I was planning to go to North Battleford with the Klippers today, but due to being sick and it being a short week at the Clarion (because of the Monday holiday) I changed my mind.
Although this home-and-home with the Stars is essentially meaningless for both sides, it does give them a chance to work on various parts of their game and get a sense of where they're at heading into the playoffs.
The Stars begin their survivor series against Flin Flon, so they might rather not play that Tuesday game in Kindersley. The Klippers, meanwhile, will have two weeks off to rest up.
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Here's the Klippers-Yorkton story that ran in Wednesday's Clarion (ignore the parts that say they still have a shot at first place):
Hoffman leads Klippers over Terriers to keep hopes for first alive
Jordon Hoffman scored 46 seconds into overtime to give the Kindersley Klippers a 4-3 win over the Yorkton Terriers on Saturday and keep their slim first-place hopes alive.
Hoffman tipped a Sean Flanagan point shot past Terriers’ goalie Warren Shymko to move the Klippers within three points of the Sherwood-leading Dogs, with three games left and a game in hand.
One of those contests was last night against the Melfort Mustangs. The Klippers close out the regular season with a home-and-home series with the Battlefords North Stars, Friday in North Battleford and Tuesday in Kindersley at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s overtime winner was Hoffman’s second in a game that saw the Klippers trail 2-1 and 3-2.
“It was a broken play. (Riley Down) walked it over to Flanny and he flipped it on net, I got a stick on it and it changed directions an inch or two and went in the net,” said the Major product.
Saturday’s game was much tighter defensively than the last time Yorkton came to Kindersley, which resulted in a 9-6 Klipper win. It was their third straight victory over the Terriers.
After a scoreless first, Andrew Dommett struck first when he beat Shymko less than two minutes into the second. Yorkton replied with two goals in a three-minute span midway through the frame.
Clarke Breitkreuz pounced on a loose puck in the slot and slipped it past the left pad of Sean Cahill at 8:13. Then Jeremy Boyer hit defenceman Devon McMullen with a brilliant slap pass in the crease for an easy tap-in.
The Klippers tied it up at 13:31 when Hoffman finished off a Taylor Duzan set-up with a glove side deke. But Robbie Ciolfi put the Terriers up again 36 seconds into the third on a weak shot that beat Cahill five-hole.
The game’s turning point came with five minutes left when Keon Vick took a double-minor for high-sticking Braeden Adamyk to set up a Klipper 4-on-3.
Johnny Calkins scored top shelf only 12 seconds into the man-advantage, although the Klippers failed to score on the second minor, leading to overtime and giving the Terriers a crucial point in the standings.
The win clinched second place for Kindersley and home ice advantage in the first round.
“There’s still mathematically a chance that we could catch Yorkton, but at this point in time our focus switches a little bit,” said coach Rockie Zinger. “It doesn’t really matter where you finish or what points you get, now you’re gauging. You’re seeing where you are against this team, against that team, what it takes to beat those teams.”
Zinger praised Hoffman and Duzan for their work away from the puck and said it was good to see them rewarded after a bit of a dry spell on the score sheet.
“In the last month and a half, Jordon Hoffman and Taylor Duzan have been the best two penalty killers in the SJHL. Any team we’ve seen, there haven’t been two guys who penalty kill like they do. It’s good to see (Hoffman) get rewarded in terms of points.”
Added Hoffman: “We were working hard all night, chipping pucks in, doing what we’re told, hitting guys and we got rewarded in the end.”
The Klippers killed off all five of their penalties with relative ease, but Zinger wasn’t happy with his team’s discipline.
“There were some real needless penalties, some penalties in the offensive zone. There are penalties coming off the bench and that’s a cardinal no-no,” said the coach. “It’s going to stop on its own because if you keep doing those types of things, there will be other guys that plug into the lineup that won’t do it.”
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For anyone who follows the Red Lions and senior hockey in the area, several players on the team are now on twitter, including Chris Wellar, Chad Dorsett, Dustin Garrett and Adam Bowden. Also, John Sonntag is the latest Klipper to join twitter (D. Jay McGrath did not obey the will of the people, which is unfortunate).
Wellar had one of the best lines I've read in a while earlier this week. The Red Lions were recently eliminated from provincials by the powerhouse Maidstone Jets, a heavy favourite for the provincial A title which has assembled players from four or five teams for their run.
Wellar tweets: Breaking news: Peter Forsberg signs with the Red Lions after 9-0 loss in Macklin
I ask why there hasn't been a press conference.
He replies: Not really worthy of the press conference due to the fact Maidstone cut him cause he couldn't crack their lineup
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This was the scene at the WCEC grounds on Tuesday as the sod-turning ceremony was held for the new arena. The weather wasn't ideal as papers (and my hair) blew all over the place, but it went ahead. Now it's time to get to work - see next week's Clarion for the details on what will happen next.
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| From left: Sherry Magnuson (town CAO), Ted Inman (Clark), Tom Geiger (councillor), Patrick Johnston (youth council mayor) and Wayne Foster (Kindersley mayor). |
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The Leafs finally traded Tomas Kaberle today after three years of "will they or won't they" at every trade deadline and draft day.
I didn't expect it to happen, especially after they dealt Francois Beauchemin to Anaheim. But if Kaberle was going to walk as a free agent, the Leafs had to get something for him and Brian Burke got a whopper of a return in my opinion.
Joe Colborne is a bit of a gamble, I admit, but he has a tantalizing mix of size and skill that made scouts drool the year Boston picked him 16th overall from the Camrose Kodiaks.
As long as Colborne is given a year or two in the AHL to hone his game, and people don't expect him to be Jesus, I like his odds of filling the void in the middle, on the second line or perhaps even the first.
On top of that, Boston gave up their first round pick (which will be late in a somewhat weak draft) along with a conditional second rounder in 2012, if Kaberle signs an extension in Beantown or they make the final this year.
Sure, the deal probably means Toronto's first rounder (sent to Boston in the Kessel deal) will be higher, but that's why the B's gave up as much as they did. I really like the deal for Toronto.
In the last two weeks, Burke has acquired two first round picks, two recent first rounders in Colborne and Jake Gardiner, along with Joffrey Lupul, a third rounder and probably a second rounder in exchange for Kaberle, Versteeg and Beauchemin. He gets a big A+ from me. This is the direction I wanted him to take when he joined the Leafs.
Speaking of trades - will there be any left to make by Feb. 28? Trade targets are dropping like flies this week!
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