 12th for a 1-0 lead… Liam Stewart – he’s Rod-the-bod’s boy – burst into the Ice zone with speed and made a move on Jagger Dirk before shooting. Lieuwen made the save but couldn’t stop Holmberg from ripping the rebound by him. 1-1… The Ice regained their one-goal lead on a good forecheck by Jesse Ismond who intercepted a clear on the half-wall and found McKinley in the slot. He ripped his 13th and second of the night past Engel for a 2-1 lead… For all their chances it was the Chiefs who tied it 8:36 into the 3rd with Leach in the box for slashing. Brenden Kichton’s point-shot deflected off of Czerwonka kneeling down to block it and behind Lieuwen. 2-2… Ice regained the lead this time off a break-in with Joe Antilla on a snap-shot off the wing. Looking for a puck on the net for a rebound, Antilla got his 10th of the season when Engel gloved it, only to have it go off his glove and over him into the back of the net. 3-2… McKinley finished the Hattie when he corralled a pass – yes, Ismond fed this one too – at the far post that he initially missed but managed to bang in to make it 4-2 late in the 3rd.
The Flurry – Early in the 3rd the Ice came out red-hot and pinned the Chiefs in their own end for three consecutive shifts. Ismond missed on a glorious chance and Sam hit the cross-bar. For all those chances only two shots registered. For all their momentum, minutes later the Chiefs scored to tie the game on the power play.
The Hit – Ice Captain Drew Czerwonka threw the biggest hit of the game down low on Chiefs winger Collin Valcourt in the first period, drawing a loud reaction from the Ice faithful.
The Tough Guy Kramer – The WHL’s fight leader with 21 this season and reigning heavyweight started hard early but became a non-factor as the game wore on. The Chief’s captain intimidates with his size and reputation but with no fights to be had on this night, the 5th round pick of the Ottawa Senators last June wasn’t the Milan Lucic-type for the Chiefs.
The Injuries - The young Ice have soldiered on without leaders like Luke Paulsen, Max Reinhart and Drew Czerwonka over the last few weeks. Czerwonka's back and Reinhart could play Tuesday while Paulsen may be back for the weekend.
The Crowd – 2838
Rec Plex Three Stars
1. RW Dylen McKinlay – Puck is starting to go in for the 19-year-old, Hat-trick
2. LW Jesse Ismond – Set-up man with three helpers
3. G Nathan Lieuwen – Stellar, again.
What it means – The Ice improve to 29-15-4-4 on the season with 65 points, now in 5th in the traffic jam that is the Eastern Conference standings.
Up Next: They’ll have Tuesday’s ‘Hooky’ for hockey day in Edmonton as the area school kids get to go to the game during school hours. Gametime is 11:30AM at Rexall Place in Edmonton as the Ice try to claw away at the Oil King’s 9 point conference lead.
Summary:
Chiefs 2 @ Ice 4
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for playoff game between the Spokane Chiefs and the Kootenay Ice; February 4, 2012
Dylen McKinley notched his first-ever WHL hat-trick as the Ice downed the Spokane Chiefs 4-2 in WHL action Saturday night.
After a scoreless first period McKinley got his 12th of the season on a feed from Jesse Ismond on a short 2-on-1, pushing a shot past Chief goaltender Mac Engel to make it 1-0. The Chiefs tied it on Mitch Holmberg's 22nd of the season five minutes later but at the 17:24 mark Ismond intercepted a clearing pass and fed McKinley who ripped his 13th of the season past Engel to give the Ice a 2-1 lead going into the 3rd.
Brenden Kichton's 12th of the season with the Chiefs on the power play tied it 8:36 into the 3rd three minutes before Joe Antilla got his 10th of the season on a shot Engel didn't get all of his glove on as it went up and over him for the eventual game-winner. McKinley finished off the hat-trick and the Chiefs with a tap-in late in the game for a 4-2 final.
Nathan Lieuwen stopped 28 of 30 shots for the win while Engel stopped 16 of 20 shots in taking the loss.
First Period
No Scoring.
Penalties -- Kramer Spo (roughing) Dirk Ktn (high-sticking) 11:45, Kichton Spo (tripping) 18:34.
Second Period
1. Kootenay, McKinley 12 (Ismond) 2:22
2. Spokane, Holmberg 21 (Stewart, Fram) 7:10
3. Kootenay, McKinley 13 (Ismond) 17:24
Penalties -- Czerwonka Ktn (high-sticking) 7:21, Antilla Ktn (holding) 18:17.
Third Period
4. Spokane, Kichton 12 (Gal, Uher) 8:36 (pp)
5. Kootenay, Antilla 10 (Benoit, Montgomery) 11:14
6. Kootenay, McKinley 14 (Ismond, Leach) 18:17
Penalties -- Wedman Spo (holding) 1:29, Leach Ktn (slashing) 7:33.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 4 8 8 - 20
Spokane: 11 9 10 - 30
Goal -- Kootenay: Nathan Lieuwen (W, 22-11-4-2); Spokane: Mac Engel (L, 22-14-1-2).
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 0-2
Spokane: 1-3
Referee -- Sean Raphael, Pat Smith. Linesman -- Jeff Jobson, Ian Shaver.
Attendance -- 2838 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Luke Paulsen (concussion - 1-2 weeks), Max Reinhart (foot - day-to-day), Levi Cable.
Spokane: Tanner Mort, Reid Gow, Corbin Baldwin (game two of two-game suspension).
Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman
5 comments:
nice to see them back win. the way the league is going we need a few more. keep up the good work!
With first overall still up for grabs, tomorrows game will be huge. On the weekend thought the Calgary game was played very well with the pk being unreal. Even with 7 pp chances the Hitmen could muster very little offense. Took a fluke goal to tie the game and one to win. A bounce our way for once. Ice full deserving of the 2pts. The Spokane game was a bit different with both teams having surges at times. Once again a lucky goal was the difference. This game could have went either way I thought. Both games played Ice style for most part with shots on goal being 30 or less against. Great weekend!!
Well first place is out of the picture after the Edmonton loss. Ice struggled with the simple things today. Passing and simple dump ins were not to be had. Not sure why, but out of sync all day. Oh well, can't win them all. Good game Lu
where did the scoring go?
Scoring back for now. Thank god the Ice are playing mostly all top teams going down the stretch as they haven't done well against teams out of contention. Keep up the good work guys.
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