A look back at the season that was

After the craziness of last season, with the arena fire and the team being forced to Eston for the last three months of the season, you couldn't blame Klipper fans for wanting things to be a little more... well, normal this year.

But between losing their captain for two months and a coaching change, it was anything but. Here's a look back at the Klippers' regular season as we head into the playoffs.

It started with the team still not being able to get into their home. The West Central Events Centre didn't re-open until Oct. 1, resulting in training camp and exhibition play being held in Eston at the Complex. The team also had to play their first four games of the season on the road, but it could have been worse given the circumstances.

Speaking of training camp, it ended with the granddaddy of logjams up front. I remember that first road trip to North Battleford and La Ronge, with 16 forwards on the bus. It was a packed house for a while, and the decisions were anything but easy. It got even harder in October when D. Jay McGrath was re-assigned from Everett, but eventually the players who stuck were Justin Gerwing and Tanner Kissick, and both guys have played their roles well and made solid contributions.

The season opener was a wild one in North Battleford and the Klippers won 7-6 on Andrew Dommett's second goal of the night with 27 seconds left in the third period. Kurt Leedahl scored the team's first goal of the year late in the first period and added another one 98 seconds later. Nothing like a big win over a rival to start the season. It was all optimism on the ride up to La Ronge the next day.

At the Mel, the Klippers got off to a 2-0 lead in the first 11 minutes, including Dommett's third goal in less than four periods. The captain was rolling.

Exactly three and a half minutes after Dommett's goal, all hell broke loose. Just as Dommett was letting a shot go from the slot, La Ronge forward Justin Ducharme caught him with a blindside hit to the head. Johnny Calkins stood up for his linemate and best friend by going after Ducharme, and a donnybrook ensued in the corner and in front of the La Ronge bench.

While this was going on, the captain was on the ice, bleeding everywhere. I knew the news would be bad after the game, but it was worse than I expected: shattered jaw on both sides, several teeth lost. The mood on the bus that night was palpable. The players knew this injury would have a major impact on their season.

The Klippers floated around .500 for the next 10 weeks or so. They went a long time without winning back-to-back games, and couldn't separate themselves from the pack in the Sherwood Conference. Part of it was due to the absence of Dommett, with Calkins and Adamyk struggling with consistency while playing with different linemates all the time. Part of it, I believe, was a team trying to establish chemistry, with all the extra players who had been around for the first part of the season.

A big part of it, undeniably, was goaltending. After the departure of Scott Hellyer in October, the team went through a merry-go-round of goalies, with none of them able to get the job done until Sean Cahill was acquired for Brett Penner in late November. Cahill quickly proved he was able to make the big saves at crucial times and gave the team the confidence they needed playing in front of him.

On Nov. 19, two months to the day after his injury, Andrew Dommett made his return to the lineup two weeks ahead of schedule. It took him a few games to get back into the swing of it, but his return was a huge boost for the club and a sign of better days to come.

The SJHL Showcase was in Weyburn in early December, and almost to a man, the Klippers said their 2-1 OT win over Flin Flon on Dec. 4 could be a turning point in the season. That was one reason why it was such a surprise to a lot of people when head coach Larry Wintoneak was relieved of his duties on Dec. 13. The announcement came that assistant Rockie Zinger, who had been hired in October, would be taking over for Wintoneak on an interim basis. Some people were surprised by the axing; others weren't. In talking with several players after the fact, there was some hinting that everything wasn't rosy in the dressing room.

When the team embarked on an eight-game winning streak, six of them under Zinger, it became clear something in the off-ice dynamic had changed. The team had the talent all along; maybe they just needed a shake up to play to their potential. And it's hard to argue with the 19-5-1 record the team posted under Zinger. That includes a five-game winning streak to end the regular season that got lost in the shuffle of trying to catch Yorkton for first place.

The Klippers were fairly busy leading up to the Jan. 10 trade deadline. With Humboldt selling off their veterans, the Klippers scooped up forward Spencer Braaten for futures. Braaten didn't return from an ankle injury until Feb. 4, but he has looked right at home on a line with Sanfred King and brother Wheaton, who was re-assigned by the Brandon Wheat Kings at the deadline.

Braeden Johnson of the Saskatoon Blades was also re-assigned, and with no room to add another scoring forward, the team shipped him and 20-year-old defenceman Lance Tabin to Battlefords just before the midnight deadline for midget forward Justin Lund and Regina Pats forward Michael Sagen. Sagen was then flipped to Melville for a player to be named later. Suddenly needing another defenceman, the Klippers acquired 18-year-old Zane Morin from La Ronge for futures.

Over the final two months of the season, the Klippers focused their attention on tracking down the Yorkton Terriers for first place. Considering the gap had once been 15 points, the team did well to narrow it down to three, but it wasn't enough. Yorkton's comeback overtime win over Estevan on Feb. 15 sealed the deal.

The Klippers finished with a record of 35-20-3 for 73 points. That's four more wins and six more points than last season, when they finished third in the Sherwood and were eliminated in overtime of Game 7 of the conference final.