THE KLIPPER REPORT

New blog

2011-06-07T13:41:00.000-06:00

If anyone is interested, I've launched a new Estevan Bruins blog.

You can check it out here.

Thanks again to everyone in Kindersley for making the Klipper Report a success.

Moving on

2011-04-06T18:27:00.002-06:00

I've been putting this off for a few days, but time is running out.

Most of you will probably already know this, but I'll be leaving Kindersley soon. I have accepted a new sports reporter position with the Estevan Mercury effective next week.

It was a tough decision to make when the Mercury approached me about the job back in February, but at the end of the day it's an exciting opportunity and a good career move for me.

Tomorrow (Thursday) is my last day at The Clarion, and if all goes well I'll be settled in Estevan by the end of next week.

Kindersley was my first full-time sports writing job, and I learned so much in the two-and-a-half years I was here. I've covered just about every sport under the sun and met lots of great people.

Covering the Klippers has been a pleasure and I want to thank the players who have come and gone over the last three seasons for being welcoming and taking the time to chat when I shoved a recorder in their face. I've kept in touch with a few guys after they left and I can honestly say it's been a great experience.

I also want to thank Larry Wintoneak, Rockie Zinger and Kevin Edgerton for their cooperation and support. All three are good guys to deal with and I wish them the best in the future.

It'll probably be a little strange at first to cover the Klippers' division rival, but hey, newspaper guys aren't supposed to have loyalties.

I won't be around for the opening of Kindersley's second ice surface next season, but I'm looking forward to catching games in the brand new Spectra Place, which I had a chance to check out a couple weeks ago.

I've had a lot of parents and other folks in the community call me up or seek me out in person to wish me luck over the last week or two, and that means a lot to me. It's a business where most of your feedback is negative, so it's nice when people tell you that they appreciate your work.

As for this blog, I'm not sure what will happen. If my replacement at the Clarion wants to keep it going, I'll turn it over to him. Otherwise, I guess this is the end of the road for the Klipper Report. It's been a blast doing this over the past eight months. The blog not only built a good following, it also helped land me a new job.

You can still follow me on twitter, though. I haven't changed it yet, but my new handle will be @joshlewis306

Thanks for reading this season! Signing off.

Friday grab bag

2011-04-01T01:47:00.002-06:00

There's enough in this post to make up for the last week of inactivity so buckle up.

The West Central AA Wheat Kings' midget girls team won the North Sask Female Hockey League championship tonight in Dodsland, defeating the Saskatoon Comets 5-1 in the third and deciding game of the league final. The Wheat Kings, who are made up of players from Kindersley and across the west central region, led 1-0 after one period and 3-0 after two.

It's the first championship for the AA program, and a lot of people have put in long hours over the past few years to get to this point, including president and Klippers assistant Kevin Edgerton.

The girls have a chance to pull off the championship double Saturday when they play Game 2 of the provincial AA final against the Prairie Storm in Dodsland. The Wheat Kings trail the total goal series by one, but will no doubt get a big boost from the unbelievable fans in Dodsland.

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Speaking of championship double, the Eston Ramblers did just that over the past week. On Saturday, the Ramblers travelled to Bredenbury to take on the Cougars in Game 2 of the provincial C final and won 5-1 to take home their first provincial banner since 2009. Their bus broke down in Lanigan on the way home and they got back to Eston at 9:30 a.m. Pretty sure no one minded though.

On Tuesday, the Ramblers won their first Sask. West Hockey League title since 2004-05 with a 6-3 win over the Luseland Mallards on home ice, completing a sweep of the best-of-five final.

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Onto some Klipper notes. It's still early, but it's looking like the team may lose Sean Flanagan over the summer. It's no secret that NCAA schools are interested in the 18-year-old defenceman and there may be an opportunity for him to start his college career next season.

Next week, Flanagan is heading to the annual ID scouting showcase in Toronto for the second straight year (I can't remember what it's called at the moment, but it's pretty much the mecca of recruiting for a lot of Junior A GMs and NCAA schools). Flanagan's play at last year's camp attracted interest from U.S. colleges and the QMJHL, and there will no doubt be a line-up of schools interested if he decides to take the NCAA route next year.

Sean would likely be one of the best defenders in the SJ as a 19-year-old next season, and losing him would be a massive blow for the Klippers, but much like Josh Thorimbert last year, it's a big feather in the cap for an organization when you can advance players through the ranks like that.

Again, it's early days and this may or may not happen.

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As I reported on twitter earlier this week, the Klipper board and Rockie Zinger have held preliminary discussions regarding his future with the team. It sounds like the team is interested in bringing him back, but I don't believe anything is getting close to being decided.

I know Klipper fans are divided on this one, and after the team's showing against Yorkton the board certainly should be doing their due diligence and taking the time to make sure they get it right. There's also more to consider than the on-ice performance any time you make a coaching decision.

Speaking of Rockie, I was going to post an interview with him from earlier this week, but Windows Movie Maker doesn't want to cooperate with me. Oh well, you can read most of what he had to say in yesterday's Clarion.

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I'm sure you've already read it on 68 different sites already so I'm not going to go into too much detail on last week's announcement that Laury Ryan is resigning as SJHL president. It seems not many people saw it coming (heck, not long ago I heard they were talking extension) and Ryan's departure leaves a big pair of boots to fill. Being a league president is a thankless job, and while Ryan has his detractors, don't count your chickens before you find out who's coming next.

I think Ryan summed it up well in his interview with Mitchell Blair when he said there have been successes and a few failures on his watch. I think the SJ can do a lot more to market their players and get more kids into the NCAA, and the new man will have to decide what to do with the Junior A Supplement, which at the very least needs a lot of tweaking. But that's a five-headed monster.

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As Darryl Skender reported on Tuesday, the Melfort Mustangs are looking for a new coach after deciding not to renew Darrell Mann's contract. I think everyone in Melfort knew a lot was riding on the team's success this year after giving up a big ransom (supposedly) for the duo of Brayden Metz and Cody Hanson. The Mustangs couldn't build on their Game 1 win over La Ronge and are now likely facing a rebuilding year with a new bench boss.

Mann's exit makes the SJHL coaching carousel a little more interesting. The application deadline for Estevan's vacant job was back on March 21, but you'd have to think Mann might be an intriguing candidate for the B's. Add the open job in Melfort and possibly one here in Kindersley, and it's going to be interesting to see what direction these SJ teams choose to take.

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I was in Estevan last weekend for the fundraising dinner for Spectra Place, the new home of the Bruins. It's an impressive barn to be sure, complete with more than 20 corporate boxes and two press boxes. The guest speakers included Brian Burke, Dave Nonis, Darian Durant, Gene Makowsky and members of the Trail Smoke Eaters, along with Leafs play-by-play man Joe Bowen as the emcee.

What a night it was. There were some great lines from Burke and Bowen - they were both, shall we say, a wee bit tipsy - and it was pretty cool as a Leaf fan to hear some of Burke's insights in a more relaxed setting. Oh, and him calling someone in the crowd a name I can't repeat here was also a highlight.

End of the road

2011-03-23T23:10:00.000-06:00

What went wrong?

That question will stick with the Klippers all summer after the Yorkton Terriers held on for a 3-2 win tonight to sweep the Sherwood Conference final.

The Klippers played their best game of the series and made the Terriers work for the win, right to the wire, but that won't be any consolation to the nine players who played their last game in junior hockey.

Andrew Dommett, Johnny Calkins, Braeden Adamyk, Sanfred King, Spencer Braaten, Kurt Leedahl, John Sonntag, Cody Lund and Sean Cahill saw their junior careers end tonight.

It's a bitter pill to swallow for a group that had RBC Cup aspirations this season but couldn't get things figured out when it mattered most.

Full credit to the Terriers, who brought their A game from puck drop on Friday to the final buzzer tonight. They were the better team and now advance to their second straight SJHL final, against either La Ronge or Melfort.

As scary as La Ronge is, I like the Terriers' odds against anyone if they continue to play like they did in this series.

As for tonight's game, the Klippers were the better team off the hop but Yorkton again took a 2-0 lead to the first intermission. Riley Paterson scored the first goal at 9:50 on a rebound that Cahill bobbled, and Justin Buzzeo scored glove side off a cross-ice feed from Clarke Breitkreuz with 4:05 to play in the period.

It was looking like the same old story from the first three games.

About five minutes into the second period, with the Klippers' goalless streak sitting at 162 minutes, 22 seconds, they finally beat Devin Peters.

John Sonntag obliterated Buzzeo at one end, and that led to a quick rush the other way for Taylor Wasden, a guy who rarely gets on the scoresheet but the kind you need at playoff time. Wasden lit the lamp to get the WCEC crowd on their feet and the Klippers back in the game.

Three minutes after that, Sonntag rocked Robbie Ciolfi behind the Klipper net. Shortly after, Andrew Dommett scored his first goal of the series to tie it up.

The momentum was all on the Klippers' side at that point and they spent the next few minutes peppering Peters and the Terriers.

Just when they were getting close - stop me if you've heard this before - the Terriers struck back, with Blaine Tendler springing Buzzeo on a breakaway at 15:19. Buzzeo deked Cahill blocker side and the netminder got most of it, but it trickled in.

Yorkton carried most of the play in the third period, and Sean Cahill stood on his head to give his team a chance to draw even again. He made some massive stops, and he can be proud of the final game of his junior career.

The Klippers also had a few excellent chances, but they couldn't get one past Peters. The closest they came was with about 15 seconds left, when Sanfred King lobbed a Hail Mary toward the net from the right half-wall. The puck got through traffic and dinged the left post before bouncing off to the side.

Here's a post-game interview with Terriers coach Trent Cassan. I'll wait a day or two before getting Rockie Zinger's thoughts.

Over the next few days, I'll have a post-mortem on the blog as well as some personal news.

Better effort, same result for Klippers in Game 3

2011-03-22T22:08:00.000-06:00

Chalk up another touchdown for the Yorkton Terriers.

Despite getting off to a much better start and carrying the play for the first 25 minutes of the game, the Klippers once again surrendered seven goals tonight in a 7-0 loss in Game 3 of the Sherwood Conference final.

The Klippers have not scored in 137 minutes, 16 seconds - dating back to Jesse Mysiorek's goal in the third period of Game 1 - and they are one loss away from elimination.

The complexion of this game changed dramatically 4:47 into the second period when a Casey Rogers giveaway in the Klipper zone went right onto the tape of Justin Buzzeo in the high slot. Buzzeo, who recorded a hat trick tonight, was untouched and ripped a shot over Justin McDonald's left shoulder to give the Terriers a 3-0 lead.

Up to that point, the Klippers had been the better team and were pressing hard to get on the board. You could almost see their game unravel after the goal as the Terriers began to pull away, leading 6-0 after 40 minutes.

In the first period, Kindersley carried the shots 13-9 and were clearly the better side, especially in the last 10 minutes, but Buzzeo and Robbie Ciolfi scored in the first seven minutes, both on skilled plays that left little chance for McDonald, to take a 2-0 lead into the break.

Devin Peters was again very good tonight, but let's be real: the Klippers had several chances that they would have scored on in the regular season. Part of the scoring problem is Peters playing well; the other is the Klippers are making him look even better by failing to finish off plays.

Part of that, without a doubt, comes from the psychological effect of being drubbed three straight times by a team that only finished three points ahead in the standings. The Klippers beat this team in their last three meetings of the regular season, all coming after the deadline pickup of Buzzeo and Boyer.

McDonald was pulled midway through the second period after Boyer scored a breakaway goal off a neutral zone turnover to make it 4-0. Perhaps Mac could have been a little better, but he should in no way be blamed for the loss. He didn't have much of a chance on the two early goals and was hung out to dry on the other two.

The total damage for Yorkton was a hatty for Buzzeo, two goals for Breitkreuz and singles for Ciolfi and Boyer.

Speaking of which, the Terriers' sixth goal bothered me. They were leading 5-0 late in the second period and had a two-man advantage for almost two full minutes after the Klippers began to lose their composure. So they throw out Boyer, Buzzeo, Breitkreuz, Ciolfi and Tendler? You be the judge.

For the Klippers, I thought the Mysiorek-Hoffman-Duzan line was their best, especially in the first period. Despite all three players being injured recently, and Hoffman clearly being less than 100% - he couldn't take face-offs or shoot the puck - the line hustled all night and created many of the team's best scoring chances. Kudos to them for continuing to battle even when the game was out of reach.

Johnny Calkins also deserves some kudos for his game tonight. He, too, was playing at far from 100% and it was obvious, as he couldn't take draws, had trouble distributing the puck and lacked speed. Yet you could see he was giving it his all throughout the game, throwing a few hits, blocking shots and hustling on the forecheck.

The challenge for the Klippers now becomes sending the series back to Yorkton for Game 5 on Friday.

Game 3 quick hits

2011-03-22T13:42:00.000-06:00

Not much time but here are a few tidbits as we get ready for Game 3 between the Klippers and Terriers tonight at the WCEC.

Judging by this tweet from Jordon Hoffman, the hard-working centre will be back in the line-up tonight after missing three games with an upper-body injury. That's huge for the Klippers both at even strength and on the penalty kill, which has sorely missed the Hoffman-Duzan duo of late.

No definitive word on Johnny Calkins' status for tonight - Rockie Zinger said yesterday he would be a game time decision - but with his last junior season on the line, my guess is he'll be in if he's at all close to 100%.

Rockie told me yesterday he had yet to decide whether Sean Cahill or Justin McDonald will get the start tonight. Cahill was shaky in both of the weekend games, and Mac has been solid in his last few appearances, including in Game 2. There's an argument to be made for either tender, and I wouldn't want to be the one making the call.

The SJHL handed David Haaf a one-game suspension on Sunday for taking his third instigator penalty of the season. It happened in Game 2 when Haaf went after Kyle McLeod to defend a teammate after a questionable hit. Losing Haaf is a blow to the Klippers, as he's been very solid over the last couple of months. Zane Morin will move back to the blueline, but it's not clear if he will take Haaf's spot across from John Sonntag.

Riley Down will serve the second game of his suspension for a head hit on McLeod in Game 1. If the Klippers don't get Calkins or Hoffman back, they will only have 11 forwards barring an AP being called up.

Game time is 7:30 at the WCEC. Be there!

Klippers get trounced again in Game 2

2011-03-19T23:32:00.001-06:00

I haven't found the words yet to explain what happened in Yorkton this weekend, so I'll keep this one quick (that and I'm phone-blogging).

The Terriers looked even more dominant tonight than they did in Game 1 in a 7-0 pasting of the Klippers.

Yorkton outscored Kindersley 14-2 in two nights and the series everyone thought would go deep is looking more lopsided than a senior game between Rosetown and Biggar (sorry Nationals).

The Klippers again came out flat and while Sean Cahill weathered the early storm, the Dogs quickly took a 3-0 lead. That was enough for Cahill to get the hook. While he didn't get much help from the guys in front of him, Cahill also wasn't at the top of his game.

Justin McDonald came in and played very well. Yeah, he allowed four more over the rest of the game, but as I said on the broadcast, the gap between these two teams was like the freaking Grand Canyon tonight. Maybe that's being generous to the visitors.

To me, the backbreaker was a bullet shot from the point by Jeremy Boyer with one second left in the first period. Everyone yelled at him to shoot, he made no mistake and put the Klippers down 4-0 after one.

Kindersley played a better game in the second, but they weren't dominant by any stretch and when they generated a rare scoring chance, they couldn't solve an outstanding Devin Peters.

The Klipper power play was again ineffective (0-for-9), with a 5-on-3 wasted in the first period. A goal there could have changed the course of the game.

The problems for the Klippers going home are all over the place. Getting Calkins and/or Hoffman back for game 3 would be a massive boost. But they can't just rely on that, or home cooking.

They need to raise their compete level, battle harder for pucks and lay the body more. They need a lot more out of their top forwards, whether Calkins is back or not. They need timely saves, and in my mind McDonald should be in the mix for game 3.

Most of all this is a club that needs an injection of confidence. The good news is they'll be at home as they try to claw back in the series.

On the plus side, I thought Taylor Duzan was tremendous tonight in his first game back from injury. The Klippers didn't get much going offensively, but more often than not he was the one to spark it. On the back end, aside from one gaffe I can think of, Cody Lund was extremely solid.

To wrap things up, the Yorkton Terriers were all-world this weekend. This was a first place club at the very top of their game and they were SCARY good. The skill on display was phenomenal, and not just from the top guns.

Remember that January game at the WCEC when Kindersley led 6-0 after one? Yorkton played like that for the entire weekend and Trent Cassan has to be very happy with his hockey club.

Game 2 lineup

2011-03-19T14:02:00.002-06:00

Calkins out, Duzan in. Riley Down is also out after being suspended two games for a head hit last night.

Yorkton draws first blood in Sherwood final

2011-03-19T11:38:00.000-06:00

Both teams spent long stretches dominating the play, but in the end the Terriers were the more opportunistic team and they defeated the Klippers 7-2 last night to open the Sherwood Conference final here in Yorkton.

It was all Yorkton in the first period, all Kindersley for most of the second but the home side was able to score at crucial moments in the game and added a couple more goals when the game was out of reach.

The Klippers got a scare in the third period when Johnny Calkins got mixed up with Keon Vick and left the game in some pain. It didn't look good for him last night, but he seems to be in better shape today. No word on his status for tonight.

Riley Paterson scored twice for the Dogs to go with singles from Robbie Ciolfi, Brant Remenda, Clarke Breitkreuz, Zak Majkowski and Craig Eisenhut. Jesse Mysiorek and Spencer Braaten had the Klipper goals.

The Terriers led 2-0 after the first after throwing everything they had at the Klippers. Kindersley came out in the second and returned the favour, except Devin Peters for the most part held them at bay. A few minutes after Braaten scored on a one-timer from Sanfred King, the Terriers got a pair less than two minutes apart from Remenda and Breitkreuz and that snuffed out the Klipper momentum.

Mysiorek lit the lamp early in the third to draw his club within two, but Yorkton responded again and was able to put the game away.

Game 2 goes tonight at Farrell Agencies Arena.

Sonntag named D of the week; KK-YKTN preview

2011-03-16T22:24:00.002-06:00

Klippers defenceman John Sonntag was named the SJHL defenceman of the week on Tuesday. The Goodsoil native leads all defencemen in playoff scoring with two goals and six points through five games. He had a whale of a series against Weyburn and the honour shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

As promised, here's the Kindersley-Yorkton series preview that ran in today's Clarion.

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The Kindersley Klippers had all summer to think about their devastating loss to the Yorkton Terriers in Game 7 of last year's Sherwood Conference final, and now they have a shot at redemption.

Kevin Stringfellow's Game 7 overtime goal last March will no doubt be in the back of players' minds as they begin a rematch with the first-place Terriers this weekend in Yorkton.

The series kicks off Friday and Saturday in Yorkton, followed by the third and fourth games in Kindersley on Tuesday and Wednesday, both starting at 7:30 p.m. If necessary, Game 5 is March 25 in Yorkton, Game 6 is March 27 in Kindersley at 6 p.m. and Game 7 is March 29 in Yorkton.

Kindersley (35-20-3) knocked off Weyburn in five games in the Sherwood semifinal, while Yorkton (34-16-3-5) swept fourth-place Estevan.

"I think there’s a lot of players in there that have the image of losing in Game 7 and they definitely want to rewrite a different ending this year, but it's not something we’re dwelling on," said Klippers coach Rockie Zinger. "It's definitely something we might be able to use and grab some motivation from."

Andrew Dommett, who scored six goals in last year's series, including two in Game 7, said his club is eager to inflict some payback.

"We’re looking for revenge and the boys are hungry. Yorkton’s a very offensive team and I think if we can take away (space) from their top guys, a lot of them don’t like that physical play and we love it."

Indeed, the Terriers are a different club than the group that often pounded the Klippers physically during last year's series. This year's group is built primarily on skill, led by deadline pickups Jeremy Boyer (42-45-87) and Justin Buzzeo (31-51-82), as well as Clarke Breitkreuz (31-37-68), Robbie Ciolfi (22-30-52) and Brent Struble (19-33-52).

Terriers head coach Trent Cassan said that the addition of Boyer and Buzzeo from Humboldt is just as valuable in terms of added depth as their top flight scoring.

"They’ve fit in very well right from the start. They're very good kids and teammates. The guys were excited to get them. It also seemed like some guys were watching them too much at the start," said Cassan.

"It’s given us some more scoring, but also depth. We try to spread our scoring out. We realize they’re top-end guys, but at the same time, there are going to be nights when they get shut down."

"They’re a skilled group of forwards for sure," said Zinger of the Terriers. "They’ve got some very skilled six to eight forwards that can really skate well and move the puck and distribute it well. These two teams match up really well. Both have high-end guys, grinders, a committee-type defence that's unheralded and they go about their business."

The Klippers' high-octane attack has been well-documented and got a boost at the trade deadline with the pick-ups of Spencer Braaten and Wheaton King. Braaten scored at a point-per-game pace this year despite missing 22 games with an ankle injury, while King posted 15 points in 16 games.

Other key components are Johnny Calkins (25-68-93), Braeden Adamyk (42-40-82), Dommett (22-24-46), who missed 24 games with a broken jaw, and Sanfred King (19-45-64).

Linemates Taylor Duzan and Jordon Hoffman are both injured. Duzan was expected to resume skating Tuesday, with no word on his return, while Hoffman could play at some point in the series, according to Zinger.

Despite pitting two dangerous attacking corps against one another, fans likely won't see a boatload of goals, such as the Klippers' 9-6 win over Yorkton on Jan. 25.

"I don’t think it’ll be wide open pond hockey," said Zinger. "What you see come playoff time is every player buckles down a little more, makes smarter decisions and manages the puck better. I think what you’ll see is good end-to-end action, good hockey, but it’ll be well-managed by the players."

Stars aside, the post-season has a tendency to bring heroes out of the shadows.

"In a long playoff series, which I’m sure this one will be, it’s probably going be the guys who don’t get as much attention offensively that step in and score big goals," said Cassan. "Those guys are just as important for your team success as anyone."

Both coaches said their teams are similar on the blueline. Yorkton is led by SJHL defenceman of the year Blaine Tendler and deadline pick-up Brant Remenda, while Klippers rearguard Kurt Leedahl is widely considered one of the league's best and he shoulders the load along with Sean Flanagan and John Sonntag.

"They’re maybe a little bit bigger than our back end, but I think we’re a little more mobile," said Zinger.

"They’re a workmanlike group that goes about doing their business. That’s kind of what we are. All the spotlight shines on our top forwards. The attention seems to get focused mostly on that and that’s fine by us."

Added Cassan: "Remenda’s been a really good pickup for us. He was really good in the Estevan series.

"Some of our other older guys are like Kindersley; maybe they don’t get as much attention as Leedahl and Flanagan, but we have guys like (Kurtis) Decker and (Keon) Vick who are kind of like (Casey) Rogers and (David) Haaf. The way they play, you don’t really notice them and I think that’s a good thing."

Most would expect established veteran Devin Peters to take on Klippers tender Sean Cahill in the crease, but Cassan had yet to decide on his Game 1 starter as of Monday.

Peters was injured for the final month of the season and 18-year-old back-up Warren Shymko filled in admirably, to the point where he played three of the four games against Estevan despite Peters being healthy.

"It was good to get both guys involved. There’s always going to be a point in a series where you may see both goaltenders," said Cassan.

Zinger said the game plan for his club is to give the Terriers' top guns no room to operate and set the physical tone early in the series.

"We’re going to have to take the time and space away from them and be physical. We’ve gotta make sure we send the message early that for any inch of space out there, they’re going to have to earn it," the coach explained. "What I think it’s going to come down to is which group gets worn down the quickest, and goaltending."

Last year's Sherwood final was a seven-game barnburner worth every penny of the admission price, and Cassan expects the same the second time around.

"I think it’ll be a real exciting series for fans in both communities. The teams are so evenly matched; they’re built the same way, so when you have two teams so even, it should be a long series and it should have a lot of ups and downs."

Kindersley-Yorkton series dates

2011-03-14T15:57:00.001-06:00

The dates for this series are pretty much the usual SJHL playoff format, but I thought I should put it out there for anyone wondering.

All games start at 7:30 p.m., aside from Game 6 in Kindersley, which may be a 6 p.m. start - not decided yet.

UPDATE: Game 6 will indeed be a 6 pm start.

Game 1: Friday, March 18 in Yorkton
Game 2: Saturday, March 19 in Yorkton
Game 3: Tuesday, March 22 in Kindersley
Game 4: Wednesday, March 23 in Kindersley
x-Game 5: Friday, March 25 in Yorkton
x-Game 6: Sunday, March 27 in Kindersley - 6 pm
x-Game 7: Tuesday, March 29 in Yorkton

x-if necessary

Stay tuned for a series preview on Wednesday, and I'm still planning to put up interviews from Games 3-5 of the Weyburn series when time permits.

Klippers knock off Wings in 5 to set up rematch with Yorkton

2011-03-12T19:26:00.000-06:00

It was a lot tighter in the end than many people expected, but the Klippers hung on in the dying minutes to hand the Weyburn Red Wings a 3-2 win Friday at the WCEC, taking the quarter-final series in five games.

Braeden Adamyk, Spencer Braaten and Wheaton King powered the Klippers to a 3-0 lead, which they held until late in the third period.

Drew George ruined Sean Cahill's shutout bid with 4:29 to play. Then, with 2:56 left, Kevin Morrison drew Weyburn to within a goal, and a lot of people in the building got worried. The Red Wings dominated most of the final three minutes, but the Klippers managed to hang on and avoid going back to Weyburn on Sunday.

With Yorkton defeating Estevan 6-1 on Friday, they swept that series and will now take on the Klippers in the Sherwood final for the second straight year. There are a lot of players in that Kindersley locker room who would love to avenge their Game 7 overtime loss last year and they'll get their chance.

The dates haven't been announced yet, but it appears the series will kick off Friday and Saturday in Yorkton.

More to come from the Game 5 win, including interviews with Andrew Dommett, Wheaton King and Rockie Zinger.

Red Wings pull out a win to send series back to Kindersley

2011-03-09T22:48:00.001-06:00

The Weyburn Red Wings were a desperate hockey club tonight and they made the most of their chances to hand the Klippers a 4-1 defeat in Weyburn.

The Klippers now lead the series 3-1 heading back to Kindersley for Game 5 on Friday. None of the players wanted it to go back to the WCEC but I don't think anyone expected a sweep when the series started.

Weyburn led 2-0 after one on goals by Tanner McCall and Drew George, and built an insurmountable 4-0 lead after two when Scott Kirkham scored two goals 1:18 apart.

The Klippers struggled to generate quality chances despite firing 41 shots on Mitch Kilgore. They came close late in the second but didn't get on the board until three minutes into the third when Braeden Adamyk flew down the left side and fired a wrister past Kilgore. It was a shorty.

Kindersley had their chances after that but couldn't score more.

Kilgore was once again outstanding. Aside from that the Klippers got virtually no traffic in front - especially on a power play that looked anemic - and I thought they failed to match Weyburn's physical tempo.

The Klippers' board work was dominant on Tuesday; not so much tonight.

Give Weyburn credit. They needed this win and they came out and played with urgency.

Tanner Kissick left the game after being cut by a skate blade in the elbow area and getting stitched up.

Sean Cahill got the hook after the fourth goal and Justin McDonald was outstanding in relief, keeping his team in it.

That's enough blogging from my phone for now. See you Friday at the WCEC.

No. 14 ends it 14 seconds into double OT

2011-03-09T01:50:00.000-06:00

Braeden Adamyk went forehand to backhand on a breakaway 14 seconds into double overtime to give the Klippers a 3-2 win and a 3-0 series lead tonight at Crescent Point Place in Weyburn.

It was Adamyk's second of the night for the Klippers, who tied the game 2-2 on a Ryan Elliot goal in the second period. After a scoreless third, the Klippers got the better of the chances in the first overtime period and gradually wore the Wings down, but weren't able to solve a brilliant Mitch Kilgore.

After another break, the Klippers won the face-off to start the second OT, went D to D and, in Adamyk's words, he tipped the puck forward. He then blew past the Weyburn defence and caught up to the puck for a breakaway, where he deked Kilgore inside the right post to take the wind out of the Wings' sails.

Blake Kirkham and Keegan Bruce scored Weyburn's goals, both in the first period and both on the power play.

This was a huge swing game in the series and the Klippers were able to take a stranglehold. Had the Wings won, they would have gotten new life and tons of momentum going into Game 4 tomorrow.

It was a very clean game, with no extracurricular stuff. Weyburn knew they had to win this game and with Wees and Ulmer out, there was little chance of the Klippers starting anything.

I'll put up interviews with Adamyk and Andrew Dommett when we get back to Kindersley.

Comments on the Game 2 incidents

2011-03-07T23:26:00.000-06:00

Well, the extracurricular stuff from Game 2 on Saturday is garnering a lot of attention, from today's Sports Cage with Rod Pedersen to various twitter and blog postings to the 25+ comments on this blog.

There are good arguments to be made on both sides and no one is necessarily wrong. I welcome debate on here, as long as people keep their emotions in check. Some of the comments are starting to include personal attacks and name calling toward players and coaches on both sides, and I can't allow that, especially when they come from anonymous commenters.

It's unfortunate because most of those comments made some good and well-written points, but people lose credibility when they start to throw around attacks on teenaged hockey players and their coaches.

By all means, continue to weigh in, but stay away from the attacks or your comment may not be published.

As for the incidents themselves, the SJHL was still reviewing game tape today and investigating the alleged incident involving Dwight McMillan. It sounds like further disciplinary action may be announced in the morning.

If there's any way you can get to Weyburn tomorrow, I'd strongly advise it as this will be a game you don't want to miss.

Bad blood spills over as Klippers take 2-0 series lead

2011-03-06T01:20:00.004-06:00

I'm not sure where to start with this one. The Klippers drubbed the Weyburn Red Wings 9-2 tonight to take a 2-0 series lead in a game that ended with some very ugly incidents, on the ice, on the benches and off the ice.

Tensions had been building up throughout the third period, and the Klippers had a 8-2 lead when everything rose to the surface.

With 1:27 left in the third, Wings defenceman T.J. Wees lined up Jesse Mysiorek in the corner with a brutal hit. He took several strides toward Mysiorek (only playing his second game back from a groin injury), who was facing the boards the entire time trying to win the puck, and plastered him from behind. Mysiorek's face may have hit the dasher on the way down. I couldn't tell for sure, but his head was awfully close to it.

Jesse is spending the night in the hospital and I would expect he'll be out for some time. No firm update as of yet though. The good news is he was at least well enough to send out a couple of tweets from the hospital.

After the hit, Wees tried to go after Cody Lund and there was a fracas in front of the Weyburn net. In the middle of that, everyone's attention shifted to the benches where the sticks were flying. That went on for a good two minutes.

I couldn't tell from my angle, but upon watching the video after the game, Wings agitator Lucas Ulmer was the first to swing his stick, reaching around the glass to do so. His stick hit Klipper trainer Neal Bruetsch on the top of the head; fortunately he was okay.

Four or five Wings (including Blake Kirkham, who swung his stick well over his head and then brought it down) continued at this, swinging at Taylor Wasden and Riley Down, along with a couple other players who were on the ice. The Klipper players had their sticks up as well, but weren't rearing back to take big swings; it looked to me like they were merely protecting themselves.

It took probably 10 minutes to sort all this out. The upshot was Wees got 2, 5 and a game for roughing and charging. Ulmer got a gross misconduct (presumably from starting the stick war) and Jesse Ross got a 10. For the Klippers, Down was given a gross and Lund got two for roughing.

Justin McDonald entered the game in the final minute because Rockie Zinger was worried the Wings might take a run at Cahill.

Wees racked up 23 PIMs tonight, including three minors before his hit on Mysiorek. Ulmer's gross was his third penalty of the night, and he also got away with punching Casey Rogers after the whistle early in the second. Both players will surely face suspensions.

As for the game that broke out in the middle of the violence (imagine that!), the Klippers led 2-1 after a dominant first period and the floodgates opened in the second, with the home side ahead 6-2 after two.

A charged-up Andrew Dommett led the way with two goals and an assist. If there were a bump of the game during the playoffs, he would have gotten that too for a massive hit he laid on his first shift. Dommett was a constant thorn in the Wings' side tonight.

Johnny Calkins had a goal and three assists, including perfect centering passes to set up both of Dommett's goals. Calkins' tally came when he tried to go cross-slot to Dommett but the puck went off a Weyburn skate and in.

The other goals came from Braeden Adamyk (1-2), Sanfred King, Ryan Elliot (1-1), Wheaton King (1-1), Mysiorek and John Sonntag (1-2). The goal credited to Sonntag looked like it was actually scored by Riley Down, who had a tremendous game tonight.

Sonntag, Leedahl and Flanagan were all on top of their game tonight in what was a very strong all-around effort from the Klipper blueline.

Drew George and Brock Appleyard had the Weyburn goals. George cut the Klipper lead to 2-1 late in the first when he tipped a power play point shot from Kevin Morrison. Appleyard scored on a man-advantage late in the second when he was given all kinds of space to snap a wrister past Sean Cahill from the high slot.

You have to believe the Wings were missing goalie Mitch Kilgore (flu) tonight. Riley Hengen did what he could, but he was powerless against the Klipper attack on all cylinders. Kilgore is the Wings' MVP, I think, and they need him back for Game 3 to have a shot at getting back in the series.

The shots tonight were a whopping 58-26 for the Klippers.

After the game (and this is what I was told by coaches and bystanders, as I missed the first part of it) there was a fracas in the hallway as Weyburn coach Dwight McMillan allegedly grabbed and/or hit Klippers volunteer Kim Leonard. When I arrived on the scene, local police were restraining McMillan and telling him that if he said another word, he'd be going to jail for the night.

Again, I didn't witness how it started, but if the reports are true, there's no place for that. This is the second time in the last month that Dwight has been involved in an incident in the WCEC hallway. On February 4, when the Wings beat the Klippers 5-4 in OT, someone spit on McMillan in the hallway following the game.

Still have any doubt that these teams hate each other?

Interviews

You'll want to hear these as Dommett and Zinger both had some harsh words for the shenanigans in the third period.

Andrew Dommett: two goals

Johnny Calkins: four points

Rockie Zinger

Game 1 victory for Klippers

2011-03-04T23:48:00.001-06:00

It didn't look good early on, but the Klippers scored three times in the second period to top the Weyburn Red Wings 4-2 tonight in the opener of their conference semifinal.

Sanfred King, Andrew Dommett, Jordon Hoffman and John Sonntag had the Klipper goals, with Brock Appleyard and Keegan Bruce replying for the Wings.

It was a hard-fought game with a good physical tempo and solid goaltending at both ends, although it didn't seem like a high-intensity game aside from a stretch late in the first period.

The Klippers got contributions from all four lines tonight, which is always a good thing with a forward corps this deep. Each of the three scoring lines produced a goal, and the line of Down, Elliot and Wasden had a high-energy game and played a couple of shifts that really stood out where they banged bodies on the forecheck and turned the momentum.

There was no question that the Wings outplayed the Klippers in the first period. It went beyond scoring the only goal of the period. Weyburn established a strong forecheck whereas Kindersley didn't. The Klippers were also mediocre on the backcheck. Although the Klippers carried the shots in the period, they didn't generate many scoring chances and when they came close, Mitch Kilgore shut the door.

Brock Appleyard opened the scoring for the Red Wings 45 seconds into the game after a bad change by the Klippers. The Wings' leading scorer took a pass from Drew George (I think it was) and had all day to rip a shot from the top of the right circle, beating Sean Cahill over the glove.

Things got testy in the second half of the period, beginning with a semi-fight between T.J. Wees and Sanfred King (they only got roughing). A few minutes later, the Klippers found themselves on a 3-on-5 when, already killing a penalty to Cody Lund, an incredibly bad tripping call was made on Braeden Adamyk when he simply went into the corner with a Weyburn player trying to win the puck. There certainly was no trip or any other infraction on the play.

The Klippers killed it off. Not long after Adamyk got out of the box, Taylor Desserre instigated a fight with him, for no reason that I could see. Needless to say, Desserre was the clear winner.

Kindersley came out much better in the second period, doing a better job on the forecheck and backcheck and moving the puck more efficiently. Sanfred King had his shot blocked, but he collected the rebound near the right side boards and snapped it past a surprised Kilgore to tie the game midway through the frame.

Only 1:31 later, Johnny Calkins hit Andrew Dommett with a perfect centering pass and the captain made no mistake to put the Klippers ahead for good. Late in the period, Dommett took a needless slashing penalty. The Klippers not only killed it off but scored a shorty when Jordon Hoffman took a slapper that Kilgore couldn't find, and the Major native tapped in his own rebound.

There were only two penalties in the second period. The Klippers took a 3-1 lead to the dressing room and led the shots 27-19 after two.

Keegan Bruce made it a one-goal game five minutes into the third, beating Cahill from the right circle after the Wings got him moving side to side on a series of shots. Aside from that, it was a pretty mild third period. Both teams got a couple of power plays, but there was no more scoring until John Sonntag added some insurance on a wrister from the point with 5:40 to go.

The Hoffman line was rolling tonight, in no small part due to the return of Jesse Mysiorek, who was very solid and physically engaged. Hoffman works hard all the time, but he was especially good tonight and his determination on the penalty kill led to the game winner, and that was enough to earn him the first star. Taylor Duzan also had his chances and played a strong physical game.

On the back end, Kurt Leedahl and John Sonntag both brought their A game. Leedahl was his usual collected self in his own end, saving the Klippers' bacon on more than one occasion and handling the puck with poise. Sonntag was very strong positionally, logged a ton of minutes as usual and looked confident at both ends.

Sean Cahill made a lot of big saves, especially in the third period, to preserve the win for the Klippers. Mitch Kilgore was also tremendous for the Wings, especially early on, but as the game rolled along the Klipper attack was too much for him.

There was a pretty strong crowd tonight - definitely not as many as the official 1399 figure, but probably the best crowd of the year.

Interviews

Sean Cahill - 36 saves

Rockie Zinger - first SJHL playoff win

Klippers-Red Wings series preview

2011-03-04T12:55:00.001-06:00

It starts tonight!

There's no feeling like the first game of the playoffs. Here's the series preview that ran in the Clarion on Wednesday.

Klippers, Red Wings set to renew hostilities Friday

A long-standing rivalry will resume on Friday when the Kindersley Klippers and Weyburn Red Wings kick off the 2010-11 SJHL playoffs in Kindersley.

The two teams have had everything from spirited battles to blowouts this season and now lock horns for the right to play in the Sherwood Conference final.

Game 2 is Saturday, with both contests starting at 7:30 p.m.

The Klippers (35-20-3) finished second in the Sherwood, nine points ahead of the Red Wings (30-24-1-3). Both teams have had nearly two weeks off to rest up and heal the various bumps and bruises that come with the stretch run.

“We’ve been playing since Christmas with a lot of hard nicks and bangs on us and this was just the time we needed,” said Weyburn head coach Dwight McMillan.

The Klippers were given four days off before hitting the ice for practice on Sunday night.

Klippers’ coach Rockie Zinger said his team can’t put much stock in their hot play over the final two months now that the playoffs are here, aside from the fact that it gives them home-ice advantage.

“You can’t rest on that. You can’t be satisfied by the fact that we’re a dangerous team going in,” said Zinger. “You’re only as good as your last game. We’ve got a ticket to the dance and it’s time to show what moves we have.”

The Klippers’ depth and firepower up front will be a focal point in the series, McMillan acknowledged.

“Kindersley is very offensive and has a lot of depth. We’re coming in as the underdog. We have to work hard, do the best we can and see what happens,” said the veteran coach. “We know we can’t go nose to nose with them, so we have to try to win in different ways.”

Johnny Calkins finished fourth in league scoring this year with 25 goals and 93 points, including a league-leading 68 assists. The Red Wings’ focus will be on shutting down Calkins and his linemates, Braeden Adamyk (42-40-82) and Andrew Dommett (22-24-46), who missed 24 games with a jaw injury. Weyburn will also need to limit the production of the Klippers’ two other scoring lines, centred by Sanfred King and Jordon Hoffman.

Left winger Jesse Mysiorek, who has missed 12 games with a groin injury, is expected to return to the line-up on Friday. Right winger D. Jay McGrath, sidelined with a knee injury since Jan. 21, will miss the entire playoffs and will need surgery.

Zinger said his blueline sometimes doesn’t get the respect it deserves with so much focus on the power up front.

“Sometimes it gets overlooked that we’re a good defensive club. You gotta remember we’ve got some guys who can shut people down. It doesn’t matter if you win 2-1 or 7-1,” said Zinger.

“We feel our blueline has made great strides since October. They’ve really solidified where we’re at,” he added. “Our blueline is at its best when it keeps it simple, moving the puck up through the neutral zone for our forwards.”

Aside from the usual suspects in Kurt Leedahl, John Sonntag and Sean Flanagan, the coach said 20-year-old Cody Lund has “played some unbelievable hockey” in the last month of the season.

The Klippers’ penalty killing has been strong in recent weeks, ranking fourth in the league at a 80.5 per cent clip, and while the team’s eighth-ranked power play is an area to work on, Zinger credits it more to the strong penalty killing from other teams.

“Our penalty kill has gotten better and better as the year has gone on, so why are we taking anything away from other teams’ penalty killing? Is it that our power play is struggling or is it every team’s penalty killing getting a lot stronger?” he retorted.

Meanwhile, Weyburn owns the top penalty kill in the league at 84 per cent and the third-best power play at 24.4 per cent.

The Red Wings are not the powerhouse of years past, but they do present a challenge, particularly with one of the league’s top goalies in Mitch Kilgore, who was stuck behind two 20-year-olds last season but has blossomed as a SJHL rookie.

“We knew Kilgore was a great goaltender. We’ve had lots of confidence in him going into this year,” said McMillan.

The Outlook native was the difference the last time the two teams met on Feb. 4, stopping 55 shots en route to a 5-4 overtime win for the Wings.

“We have some big bodies up front. They just gotta go to the traffic areas and get him thinking about the big bodies in front of him instead of the little black biscuit he’s supposed to be stopping,” said Zinger.

The focus for the Klippers will be getting the puck deep behind a Red Wings blueline core perceived as slow by some.

“They‘ve got a big defence and if you don’t get pucks in behind them, you’ll make them look better than what they are,” said Zinger. “Our main focus is making their defence work, getting pucks behind them, getting opportunities off the cycle and forcing turnovers.

“They have forwards who work hard. From what we’ve seen of them, they’re a prototypical dump-and-chase team that tries to wear you down,” he added.

T.J. Wees is the main man on the Weyburn blueline, and he gets support from the likes of Tanner McCall - who has been playing forward lately due to injuries - Ryan Whitell, Eatonia native Brentt Becker and Taylor Desserre.

Up front, the player to watch is left winger Brock Appleyard (28-39-67), along with Drew George (21-36-57) and rookies Coltyn Sanderson and Keegan Bruce.

“We have to score by committee. We’re not going to have one guy score a bunch of goals. We have three lines that aren’t prolific scorers but can score,” McMillan said.

Many thought the Red Wings’ playoff hopes had taken a hit when forwards Shawn and Rodney Cowie left the team in late January, but the team played well down the stretch.

“It gives the other guys a chance to play. The attitude and character sometimes comes out. You never know how dressing rooms are going to go.”

Zinger said he looks forward to seeing how his players will respond at playoff time.

“Every playoff, there are always different guys who raise their game. It’ll be interesting to see who those guys are for our club. We’re hoping it’s a new one every night.”

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Here's a look at the two teams by the numbers.

Records

Kindersley: 35-20-3, 2nd in Sherwood

Weyburn: 30-24-1-3, 3rd in Sherwood

Goals For/Against

Kindersley: 240/194

Weyburn: 193/191

Special Teams

Kindersley: PP 19.4% (8th), PK 80.5% (4th)

Weyburn: PP 24.4% (3rd), PK 84% (1st)

Leading Scorers

Kindersley: Calkins (25-68-93), Adamyk (42-40-82), S. King (19-45-64)

Weyburn: Appleyard (28-39-67), George (21-36-57), Bruce (22-26-48)

Home

Kindersley: 21-5-3

Weyburn: 18-11-0-1

Away

Kindersley: 14-15

Weyburn: 12-13-1-2

Overtime/Shootout Record

Kindersley: 5-3

Weyburn: 5-4

Last 10 Games

Kindersley 7-2-1

Weyburn 5-4-1

Head-to-Head

Kindersley 3-2-1

Weyburn 3-3

Leading Scorers Head-to-Head

Kindersley: Adamyk (4-6-10), Calkins (3-5-8), S. King (4-3-7)

Weyburn: Ross (5-1-6), Appleyard (2-4-6), Bruce (4-1-5)

A look back at the season that was

2011-03-03T12:13:00.000-06:00

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.

Calkins named to second all-star team

2011-03-03T10:46:00.001-06:00

The SJHL announced its year-end awards and all-star teams this morning. You can have a look here.

The only Klipper to get some recognition was Johnny Calkins, who was named to the centre position on the second all-star team. Congrats to Johnny on a fantastic final season in junior hockey.

As for the rest of the awards, I was surprised that no one else got as much as an honourable mention, especially Kurt Leedahl and Braeden Adamyk. I don't think there are many people who wouldn't consider Leedahl one of the top four defencemen in the league, but he didn't make either all-star team or get a runner-up nod for defenceman of the year, which went to Yorkton's Blaine Tendler.

As for Adamyk, I'm not sure how a guy who finished sixth in league scoring doesn't at least get a nod on the second all-star team. No offence meant to Flin Flon's Andrew Johnston, who is a heck of a player in his own right, but how does the guy with 42 goals and 82 points get snubbed in favour of someone with 66 points? Of course, there's a lot more to the game than points, but that's usually what these things are based on.

The team's focus is on the playoffs right now, obviously, but I just felt these two guys deserved some recognition.

I promise I'll have the regular season recap up by the end of the day. I've been under the weather the last couple of days, but feeling better now and it will be up for sure, followed by the series preview from this week's Clarion.

Mysiorek expected to return for Game 1

2011-02-28T17:54:00.000-06:00

This will be a quick one as I still have some work to get to tonight.

I spoke to both Rockie Zinger and Dwight McMillan this afternoon for a series preview that will run in The Clarion on Wednesday. Both coaches had some interesting comments, some of which I posted on my twitter account.

Rockie said Jesse Mysiorek, who has missed 12 games with a groin injury, will "most likely" make his return to the line-up for Game 1 against Weyburn on Friday.

That's great news for the Klippers. The Hoffman line isn't the same without Mysiorek's physical play and drive to the net. Kissick, Elliot and Morin were all tried on that line and got decent results, but having Mysiorek on the left side will make that unit a lot more dangerous.

Rockie confirmed that D. Jay McGrath is indeed done for the season and waiting for knee surgery, as McGrath had said earlier in the week. That's a big loss, especially with the way he'd been playing since Christmas, but the Klippers still don't need to worry about their depth up front.

That's it for now, but check back over the next few days for more analysis heading into the series.

Leedahl named defenceman of the month

2011-02-27T16:43:00.000-06:00

The SJHL released its players of the month for February today and Klipper rearguard Kurt Leedahl was named the defenceman of the month.

The 20-year-old Saskatoon native has been a rock for the Klippers all year long and posted seven assists in eight games in the final month of the regular season.

From the SJHL release:

"The 1990 born blueliner from Saskatoon helped the Klippers try to chase down the Yorkton Terriers for first place in the final month of the season. While the Klippers were unable to do so, Leedahl played perhaps his best hockey of the season. If Leedahl can continue playing at the level he did in February during the playoffs, he will make life miserable for many forwards across the league."

Former Klipper Travis Eggum is the player of the month while Humboldt's Andrew Bodnarchuk is the goalie of the month.

**********************************

Both survivor series got started this weekend and both are now tied following last night's action. Flin Flon blanked Battlefords 3-0 last night to even up that series and Melville edged Estevan 5-4 when Michael Owen scored the winner with 53 seconds left.

My guess is the Stars and Bruins both advance, but it won't be a cakewalk for either of them. Both series resume Monday night.

***********************************

If you haven't checked out the SJHL broadcasters poll spearheaded by Craig Stein, you should. It was a great idea that yielded a lot of interesting responses. Unlike the NHL, it's hard to get a consensus on the top players in various areas due to less media saturation in the SJHL.

Among the Klippers getting some recognition were Andrew Dommett, Johnny Calkins (named best playmaker), John Sonntag, Taylor Duzan (named toughest to play against and most underrated) and Braeden Adamyk.

***********************************

As for the blog, it's been a crazy week for me but I plan to put together a regular season recap, along with a Kindersley-Weyburn preview, in the coming week. I expect to talk to Dwight McMillan on Monday, so I'll post his thoughts on the series sometime early in the week.

Klippers-Red Wings playoff dates

2011-02-23T12:43:00.004-06:00

The SJHL announced the dates for the Klippers-Red Wings series this morning. Pretty much as expected.

Friday March 4 –Weyburn at Kindersley 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 5- Weyburn at Kindersley 7:30 pm

Tuesday, March 8- Kindersley at Weyburn 7:30 pm
Wednesday, March 9- Kindersley at Weyburn 7:30 pm

x-Friday, March 11-Weyburn at Kindersley 730 pm

x-Sunday, March 13-Kindersley at Weyburn 600 pm

x-Tuesday, March 15-Weyburn at Kindersley 730 pm

x-if necessary

Klippers get Weyburn in first round

2011-02-20T21:01:00.003-06:00

The race for third place is over. Weyburn defeated Notre Dame 5-3 today to lock up third in the Sherwood and a date with the Klippers in the first round of the SJHL playoffs.

You won't want to miss any of this series as the bad blood will be flowing everywhere, I'm sure.

Weyburn finishes at 30-24-1-3, anywhere from seven to nine points behind the Klippers (34-20-3) pending the outcome of Tuesday's season finale against the North Stars.

For the Hounds, today's loss knocks them out of playoff contention, pitting Estevan against Melville in the survivor series.

All SJHL playoff series are now set.

I'll work on getting a series preview up later in the week. Both teams now have two weeks off to get healed up.

Friday odds and ends

2011-02-18T16:07:00.001-06:00

First, my apologies for making it such a slow week on the blog. I'd been planning to post an entry on the shootout win over Melfort Tuesday, but other things got in the way that night. I've been battling an illness since Wednesday and also dealing with a personal matter, so it really wasn't a priority. Sorry.

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.

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!

Hoffman scores OT winner as Klippers clinch second with win over Terriers

2011-02-13T01:12:00.002-06:00

It wasn't a perfect outing from the Klippers by any means, but Jordon Hoffman scored his second of the night 46 seconds into overtime to hand the Yorkton Terriers a 4-3 loss tonight.

Hoffman tipped a Sean Flanagan point shot past Warren Shymko to help the Klippers clinch second place in a game they trailed 2-1 and 3-2.

Andrew Dommett and Johnny Calkins had the other Kindersley goals, Calkins tying the game on a 4-on-3 with under five minutes to go. Clarke Breitkreuz, Devon McMullen and Robbie Ciolfi had the Yorkton goals.

The Klippers were playing without John Sonntag tonight due to a one-game suspension he incurred after his sixth fight of the season in Tuesday's game against Humboldt. The team clearly missed the big minute muncher as the blueline had far from a stellar night.

One defenceman who did stand out to me was Cody Lund. I thought he really stepped up and provided some steady minutes for the Klippers. He blocked a few shots, carried the puck with confidence and generally just played a smart game.

Sean Cahill also had a solid night between the pipes. He probably would have liked to have Ciolfi's goal back, but other than that he made some big saves and got some bounces when he had to scramble. He also got run over a couple of times.

Dommett got the Klippers on the board early in the second period after a scoreless first. He came to play tonight, not only offensively but in a physical sense. His jaw injury earlier this year hasn't scared him off from laying the body at all.

Craig Eisenhut had been awarded a penalty shot late in the first period but missed.

Breitkreuz tied it eight minutes into the second, pouncing on a loose puck in the slot, brushing past Flanagan and slipping it past the left pad of Cahill, who seemed to be caught off guard a little.

Yorkton took the lead three minutes later on a brilliant play by Jeremy Boyer. The Saskatoon native had the puck in the high slot to Cahill's right, spotted rookie defenceman Devon McMullen at the edge of the crease and put a perfect slap pass on his tape for an easy tap-in.

But the Klippers pulled even barely two minutes later on a great shift by Taylor Duzan. He set up Hoffman, who deked Shymko glove side, just inside the post.

The Terriers went ahead again 36 seconds into the third period when Ciolfi's weak shot from the right side beat Cahill five-hole.

The turning point of the game came with 5:01 remaining when Keon Vick was nailed with a double minor for high-sticking Braeden Adamyk along the boards. (I know it says 2 and 5 on the game sheet - but the Klippers didn't get a five-minute PP.)

Taylor Duzan and Nathan Murray were already in the box, setting up a 4-on-3 and tons of open ice for Dommett, Calkins, Sanfred King and Kurt Leedahl. Only 12 seconds into the PP, Calkins wired a shot into the top right corner from the right circle to tie the game.

Kindersley still had the second minor on the board and had a chance to win it, but the Terriers killed it off.

A big plus for the Klippers tonight was their penalty kill. Yorkton really never got anything going on their five PPs as the Klips did a great job of clogging the lanes, winning battles to loose pucks and getting them out.

The power play, on the other hand, continued to struggle. They did get the 4-on-3 goal from Calkins but weren't able to generate anything on the first four PPs before that. So there's still some work to do there.

As for first place, the win means the Klippers are technically still in the race, but failing to score on the second minor to Vick and giving the Terriers a point all but ended any chance they might have had at winning the conference.

The Klippers would need to win all three of their remaining games - Tuesday vs. Melfort and the home-and-home vs. Battlefords - and have Yorkton earn only one of six points in order to finish first.

But as Rockie Zinger said after the game, the team's focus now is more on gauging where they stack up against other teams. The Melfort game should be a good tilt between two of the top four teams in the league.

After Hoffman's OT goal, there wasn't enough time for me to get the three stars off, so the stars on the game sheet aren't mine. Mine would have been 1) Hoffman, 2) Dommett, 3) Breitkreuz with honourable mentions to Calkins and Lund.

Interviews

Jordon Hoffman had a terrific all-around game tonight and was rewarded with two goals. Rockie Zinger said tonight (and I agree with him) that Hoffman and Duzan have been two of the best penalty killers in the SJ over the last little while.

Rockie Zinger (When he talks about bad penalties around the 2:40 mark, he's referring to Taylor Wasden's unsportsmanlike minor early in the third period, which he was not at all happy with.)

Wednesday grab bag

2011-02-09T16:26:00.000-06:00

Just a few tidbits from around the SJHL this afternoon.

Klippers winger Jesse Mysiorek is back in town after spending more than a week rehabbing his groin injury in Edmonton. It's still unlikely that he'll play against Yorkton on Saturday, with the focus on getting him 100% for the playoffs. The same is true for D. Jay McGrath.

When McGrath does return, the plan is for him to play with Sanfred King and Spencer Braaten. Makes you wonder where Wheaton King would fit in. It's certainly a good problem to have if you're the Klippers. Say you put together a line of Wheaton, Elliot and Wasden (or Kissick or Gerwing) - there's no way you can call that a fourth line. When everyone is healthy the Klippers are basically looking at a first line, followed by 2A, 2B and 2C.

Speaking of injuries, the Yorkton Terriers are also playing without some key guys. Defenceman Blaine Tendler and forwards Robbie Ciolfi and Zak Majkowski are all still out, and I don't know if any will be ready to return for Saturday's game. The Terriers ran into the same problem against Weyburn last night as the Klippers: Mitch Kilgore. He stopped 34 of 35 shots.

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Playoff races are going down to the wire all over the SJHL. Notre Dame defeated Estevan 6-2 last night to pull even with the Melville Millionaires for the last playoff berth in the Sherwood. Melville has two games in hand but the Hounds have been on fire over the last few weeks. Notre Dame has six games left, Melville has eight, and two of those are head-to-head (tonight and Monday).

Weyburn and Estevan continue to jockey for that third spot and, most likely, a date with the Klippers in the first round of the playoffs. Weyburn's win over Yorkton last night vaulted them one point ahead of the Bruins, who have a game in hand. It goes without saying that their home-and-home this weekend is absolutely huge, and if one team sweeps they'll pretty much lock up third place. Estevan has five games left, four at home. Weyburn has four left including three at home. They play the same teams (each other, Melville and Notre Dame) along with Estevan's extra game being against Yorkton.

Either team would pose a strong challenge to Kindersley in the first round of the playoffs. Estevan in particular is playing good hockey of late, and with their size and small barn, they're built for the playoffs.

In the north, Humboldt has the inside track on third place although Battlefords is six back with a game in hand. The Stars are also trying to fend off Flin Flon (one point back) for fourth. There's more hockey left to be played in the Bauer than the Sherwood, so that race could get pretty tight.

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Here's the story in today's paper from the Weyburn game on Friday:

First place nearly out of reach for Klippers after loss to Wings

JOSH LEWIS
The Clarion

Mitch Kilgore stopped 55 shots and Scott Kirkham scored with 28 seconds left in overtime to lead the Weyburn Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Kindersley Klippers on Friday at the West Central Events Centre on Friday.

Despite getting a point for the overtime defeat, the Klippers (30-20-3) now find themselves seven points behind the surging Yorkton Terriers (32-15-2-4) in the battle for first place in the Sherwood Conference. With five games left, the task has become unlikely.

The Klippers, who hosted Humboldt on Tuesday, will go head-to-head with the Terriers Saturday in a crucial tilt at the WCEC. It doesn’t get any easier next Tuesday with the high-flying Melfort Mustangs in town. Both games start at 7:30 p.m.

The Klippers, who were missing centre Johnny Calkins to the flu on Friday, also must keep an eye on Estevan and Weyburn. The Bruins are six points behind with a game in hand, and the Red Wings moved to seven points back with Friday’s win.

Head coach Rockie Zinger said his team has no cause for concern.

“People are losing sight of the fact that we’re (17-7) in our last 24 games. So we’ve lost two in a row for the first time since November, big hairy deal,” he replied, referring to a 3-2 loss in Humboldt last Tuesday that saw the Klippers blow a two-goal lead with four minutes left.

Despite peppering Kilgore with shots all game on Friday - the shot count was 59-31 - the Klippers didn’t really turn on the jets until the third period and it cost them.

“I think the first period for us was a little slow, a little flat and I think if we avoided that period, we would have had a pretty good chance of winning,” said captain Andrew Dommett, who got the Klippers on the board 14 minutes into the second frame.

Jesse Ross drew first blood for the Wings at 7:32 of the first, tapping a feed from Coltyn Sanderson past the glove of netminder Sean Cahill. Weyburn took that lead to the dressing room despite being outshot 16-4.

Lucas Ulmer put the Red Wings up by two at the 94-second mark of the middle period, cranking one past Cahill from the left boards, just inside the blueline.

Dommett made it 2-1 at 13:50, with assists to Braeden Adamyk and Sanfred King, who filled in for Calkins on the top line.

“I liked it. Kinger’s a very good hockey player,” Dommett said of playing with King. “Unfortunately, he’s a little slower with his bad leg, but he definitely makes up for that with his skill. Once he gets into the offensive zone, he’s magic with that puck.”

But Drew George restored Weyburn’s two-goal cushion 57 seconds after the Dommett goal, cutting to the inside off a quick break and beating Cahill with a point blank wrister.

Zinger said that goal was a mental letdown, coming so quickly after the Klippers had finally solved Kilgore.

“You’re firing all those pucks on net and he’s saving it and saving it and saving it, and suddenly you get one and then boom, you let them put one in the back of your net. That next shift after a goal is so crucial.”

The Red Wings stretched their lead to three early in the third stanza when Keegan Bruce slipped the biscuit just inside the left post on the power play.

The Klipper comeback began with 12 minutes left when Adamyk made a slick centering pass to Dommett, whose rebound found King’s stick and the big pivot rang it off the iron and in to make it 4-2.
Kilgore denied the Klipper shooting gallery for another eight minutes before Riley Down inadvertently tipped a Kurt Leedahl point shot to pull the home side within one.

Then, with six Kindersley skaters on the ice, Adamyk deflected another Leedahl shot past Kilgore with 23.1 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.

The Klippers bombarded the Wings throughout overtime, missing a handful of golden opportunities and keeping the puck in the Weyburn zone for virtually the entire time. But the Wings only needed one chance, and when a 2-on-1 broke out, Kirkham kept the puck and lifted a backhander over Cahill to end it.

“When you look at the big picture, if you play that team in a seven-game series and fire that many shots on that guy on a consistent basis, there’s no way he makes that many saves per night,” said Zinger. “It was a good performance by him.”

Forward Spencer Braaten, acquired from the Broncos on Jan. 8, made his Klipper debut after sitting out two months with an ankle injury. The 20-year-old filled in for Jesse Mysiorek on a line with Taylor Duzan and Jordon Hoffman, displaying good offensive instincts and solid board play. He picked up an assist on the tying goal.

“I thought he played really well for us. You could tell his wind wasn’t there as much as he would have liked it to be, but there was zero hesitancy as far as going into corners and battling for pucks and everything of that nature,” said Zinger. “I think once he gets back into game shape, he’s going to be a real nice added bonus for us.”

King line shines in 5-2 win over Broncos

2011-02-09T00:44:00.000-06:00

Wheaton King, Sanfred King and Spencer Braaten combined for nine points against Braaten's old team to help the Klippers defeat the Humboldt Broncos 5-2 at the West Central Events Centre tonight.

The Klippers (31-20-3) were in control from the start, leading 1-0 after one and 4-1 after two. Sean Cahill stopped 36 shots, including 16 in the third, to keep the Broncos at bay.

Sanfred King had three points (1-2), Braaten had three (1-2) in his second game back from injury and Wheaton had two (1-1) in what was a standout game for him. Sanfred originally had four points but it looks like his assist on Braaten's goal has been changed to John Sonntag.

The other goals came courtesy of Taylor Duzan on the power play early in the second, and Cody Lund on a low point shot midway through the frame.

Matt Glowa had both of Humboldt's goals. The first came on a nice passing play with Troy Gasper at 12:37 of the second, and Kindersley responded exactly one minute later with Braaten's first goal as a Klipper. Glowa's second marker came 30 seconds into the third on a 5-on-3 created by a double-minor to Jordon Hoffman and a high-sticking call on Braeden Adamyk.

Johnny Calkins played tonight but hadn't fully recovered from the effects of the flu he caught last week.

Yorkton lost to Weyburn in a shootout tonight to pick up a point. The Klippers now trail by six points with four games to go. It goes without saying that Saturday's head-to-head tilt is a must-win for them to finish in first place.

Rockie Zinger said the reports are getting better every day on Jesse Mysiorek and D. Jay McGrath, but reiterated that they won't be rushed. I wouldn't expect either player to suit up Saturday.

Interviews:

Spencer Braaten

Rockie Zinger

Klippers-Humboldt preview

2011-02-08T13:04:00.000-06:00

The Klippers come into tonight's game having lost two straight for the first time in two months, one of those losses coming to the very same Broncos squad they face tonight. Last Tuesday in Humboldt, the Klippers led 2-0 with four minutes to go before blowing that lead and losing 3-2 in regulation. No doubt the team is eager to get revenge for that.

I really like the way Rockie Zinger has been approaching everything with a playoff mentality. The latest example was what he had to say after the loss to Weyburn. The Klippers are approaching the last five games of the season as part of a best-of-7 series where they've already lost the first two games, just to see how they respond when down two games. Obviously it doesn't replicate a real playoff situation, but it's still a good idea over the final games of the season, especially with the first place Terriers pretty much out of reach.

Speaking of first place, here's a rundown of the two teams and what they have left. The Klippers do have an advantage in having four home games left, to one for Yorkton, and they have a slightly better schedule in terms of opponents. But the Klippers would need to run the table and have Yorkton lose four of five; that or win four of five and have Yorkton go winless. Both scenarios look pretty unlikely considering the Terriers have won five straight.

Yorkton: 70 points. Five games left: tonight @ Weyburn, Saturday @ Kindersley, Sunday @ Humboldt, Feb. 15 @ Estevan, Feb. 18 vs. La Ronge.
Kindersley: 63 points. Five games left: tonight vs. Humboldt, Saturday vs. Yorkton, Feb. 15 vs. Melfort, Feb. 18 @ Battlefords, Feb. 22 vs. Battlefords.

On to the preview for tonight.

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Humboldt Broncos

The Broncs have been playing some inspired hockey of late, riding a four-game winning streak and posting a 7-5 record since shipping out their 20-year-olds, including Spencer Braaten, at the Jan. 10 deadline. The player every opponent needs to key on is 18-year-old defenceman Josh Roach, who boasts 14 goals and 45 points to lead the team in scoring. What this guy has done this year is just remarkable, and he could have two years left.

Up front, a focal point is 19-year-old Ward Szucki, who was part of that Chad Filteau deal between Battlefords and Estevan last year. I really like watching this guy play. With the exodus of vets, he's getting more time to put his skills on display. Troy Gasper, Matt Glowa and Taylor Johnson are other players to watch.

The Broncos are solid between the pipes with reigning MVP Andrew Bodnarchuk, the only 1990 not traded at the deadline, along with Matt Hrynkiw, who got the win against Kindersley last week.

Kindersley Klippers

Jesse Mysiorek remains on the shelf so I would imagine Spencer Braaten will again play with Taylor Duzan and Jordon Hoffman against his old team. Braaten seemed to fit in with the unit on Friday. I was really impressed with his work on the walls, for such a small guy. He finds the open areas and creates scoring chances. Once he takes a few games to get his feet wet, he'll be a dangerous part of the Klipper attack. I've said it before but I find Braaten and Duzan are cut from the same cloth in terms of their skill set and tenacity. Having Johnny Calkins back from the flu will be a big boost, and it allows Sanfred King to go back to his highly effective line with brother Wheaton and Ryan Elliot. And have you checked the scoring leaders lately? Andrew Dommett has clawed his way up to 33rd in SJHL scoring, despite playing only 29 games, and owns the seventh-best point per game average in the SJ. Impressive.

On the back end, Kurt Leedahl has been terrific of late. He's getting more pucks on net and good things are happening. On Friday, two of the three third period goals, including Adamyk's tying marker with 23 seconds left, were deflections off Leedahl shots. I would expect Sean Cahill to get the start, but wouldn't be surprised to see Justin McDonald between the pipes either. Cahill will certainly be getting the nod for the next two games against Yorkton and Melfort.

Klippers fire 59 shots and lose in OT

2011-02-05T01:46:00.000-06:00

Well, that sure felt like a playoff game.

Unfortunately for the Klippers, 59 shots on goal, a terrific comeback and an absolutely dominant overtime weren't enough to stop the Weyburn Red Wings from winning 5-4.

Scott Kirkham lifted a backhander over Sean Cahill off an odd-man break late in overtime to give Weyburn the two points in a game they led 4-1 with 12 minutes left in the third.

Mitch Kilgore was phenomenal. The 19-year-old tender from Outlook made some huge stops and although he allowed three in the third, the Klippers were throwing everything at him including the kitchen sink. He was full value for the win and easily the first star.

The Yorkton Terriers defeated Melville tonight, which puts the Klippers five points back with an extra game played. With five games left, they are very close to falling out of the race for first, if they haven't already. Needless to say, they need to win that Yorkton game next Saturday to have any chance.

The deceiving thing about the 59 shots tonight is that the Klippers were once again guilty of playing 20 minutes of hockey instead of 60. It's a concern Rockie Zinger has expressed in the past, that his club sometimes waits until the third period to play their best hockey. They certainly did that tonight.

Jesse Ross got the scoring started at 7:32 of the first after taking a cross-ice, headman pass from Coltyn Sanderson and tapping it past Cahill glove side.

Lucas Ulmer made it 2-0 at the 94-second mark of the middle frame, winding up a clapper from the left boards just inside the line. Cahill probably wanted that one back but he may have been screened, I couldn't tell.

Andrew Dommett got the Klippers on the board at 13:47 to make it 2-1, but Drew George replied 57 seconds later after streaking down the left side, cutting inside and flicking a wrister into the mesh.

Keegan Bruce made it 4-1 with a power play goal 3:39 into the third, slipping the puck just inside the left post. But the Klippers stormed back. With 11:59 left, Braeden Adamyk slipped a quick centering pass to Dommett, who got a low shot off. Sanfred King rung the rebound off the iron and in.

Just when it looked like the Wings had it wrapped up, Riley Down tipped a Kurt Leedahl point shot with 4:11 left - without even realizing it until he turned around to face the net. It was kind of a funny moment.

Then, with Cahill on the bench and 23.1 seconds left, Adamyk deflected Leedahl's lob from the right point past Kilgore to force overtime.

I'm barely keeping my eyes open, so I'll post interviews with Rockie Zinger and Andrew Dommett tomorrow.

Klippers vs. Weyburn preview

2011-02-04T18:28:00.000-06:00

The Kindersley Klippers and Weyburn Red Wings face off in their sixth and final game of the regular season tonight at the WCEC. It's a crucial game for both clubs, with the Klippers needing to gain on Yorkton and the Wings trying to overtake the suddenly surging Bruins for third place. The Terriers (four points up with a game in hand) are playing Melville tonight.

By all accounts, the game in Weyburn last Friday was full of bad blood and I'd expect the same tonight. If you don't have plans tonight, this is definitely a game you will want to catch since it could be a first round playoff preview.

Spencer Braaten finally makes his Klipper debut tonight after practicing full tilt since Monday. That's another good reason to take in this one. I'm looking forward to seeing the diminutive scorer in action.

Also, Brenden Ullrich is reporting that Johnny Calkins will miss the game with the flu and that Sanfred King will fill his place on the top line. That's a blow for the Klippers, but with Braaten and Wheaton King back in tonight, they shouldn't be hurting for offence.

Weyburn Red Wings

The first thing you need to know about Weyburn is that Shawn and Rodney Cowie have left the team. That is a massive loss, especially during a playoff race at this time of year. I don't know the reasons, but that's a very dubious move at best at this time in the season. Either way, the Klippers won't be dealing with those two tonight. Sometimes teams rally around something like this and play at a high level despite the lost talent. Just look at Humboldt's play since shipping out their 20-year-olds. We'll see how it affects the Wings.

But make no mistake, there is plenty of talent left on this club and it starts with Brock Appleyard and Drew George, both among the top forwards in the SJHL. Add the likes of Keegan Bruce, Lucas Ulmer and Coltyn Sanderson and this is not a group to be taken lightly. And the Wings are simply a tough team to play. Opponents really have to work to get two points from them.

Weyburn doesn't have that one stud defenceman (although I really like T.J. Wees) but they get it done by committee and boast the fourth-lowest goals against total in the league. In goal, Mitch Kilgore is outstanding and has been a huge reason why the Red Wings are where they are.

Kindersley Klippers

The Klippers are well-rested coming into this one, not having played since Saturday's win in Estevan. The break was much-needed with several players nursing injuries. Injecting Braaten and King into the lineup tonight is a big boost. I'm looking forward to seeing Sanfred King on the top line. In a lot of ways, he's a similar player to Calkins. Their vision and puck distribution are definitely comparable. King showed good chemistry with Braeden Adamyk early in the season, and when you combine King's playmaking with Dommett's shot, it could be a treat to watch.

Jesse Mysiorek remains out with an aggravated groin injury and was in Edmonton this week to see a specialist. It will be interesting to see Braaten on that line with Duzan and Hoffman. To me, Duzan and Braaten are very similar players.

Most of the Klippers' defencemen have been playing great hockey of late and with a huge divisional match-up tonight I would expect that to continue. Barring something crazy, Sean Cahill will get the nod between the pipes.

See you at the WCEC.

Sask West Hockey League playoff preview

2011-02-04T12:31:00.000-06:00

I know a lot of the blog's local readers are fans of senior hockey, the SWHL in particular. Their playoffs begin this weekend so I thought I'd post part of the preview from today's West Central Crossroads.

I'll try to get a Klippers-Weyburn preview up later today.

I've also updated the Articles page with six or seven stories from the last six weeks or so. I've been lagging behind on that.

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The dust has settled and the match-ups have been determined for the first round of the Sask. West Hockey League playoffs, which begin tonight.

Eston defeated Luseland Sunday to earn top spot and a bye through the first round. Luseland took second and will renew their rivalry with Kerrobert in the opening round. Kindersley finished third and will take on Macklin, which lost out in a three-way tiebreaker with Eatonia and Unity. The Huskies and Miners play each other in a fourth vs. fifth match-up.

Luseland’s Kelsey Muench ended B.J. Becker’s reign atop the scoring race, winning this year’s title with 68 points to Becker’s 65.

2) Luseland vs. 7) Kerrobert
Game 1: Saturday in Luseland. Game 2: Feb. 13 in Kerrobert. Rest to be determined.

The Tigers took a leave of absence last season, but the rivalry between these clubs surely burns just as strong as before, especially at playoff time.

Kerrobert will be hard-pressed to knock off the red-hot Mallards, but Luseland coach Jerry Fischer said his team can’t let its guard down.

“Their goaltending is good and I think as a team, they’ve gotten better all winter. We have to be good at all aspects of the game,” Fischer replied. “They’ve been playing pretty good of late. We’ll try not to take them lightly.”

Tigers’ manager Doug Flahr echoed that sentiment, adding that both Rick Sobry and Mike Aldous are capable between the pipes.

“We’ve played much better of late. We seem to have more energy and we’re playing a little more organized, but we’re still battling the injuries,” said Flahr. “Our goaltending has been very good. They’ve both had lots of practice this year; we’ve allowed a lot of shots. It’s been pretty consistent and kept us in a lot of games.”

But Kerrobert is missing their top two defencemen, Mat Olson and Scott Elstad, both out for the season with shoulder injuries, which will make it much harder to keep the Mallards’ potent attack under wraps.

“Their team revolves around Kelsey Muench. We gotta keep him under control and that’s very hard to do,” said Flahr. “Not that he’s alone, they have other top end guys too, but he seems to run the show.”

The series should help both teams financially at a time when most clubs are struggling at the gate.

“It’ll be good, playing Kerrobert. They’re close. Hopefully we can fill the rinks,” Fischer nodded.

3) Kindersley vs. 6) Macklin
Game 1: Monday in Kindersley. Game 2: Feb. 13 or 16 in Macklin (depending on outcome of Kindersley-Maidstone SHA series). Game 3: Feb. 17 in Kindersley. Game 4: Feb. 20 in Macklin. Game 5: TBD.

The Red Lions took a step forward this season and the Mohawks took a step back, but it’s easy to forget that the two teams were separated by only three points in a league that had tremendous parity this year.

Kindersley has no trouble scoring goals, while Macklin is more of a defence-oriented team which relies on good goaltending, which it got this year from Mike Clague.

“Our penalty kill has been awesome this year and Mike Clague has been great,” said Mohawks coach Jim Meredith. “We just gotta start putting the puck in the net a little more consistently.”

For the Red Lions, much of the focus is on improved defensive play and discipline.

“We can score goals, we can do all the hard hitting and all that stuff, but it’s gotta come from work effort. Macklin’s a (hard working) team. We’re going to have to try to win games 3-2 or 2-1,” said Kindersley coach Dean Dorsett.

“They’re a tough team,” Meredith said of his opponents. “You gotta play them the same way and stay out of the penalty box and put them in it.”

Sheldon Reschny and Cole Fern are the focal point of the Macklin attack and Dorsett said his club will have to shut them down, especially Reschny, to have a chance.

“The guy carries the puck, he does everything. He wins 80 or 90 per cent of the draws. He carries the puck on the power play, he does everything for them. He’s their key guy, and Fern and him play pretty well together and they’ve got some key defencemen.”

Meredith concurred, adding that Reschny is “probably one of the best defensive forwards in the league.”

4) Eatonia vs. 5) Unity
Game 1: Friday in Eatonia. Game 2: Tuesday in Unity. Game 3: Feb. 11 in Eatonia. Game 4: Feb. 13 in Unity. Game 5: Feb. 18 in Eatonia.

These two teams needed a tiebreaker to determine their playoff position, and there is little doubt it will be a long series.

“I don’t think anybody’s going to win this series in three games,” said Miners coach Dale Robertson.

The Huskies came out of the gate on fire, sitting in first place for a time before Christmas. But a second-half slide knocked them to fourth and they are looking to turn it around in a hurry.

“We gotta get better defensively and we’re going to have to shut down the Adam Shirley line and play him fairly close,” said Eatonia coach Sam Somerville. “We have to get quite a few shots on (Unity goalie Ryan Knapton) and get some traffic in front of him.”

Unity has a plethora of offensive weapons, including Adam Shirley, Ashton Hewson, Justin D’Entremont and Scott Hennings, and they are without a doubt a more dangerous team than their record would suggest.

“We’ve got a team that can put the puck in the net. Our defensive team play is sometimes lacking,” said Robertson. “We have played a little better and not allowed so many goals, and hopefully that continues into the playoffs.”

The Huskies, meanwhile, have gotten standout goaltending from Clint Wirth and boast an upgraded offensive corps that includes Jarvis Smigelski, Mike Thompson, Cam Aitken and Jay Hern.

“Their work ethic is great. They’ve got a fairly big team. They’ve got good goaltending,” said Robertson. “I think we stack up pretty good against Eatonia.”

Meanwhile, here are confirmed dates for provincial action involving Sask. West teams:

Kindersley Red Lions vs. Maidstone Jets (A): Wednesday in Maidstone, Feb. 11 in Kindersley, Feb. 13 in Maidstone (if necessary).
Unity Miners vs. Porcupine Plain Blues (B): Saturday in Porcupine Plain, Feb. 12 in Unity.
Eston Ramblers vs. Allan Flames (C): Saturday in Allan, Feb. 12 in Eston.
Macklin Mohawks vs. Conquest Merchants (C): Saturday in Conquest, Feb. 12 in Macklin.
Kerrobert Tigers vs. Wilkie Outlaws (C): Tuesday in Kerrobert, Feb. 11 in Wilkie.
Luseland Mallards vs. Dinsmore/Lucky Lake Dynamos (D): Sunday in Luseland, Feb. 11 in Dinsmore. Luseland defeated Turtleford 7-6 in their first round series.
Eatonia Huskies vs. Dundurn Wheat Kings (D): Saturday in Dundurn, Feb. 12 in Eatonia.

Adamyk POTM, injury updates, and more

2011-02-01T00:00:00.001-06:00

Quite a few things to get to tonight.

First, congratulations to Braeden Adamyk on being named the SJHL's player of the month for January. It was a big month for all three members of the line and Adamyk posted 13 goals and 25 points over 14 games to earn the award. He now sits third in the league in goals with 35, behind only Travis Eggum (47) and Jeremy Boyer (36). Johnny Calkins was a runner-up for the award.

Two other Klippers were recognized with runner-up honours for their respective awards. Kurt Leedahl was a runner-up for defenceman of the month, which went to Josh Roach, and Sean Cahill was considered for the goalie honour, which not surprisingly went to Russell Abbott.

Also, the weekly honours were announced tonight. Congrats to Andrew Dommett on being named player of the week and Sean Cahill for picking up the puckstopper prize. Roach is the defenseman of the week.

The one thing that surprises me from all the rankings and awards this week is that the Klippers not only didn't crack the CJHL top 20, but fell out of the honourable mentions despite winning three of four. Melfort should also be in the top 20 and Yorkton should be getting at least an HM this week. But that's why you take them with a grain of salt.

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All of a sudden the Klippers' injury list is somewhat long.

D. Jay McGrath's knee injury was described as "week-to-week" by Rockie Zinger. If I were a betting man I'd say we won't see him until the playoffs. As Rockie keeps saying, there's no need to rush him and there will be a layoff before the first round when guys can get healed up.

Riley Down is also considered week-to-week, with the hope of having him back within two weeks. I don't know what his injury is, but he hasn't played since that fight against Craig Eisenhut last Tuesday against Yorkton (which earned him a one-game suspension) and he had been nursing a hand injury a few weeks ago.

Jesse Mysiorek aggravated his groin injury on the road trip and he will not be playing in Humboldt tomorrow (Tuesday). It also sounds highly likely that he'll miss Friday's game against Weyburn and possibly the Humboldt home game next Tuesday.

Wheaton King was injured on the road and is considered day-to-day. No word on whether he'll suit up in Humboldt.

Spencer Braaten had his first all-out practice today and could make his Klipper debut on Friday.

The Klippers have called up '93 forward Brennen Bosovich from the Prince Albert Mintos for tomorrow's game. Bosovich impressed in training camp and currently sits second in scoring in the Sask. midget AAA league. They were also planning on recalling another AP to replace Mysiorek in the lineup, but no word on who that will be.

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Regarding the NHL 94 celebration in Estevan Saturday. Of course, I wasn't in the building and I've only been told about what the atmosphere was like between fans and players. Maybe the celebration would have been better done at home, but some of the comments I'm seeing and hearing are more than a little overboard. I wonder if the Kamloops Blazers got a bunch of flack when they did it in November.

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I had a chance to talk to Rockie Zinger about the results from the road trip this afternoon. Here's what he had to say:

15 goals? Yeah, you read right.

2011-01-26T00:29:00.000-06:00

It was a crazy game tonight at the WCEC, but certainly not in the kind of way anyone was expecting.

The Klippers cruised to a 6-0 lead over the Yorkton Terriers in the first period and endured some sloppy play over the final 40 minutes to pull out a 9-6 win over the Sherwood leaders, moving to within two points of the Dogs in the process.

It was obvious that the Klippers got up for this game and the Terriers didn't, but give Yorkton credit for not giving up in the first intermission. They scored four goals in the second period, including a couple of weird ones, and they made a game of it.

It definitely wasn't the best game for any of the three goalies in this one, including Sean Cahill (Peters was yanked after the fifth Klipper goal). A number of Klippers had big nights on the scoresheet, which made it tough to pick the three stars. Wheaton King and Johnny Calkins each had a goal and three assists, Ryan Elliot and Andrew Dommett each had two goals and an apple, Sanfred King had one and two, Braeden Adamyk had one and one, Sean Flanagan had two assists.

The six goals in the first came over a span of less than 10 minutes, including the final four goals in four minutes. It was astounding to watch. Everyone expected such a tight battle between the top two clubs in the Sherwood and the game was all but over in 15 minutes.

The King line set the tone for this one, opening the scoring when Elliot cleaned up the garbage in front of Devin Peters at 6:13. Barely three minutes later, Wheaton King banged a rebound past Peters' glove to make it 2-0. That was just the beginning.

Two minutes later on the power play, Dommett finished off what may have been the prettiest goal of the night. The Terriers tried to clear it and thought they had, but Sanfred King somehow managed to keep it in. Almost immediately he dished it to a surprised Johnny Calkins in the high slot. Calkins corralled the pass and flipped it over to Dommett on the right side, and the captain made no mistake with a shot just beyond Peters' glove.

Less than two minutes after that, Wheaton King pulled off just a dirty between the legs move to shake his man and get the puck across to Sanfred, who scored from the high slot. Then, 84 seconds after that goal (14:56 mark) Peters gave up a big rebound and Hoffman just managed to get his stick on it to poke it between his pad and the right post. Elliot got his second of the night 44 seconds after the Hoffman goal when he tipped a point shot by Cody Lund.

Yorkton got goals in the second period from Blaine Tendler, Riley Paterson, Robbie Ciolfi and Jeremy Boyer. Paterson was credited with a goal after his cross-ice pass attempt ricocheted off Lund's skate and past Cahill. Eight seconds later, Cahill went to play the puck behind the net, only to have it take an odd bounce right onto the stick of Ciolfi. The Klipper top line replied with three goals in the period, one for Adamyk, Dommett and Calkins. Tendler and Justin Buzzeo scored for the Terriers in the third.

One thing's for sure, we won't see the same kind of game the next time Yorkton comes to town on Feb. 12.

The Klippers got some good news on Spencer Braaten and it sounds like he will make his debut sometime next week.

Wheaton King: one goal, three assists

Ryan Elliot: two goals, one assist

Rockie Zinger: First 15-goal game as SJHL coach

Klippers vs. Terriers preview

2011-01-25T18:32:00.001-06:00

Well, this should be a dandy tonight. The Klippers are coming off a loss and hungry to gain ground on the Terriers, while Yorkton has won three of their last 10 and they know this is a game they have to win to hold off the Klippers.

I'm sure it will be a playoff atmosphere tonight. There was a great crowd for the Estevan game Saturday and I hope to see that building packed for this game. This is also the first time Kindersley fans have seen Yorkton since October, so I'm sure this will be a highly anticipated contest, especially with the addition of Boyer and Buzzeo to the Dogs' lineup.

Here's a look at the top two teams in the Sherwood Conference.

Yorkton Terriers (27-14-2-4, 1st in Sherwood)

After a seven-game losing skid, the Terriers have suddenly won three of four, including a 9-1 win over the Hounds on Sunday. It was always going to take some time for Boyer, Buzzeo and Brant Remenda (who, by the way, will sit out with a suspension tonight) to adjust to their new teammates. Those two have been on fire since joining the Terriers, with 14 points apiece in six games. But let's not forget the other cogs that have kept Yorkton running all along. It all starts between the pipes with Devin Peters. Yorkton fans say he's been in a funk at times this year, but he's still one of the top goalies in the league for my money.

Yorkton has a solid blueline, although it isn't the team's strength. Still, a back end led by the likes of Blaine Tendler and Kurtis Decker is nothing to sneeze at. Up front, Clarke Breitkreuz, Robbie Ciolfi and Brent Struble are three of the biggest reasons why the team is in contention in the first place. The likes of Zak Majkowski and Craig Eisenhut have also stepped up in a big way.

Physical play is the Terriers' calling card and the Klippers will have to match that tenacious edge tonight, something they definitely didn't do on Saturday.

Kindersley Klippers (27-18-2, 2nd in Sherwood)

The Klippers, who got an honourable mention in Monday's CJHL Top 20 rankings, enter tonight's contest four points behind the Terriers. It's a crucial tilt for them because two points back will have them right in the race, but being six points back with 10 games left could be too much to overcome. Kindersley blew a major opportunity to draw even with Yorkton on Saturday, when they lost the second game of their weekend set 4-2 to Estevan. They came out flat in the first two periods and, as Rockie Zinger pointed out after the game, showed little interest in competing physically. That will have to change tonight.

Johnny Calkins' 14-game point streak was snapped Saturday, but he has been the hottest player in the SJHL over the last six weeks and that line can dominate teams when they're all on their game. Sanfred and Wheaton King have been dynamite together and Wheaton's presence has really rejuvenated that line. That said, it'll be tough going for them without D. Jay McGrath.

Taylor Duzan hasn't scored since Dec. 1, but he's been playing better and better the last few games, especially on Friday, and as he said the goals will come at some point if he keeps working hard. Tonight would be a great time for him to snap that skid. His linemate Jesse Mysiorek is back in the lineup tonight after missing four games with a groin injury, which will only help.

On the blueline, Sean Flanagan is coming off SJHL defenceman of the week honours (congrats Sean) and he has indeed been playing well of late. Kurt Leedahl has been terrific and John Sonntag had a great game on Friday. 18-year-old David Haaf has really stepped up his game lately as well. No word on who sits tonight. In goal, there is no question Sean Cahill gets the start for what is probably the team's biggest game of the season to date.

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I was busy watching football on Sunday, so I didn't get a recap up from Saturday's loss to the Bruins. Here's what Rockie Zinger had to say about the game, as well as an update on McGrath and a brief look at tonight's game:

Klippers hang on to beat Estevan but lose McGrath

2011-01-22T14:22:00.000-06:00

The Klippers are now only two points behind the Yorkton Terriers following a tight 4-2 win over the Estevan Bruins in a huge Sherwood Conference matchup.

If you were at the game and the score has you confused, John Sonntag was credited with an empty netter after the game for that puck he shot into the net at the buzzer.

After a bit of a slow start, the Klippers picked it up midway through the first and led 2-1 after one and 3-1 after two. The B's made it a tight finish though when Ryan Andersen scored with 13 minutes left.

Chris Daniels opened the scoring at 3:35 off a bad giveaway in the Klipper zone. Braeden Adamyk countered on the power play at 10:50 when he and Dommett both poked at a rebound and Adamyk slipped it past the right pad of Joel Danyluk.

Dommett made it 2-0 at 15:37 on a two-man advantage after Kurt Leedahl circled around the zone, got it to Adamyk for a shot and Dommett knocked in the rebound five-hole.

Midway through the second, D. Jay McGrath scored from the left side on a centering pass from one of the King brothers (not sure which).

But the Klippers will be without McGrath's services for a while after he suffered a knee injury in the third period. McGrath went hard into the end boards behind the Estevan net and had to be helped off the ice. He's on crutches now and will be re-evaluated in two weeks, with no idea how long he could be out. That's a huge loss for the Klippers with the way he's been playing lately. That line had a ton of chemistry.

Johnny Calkins kept his point streak going tonight with an assist, but he didn't gain ground in the scoring race as Travis Eggum had four points and Marc-Andre Carre had three. Doug Lindensmith (the SJ scoring leader going into last night) didn't dress for La Ronge's win over Weyburn.

The Klippers take on Estevan again tonight, with a chance to tie Yorkton for first place if they win. The Bruins are only four points ahead of Melville, with two extra games played, so they need a win too.

Interviews from last night...

Braeden Adamyk - one goal, one assist

Taylor Duzan - Duzy hasn't scored since Dec. 1 against Estevan (hard to believe, isn't it?) but he and his line had a tremendous game last night. There was a point late in the first, on the PK, where Duzan put in one of the best forechecking efforts I've ever seen. The Estevan defenceman just could not shake him and Duzy ended up with the puck and ragging a good 30 seconds off the clock. He also blocked a couple shots on the PK and had some good chances along with Hoffman and Elliot.

Rockie Zinger

Top line dominates in win over Nipawin

2011-01-19T23:37:00.003-06:00

Andrew Dommett, Johnny Calkins and Braeden Adamyk were at their very best in the first period of tonight's 6-2 win over the Nipawin Hawks. The line scored three goals as a result of some unbelievable passing plays to help the Klippers take a 4-0 lead after one.

The rest of the game was much quieter, but in the end Calkins had four points (1-3) and Adamyk (2-1) and Dommett (1-2) had three each. Calkins now has 34 points in his last 13 games and is only three points out of the SJHL scoring lead with 75 points. If he keeps this pace up, he could conceivably hit 100.

Sanfred King and Sean Flanagan had the other goals for the Klippers (26-17-2). Brady Zerr and Jeremy Peeke (on an absolute rocket) scored for the Hawks (16-24-3-1).

Justin McDonald got the start and made 25 saves. The shots were 39-27 for Kindersley.

This was a game in hand for the Klippers on Yorkton. They now sit four points behind the first-place Terriers with one game in hand.

Here are some interviews... (more coming)

Rockie Zinger

Andrew Dommett

Wheaton King

President's Tour stops in Kindersley

2011-01-19T13:29:00.000-06:00

The annual President's Tour is in Kindersley today, beginning with a press conference earlier this morning to announce the Klippers' award nominees. They are Johnny Calkins (MVP), Kurt Leedahl (top defenceman) and Tanner Kissick (top rookie).

Given to each award nominee

Laury Ryan speaking at Synergy Credit Union

Johnny Calkins - MVP

Kurt Leedahl - top defenceman

Tanner Kissick - top rookie

Thoughts from the three nominees (first Leedahl, then Kissick and Calkins):

Finally, my annual interview with Laury Ryan about the state of the league. We talked about attendance issues, getting exposure to the league's product, the trade deadline, the Junior A Supplement and other issues.

Adamyk gets POTW; Zinger on last week's trip

2011-01-18T23:15:00.000-06:00

First, sorry there hasn't been a new post here in a week. With the team on the road, there wasn't a lot for me to say. Also, I had written a long post with my thoughts on the deadline moves and ended up losing it all, so I got a little frustrated. Anyway, I'm back now.

Congrats to Braeden Adamyk on receiving the SJHL's player of the week award announced this morning. This really could have gone to either Adamyk or Johnny Calkins, who both had a huge week on the road (as did Andrew Dommett after he came back from the flu).

Adamyk potted three goals and 10 points to help the Klippers win three of four games in five nights. Following tonight's games, the Neepawa native sits 10th in SJHL scoring with 28 goals and 58 points.

Speaking of Johnny Calkins, he has got to be the hottest player in the SJHL right now (challenged perhaps by Estevan's Jonathan Ceci). Over his last 12 games, the Kyle product has 12 goals and 30 points. He's now fourth in league scoring, not far behind ex-teammate Travis Eggum.

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The SJHL President's Tour comes to Kindersley tomorrow (Wednesday). The tour stop begins with an 11 a.m. press conference at Synergy Credit Union with league president Laury Ryan along with the Credit Union Cup. The Klippers will announce their nominees for league MVP, top defenceman and top rookie at the presser.

Prior to the Nipawin game tomorrow night, a display will be set up in the WCEC lobby featuring the championship trophy and league awards. The first 200 fans to visit the display receive a Credit Union Cup replica keychain, and there is also an Ultimate Fan contest that gives the grand prize winner an 11-day trip to Europe.

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I'm late getting this up, but I had a chat with Rockie Zinger yesterday about the road trip last week. Some of this was cut out due to a technical issue (mostly talking about how well Wheaton King fit into the lineup and Zane Morin's debut Saturday in Humboldt).

On the injury front, Sanfred King is expected to return to the lineup tonight, while Spencer Braaten is a little behind schedule. The original target for his return was this weekend against Estevan, but he skated recently and now isn't expected back until early February. Rockie said the Klippers won't rush him back.

Klippers busy right up to deadline

2011-01-11T08:31:00.002-06:00

More on this soon but here is the final wrap on the Klippers' activity last night ahead of the SJHL trade deadline.

Traded Lance Tabin and Braeden Johnson to Battlefords for '94 forward Justin Lund (Stars AAA) and '93 forward Michael Sagen (Regina Pats).
Flipped Michael Sagen to Melville for a player to be named later.
Acquired '92 defenceman Zane Morin from La Ronge for futures.

Also, Brandon forward (and the brother of Sanfred King) Wheaton King was re-assigned to the Klippers yesterday and will be joining the team.

A busy day!

Rockie Zinger's comments:

On Zane Morin

He's a guy that La Ronge didn't want to part with. He brings some size. The reports we got on him is he makes a good first pass, doesn't panic under pressure and he's got good character. It's a move that allows us to have a kid that could play three more years. We needed to get a little more depth on our back end.

On dealing Lance Tabin

Lance Tabin's going to be a hard guy to replace. Unfortunately, due to the 20-year-old limit, we were over the limit and we were kicking tires. Zane's not going to come in and replace Lance and that's not what he was brought in for. He gives us a little more flexibility as an organization going forward.

On Justin Lund

Justin Lund is playing for Battleford's AAA team. He's fifth in scoring on that team. Big body, very high academic marks, fits into the mold and the educational area that we're going to start to focus on in the organization. He aspires to get a scholarship and every report we had is right now, it could be a bit of a tough season in Battleford with coaching changes. From talking to Ken Pearson, they had a conversation with the kid and he's focused on coming in and playing Junior A next year. We expect he'll work hard next year.

On getting Wheaton King from Brandon

Wheaton's a big body that can play either the wing or centre. He's 6'3", skates well, big body, good hands and isn't afraid to mix it up. The versatility with him being able to play the wing and also down the middle gives you options. He's got some offensive upside, he had 11 points in the WHL. Some people might say, well, only 11 points, but he wasn't being used in a scoring role in the Western League and there is some offensive upside. We see him fitting in nicely with our group of forwards.

On Ryan Benn's decision to leave

It was very tough. Ryan came in at 3 pm and made it clear that he hadn't lost the passion for hockey. He really has a passion for hockey and he could see the writing that there wasn't going to be a lot of minutes for him. As much as he loved the guys and the community and the organization, he loved playing more. If he couldn't do it here he wanted to move on and do it somewhere else. It was a tough moment for Ryan and for the Klipper organization. You never want to see a player at that age have to make a decision like that. He's a really good kid and he wants to play the game of hockey.

(Ryan will return home to Spruce Grove to play for the Junior B Regals the rest of the season)

Satisfied with the deadline acquisitions?

We have to be satisfied with them because there's no looking back. We preach to our boys that you always want to strive to pursue excellence and be the best you can be. The decisions that were made as an organization, we hope it gives the guys still in that locker room the best possible opportunity to have a long playoff drive and experience some success. It's time to get at it.

Klippers get Johnson?

2011-01-10T19:00:00.000-06:00

Here's what I know. Left winger Braeden Johnson was released by the Saskatoon Blades today and has been in touch with the Klippers. It does look likely that he will be coming to Kindersley, but nothing is done yet.

If he does join the Klippers, that would give them 16 forwards (and 25 players) and pretty much force them to move at least one out.

That combined with the fact that they still have 10 1990s means we'll probably see some movement tonight. Nothing new to report on the trade front as of 6:30 p.m. though. Stay tuned.

Braaten talks about joining the Klippers

2011-01-10T12:39:00.000-06:00

Had a chance to speak with the newest Klipper, Spencer Braaten, after practice today. He will keep his #19 with the Klippers. On the trade front, there is no Klipper news as of 12:15 p.m.

Reaction to Braaten deal and Mils loss

2011-01-09T23:42:00.001-06:00

Sorry for the delay in getting this stuff up, but today was a day for taking it easy and watching football. (Pretty choked about my Eagles.)

Here is Rockie Zinger speaking yesterday about the deal with Humboldt for Spencer Braaten. He says Braaten's championship experience, especially in the RBC, was a big factor that differentiated him from some of the other forwards available. He said the futures given up did not include anyone on the current roster, and that the target for Braaten's return from an ankle injury is Jan. 21 or 22 at home against Estevan.

Andrew Dommett speaks about the 5-4 loss to Melville last night as well as the Braaten trade, saying Braaten will have to work hard to earn his spot in Kindersley. He felt his club took Melville for granted last night in anticipation of the showdown in Yorkton on Tuesday.

Rockie Zinger discusses the 5-4 loss to Melville which saw the Klippers fall behind 4-0 (3-0 after the first period) and make a spirited third period comeback that fell a goal short. Lance Tabin, Jesse Mysiorek, Sanfred King and Andrew Dommett, with 22 seconds left, scored for Kindersley. Alex Sirard made 47 saves for the Mils.

Tomorrow is the SJHL trade deadline. I'm aware of at least two deals in the works that haven't been completed, as well as the Nipawin Hawks dealing Matthew Spafford to the Dauphin Kings (MJHL). Also, Darryl Skender reports that Melfort has acquired Cody Hanson from Melville, to go with the addition of Brayden Metz earlier in the week. The Mustangs are seriously loading up. Makes you wonder if La Ronge will make any deals tomorrow.

Hanson going to the north will come as good news for the Klippers and most of the Sherwood as I know there was a south team in the thick of that bidding war.

I haven't heard anything about Humboldt goalie Andrew Bodnarchuk or Melville defenceman Craig Karius, but I'd be surprised if they don't move when the dust clears. If Bodnarchuk is traded I'd imagine it will be outside the SJHL.

Time for my beauty sleep. Tomorrow will be a busy day.

Klippers acquire Spencer Braaten

2011-01-08T17:16:00.002-06:00

It is official now. The Kindersley Klippers have brought in forward Spencer Braaten from the Humboldt Broncos for future considerations.

I spoke to Rockie Zinger a few minutes ago and he confirmed the trade, as reported by the SJHL website. I will have a chat with Rockie before the Melville game for his comments on the deal. He was still working the phones when I spoke to him.

Braaten, 20, is a 5'7", 164-pound forward with 29 points in as many games so far this season.

Many Klipper fans will remember the dust-up between Braaten and Taylor Duzan last season. Braaten delivered an elbow to Duzan's head during a game at the WCEC and when the Broncos returned, Duzan got the better of him in a fight off the opening puck drop.

Is this a deal the Klippers would have made if not for the Buzzeo-Boyer trade? Maybe. Maybe not. I still expect them to deal for a defenceman if the right opportunity presents itself.

More to come.

Big news out of Yorkton

2011-01-07T11:24:00.002-06:00

I'm going to let Craig Stein break this story since he's been waiting for the green light since yesterday, but I can confirm the Yorkton Terriers have swung a blockbuster trade within the SJHL.

Yorkton adds some elite talent with this deal. Hopefully the news will come out soon. I know Rockie Zinger said earlier this week there would be no reactionary moves, but I find it hard to believe the Klippers don't try to do something in response to this, and I'm thinking specifically of a stalwart defenceman.

Meanwhile, keep an eye on Braeden Johnson and whether the Blades include him in any kind of trade (maybe for B. Schenn as rumoured). Johnson has apparently said he will come to the Klippers if he gets moved elsewhere in the WHL. Imagine adding his talent to this current group?

Update

The news is official now. Yorkton lands top forwards Justin Buzzeo and Jeremy Boyer from the Humboldt Broncos for future considerations. From what I have heard, the futures are massive (no surprise there) and will give Humboldt lots of offensive punch next season in their bid for the RBC.

Your move, Klippers?

Chalk up number eight

2011-01-06T23:52:00.003-06:00

Notre Dame managed a goal tonight, but it was more or less the same story as Tuesday with the Klippers winning 3-1 to extend their winning streak to eight games.

Braeden Adamyk scored twice in the first period, both on feeds from Johnny Calkins, and that was all the Klippers would need. Andrew Dommett added a second-period marker on a picture perfect power play pass from Kurt Leedahl.

(Try saying that out loud 10 times)

Justin McDonald earned his first start since Dec. 15 and stopped 24 of 25 shots, including a few big ones, for his third win of the year.

Adamyk opened the scoring at 4:24 when he took a pass from Calkins in the high slot and ripped it past Russell Abbott (if you learn by hearing instead of seeing, you can just scroll down for Adamyk's description of his goals).

He put the Klippers ahead by two at 14:02 when Calkins sprang him on a partial breakaway and he fired a low shot that eventually got past Abbott. Adamyk had several chances for the natural hat trick later in the period but couldn't pull it off.

Jordon Hoffman, who had a great game, had a big opportunity late in the frame when his saucer pass went over Taylor Duzan's stick into the corner, but Duzan retrieved it along the boards and whipped a quick pass from inside the blueline to Hoffman in the slot. The move took both Hoffman and Abbott by surprise, and Hoffman had half the net available on his backhand but just missed it with his back to the net.

Dommett scored on a 5-on-3 at 10:17 of the second on a beautiful feed from Kurt Leedahl at the point. Leedahl sat on the puck for a few seconds, lulling the Hound defencemen into a false sense of security, then suddenly skated forward and laid a perfect pass onto Dommett's tape on the doorstep.

Todd Christian broke McDonald's shutout bid with 2:44 left in the second. On a 2-on-1, Christian waited until the last possible second to try the pass, which deflected past McDonald.

I thought Kurt Leedahl had a heck of a game tonight. He was excellent on the power play, made some good plays to keep pucks in and get them out, and that feed to set up Dommett's goal was as good as they come. I had planned on talking to Kurt after the game, but the call of nature had me occupied for a few minutes and then he had left.

I'm barely keeping my eyes open here, so I'm afraid this recap is going to be cut short.

Interviews:

Braeden Adamyk

Justin McDonald

Justin had a few family members make the drive for tonight's game, including his dad and grandfather, and he did not disappoint.

Rockie Zinger

Seven and counting

2011-01-04T23:20:00.001-06:00

Anyone worried about the effect the Christmas break would have on the Klippers only needed to watch the 20 minutes of sheer domination they laid on Notre Dame in the second period tonight en route to a 4-0 win.

Sean Cahill made 29 saves for his first SJHL shutout, including some huge stops on a bunch of penalty kills in the third, and the goals came from D. Jay McGrath (2), Johnny Calkins and Braeden Adamyk, all in the second period.

The coaching staff was adamant that the long layoff would not be an excuse tonight and although there were definite signs of rust from both teams in a scoreless first period, the Klippers would not be denied in the second. Their play in the first and second were so different, it was almost like someone flipped a switch.

McGrath opened the scoring 2:26 into the second when he lofted a routine wrist shot at Russell Abbott, with no traffic, and it somehow evaded the netminder.

Calkins scored a beauty on the power play at 7:05 to make it 2-0. Kurt Leedahl went D to D for Sanfred King at the left point, King threaded a cross-ice feed to Calkins on the half wall, and Calkins kicked it to his stick while moving inside before letting a wrister go low glove.

McGrath added his second, and ninth on the year, at 9:53 when Abbott gave up a big rebound on Andrew Dommett's shot from the slot, and McGrath dumped it into the yawning cage from the left side.

Finally, Braeden Adamyk made it 4-0 at 17:08 on an impressive bar down snipe from almost the goal line to the left of Abbott. I think everyone was expecting him to feed Dommett or Calkins and he just went for it. Like David Haaf said in the press box, you could try that 100 times and not pull it off.

The Klippers led the shots 34-16 after two, but that changed in a hurry as the Hounds got three straight power plays (although it seemed like more). Cahill was equal to the task. He made some tremendous saves to prevent the Hounds from getting back in the game and keep his shutout bid alive.

The three stars were very tough to pick tonight. There were a lot of guys who had big games and probably deserved one, ranging from Calkins to Leedahl to Dommett to Mysiorek to Sonntag to Hoffman. In the end it was Cahill because he was full value for the shutout, King because he controlled the second period with his playmaking and vision on the PP, and McGrath for going to the net and being rewarded with two goals.

Jesse Mysiorek picked up the bump on a night when it could have gone to several guys too. Taylor Wasden recorded something like 12 hits tonight according to the scratches.

There is a ton of trade talk swirling around right now and I've had some pretty interesting conversations both tonight and over the past couple of days over who might be on the move. I didn't spot any SJHL team reps in the arena to watch Notre Dame players tonight, but that doesn't necessarily mean they weren't there. Will we see the same Hounds line-up on Thursday?

Let's hear some chatter... who do readers think will be dealt around the league before January 10, and where to?

Klippers will listen to offers at deadline but not seeking a deal

2011-01-04T12:36:00.000-06:00

I guess it's time for all of us to get back to reality after the Christmas break. I hope all of the blog's readers had a great Christmas and New Year, and hopefully the first couple days back at work aren't treating you too badly.

I flew back from PEI on Sunday and arrived back in Kindersley around 2:30 in the morning. Then I got up to go to work at 8:30 on Monday to find that the office was closed and no one had told me. A great start to 2011.

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Just as we swing back into action, so do the Klippers tonight when they host the Notre Dame Hounds. The team has been on the ice every day since Saturday and Rockie Zinger said he thinks they've gotten back into their good habits. He also said that the Hounds' strong work ethic means the Klippers can't just ease back into it tonight.

The Hounds are also here Thursday and the Melville Millionaires come to town Saturday.

I asked Rockie about the team's plans leading up to Monday's trade deadline. He more or less said that they aren't actively seeking certain players but will consider anything that makes the team better. He added he doesn't expect anything "earth-shattering" to happen.

He also made it clear that there will be no "reactionary deals" - in other words, trying to keep up with the Joneses if a team like Yorkton or Weyburn swings a trade on deadline day.

“We ask these boys to push themselves to become better every day and we’d be doing a disservice if we didn’t try to make our team better and listen to everything. Are we actively shopping guys? No, but if there’s something that makes sense, that makes the Klippers stronger, we have to look at it.

“We’re fairly happy with what we have. We feel we’ve got depth that can compete with any team throughout the league. We’ve got experience from guys who have played in the playoffs, and we’ve got some youth from guys like Elliot, Kissick and Gerwing who are chomping at the bit. The way we were (winning) before Christmas, I think we were just touching the surface of how excited and how good we can be.”

By the way, if you didn't hear over the break, Sean Cahill was named the SJHL's goalie of the month for December. Congrats to Sean on getting the big honour after his first month in the league. He made the big stops and the small ones and was a huge part of the six-game streak.

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"Fire me by Christmas if we aren't in the top three."

Karry Biette is surely regretting those words now after being fired by the Estevan Bruins on Monday.

Fed up with his team's lack of results in recent years, Biette made the comment during an interview with SJHL.ca before the regular season started in September. Estevan was fourth in the south at Christmas - but only a few points out of second - and losing two of three games this past weekend was enough for the B's executive to act.

Bruins assistant Chad Leslie takes over as interim head coach for the rest of the year.

SJHL teams have now fired as many coaches (Wintoneak, Biette) as NHL teams (Gordon, MacLean) this season.

I'd like to get some readers' thoughts on this. Are SJHL teams a little more willing to dump their coaches mid-season after seeing what happened last year with Trent Cassan and the Yorkton Terriers?

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How about Team Canada?

You'd never know the Americans were the heavy favourites at the WJC from watching that game last night. I was only able to see the first period, but that was 20 minutes of pure domination from Canada and it sounds like the rest of the game was no different.

It's yet another reminder that the rosters on paper mean nothing when the puck drops.

Water isn't the only thing flooding over the border at Niagara Falls right now and Canada took full advantage of having the vast majority of the crowd on their side. Can you imagine being an American player in Buffalo and seeing most of the people rooting for the other team?

The Americans had an incredibly fast team, but Canada used its size and physical play to effectively neuter the U.S. breakout. They owned the walls, especially in the offensive zone, and were able to keep sustained pressure on Jack Campbell by winning battles along the boards. And Mark Visentin answered his critics by turning in a very strong performance.

I agree with Bob McKenzie when he says this was one of the most impressive games ever played by Canada at the WJC. They dominated an extremely good team last night.

At this point I want to remind everyone that PEI is proud to call Dave Cameron a native son.

I'll try to post a Canada-Russia preview tomorrow if I have time. Should be a beauty with the way the Russians have played over the last two games.

Calkins, Cahill get SJHL weekly honours

2010-12-21T09:04:00.000-06:00

The Klippers were all over the SJHL This Week released this morning, and then some.

Johnny Calkins and Sean Cahill were named player and goaltender of the week, respectively. Congrats to both. They have each been a crucial part of the team's recent success. Yorkton's Blaine Tendler was the d-man of the week.

The Klippers are also third in the league power rankings, a place they have not been for a while.

You can read the whole thing on the league site, but here are the parts focusing on the Klippers:

The SJHL has reached the Christmas break with the La Ronge Ice Wolves and Yorkton Terriers leading their respective conferences. However, as the league breaks until December 30, the story is the Kindersley Klippers. The team relieved Larry Wintoneak of his coaching duties December 13, and since Rockie Zinger took over, the team has done nothing but rack up win after win. Kindersley goes into the break on a six game winning streak with four of those wins coming since Zinger took over head coaching duties. The streak has the Klippers in 2nd in the Sherwood Conference—three up on Weyburn and four ahead of the 4th place Estevan Bruins.

SHERWOOD PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Johnny Calkins (Kindersley)

The Klippers have turned their game around over the past couple of weeks. One of the reasons whdy is the play of Johnny Calkins. The 1990 born forward from Kyle, SK has scored six goals in his last five games—all Klipper victories. He goes into the Christmas break leading the Klippers in scoring with 55 points which is tied for 5th in the league.

SHERWOOD GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK – Sean Cahill (Kindersley)

The Klippers have gone through many goaltenders this year as they try and replace Josh Thorimbert. They may have finally found one in Cahill. The 20 year old from Calgary was in goal for three of Kindersley’s four victories this past week and is 6-1 since arriving from the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

POWER RANKINGS

1. Yorkton Terriers – The Terriers continue to show that they have what it takes to get back to the SJHL final and perhaps the RBC Cup. It will be interesting to see if Yorkton has anything up their sleeve when the January 10 deadline hits as they are already a very good hockey team.

2. La Ronge Ice Wolves – The line of Carre, Lindensmith and Eggum continues on as one of the best lines in all of Canadian Junior “A” hockey. Carre goes into the break riding an 18 game point scoring streak.

3. Kindersley Klippers – When Larry Wintoneak was let go, the players said there are no more excuses now. They don’t have to apologize to anyone for the way they are playing at this moment as they are playing their best hockey of the year

Klippers get honourable mention in national top 20

2010-12-20T11:54:00.000-06:00

Not that I put much stock in these rankings, but the Klippers' red hot play of late is getting them attention outside the SJHL as they have received an honourable mention in the latest CJHL Top 20.

1. (1) Powell River Kings (BCHL)
2. (2) Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL)
3. (4) Newmarket Hurricanes (OJHL)
4. (5) Wellington Dukes (OJHL)
5. (3) Pembroke Lumber Kings (CJHL)
6. (6) Cornwall Colts (CJHL)
7. (7) Woodstock Slammers (MHL)
8. (11) Okotoks Oilers (AJHL)
9. (8) Burlington Cougars (OJHL)
10. (14) Fort McMurray Oil Barons (AJHL)
11. (12) Yorkton Terriers (SJHL)
12. (9) Bonnyville Pontiacs (AJHL)
13. (13) Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL)
14. (17) Portage Terriers (MJHL)
15. (NR) Penticton Vees (BCHL)
16. (15) Vernon Vipers (BCHL)
17. (18) Selkirk Steelers (MJHL)
18. (HM) La Ronge Ice Wolves (SJHL)
19. (19) Wisconsin Wilderness (SIJHL)
20. (HM) Le College Francais de Longueuil (LHJAAAQ)

Honorable mention goes to the Kindersley Klippers (SJHL), Dryden Ice Dogs (SIJHL), Soo Eagles (NOJHL), Kingston Voyageurs (OJHL), and the Weeks Crushers (MHL).

Klippers win final game before Christmas

2010-12-20T01:13:00.001-06:00

The Klippers are heading home tomorrow on a high after winning their sixth straight game tonight, a 5-4 victory over the Flin Flon Bombers.

Jordon Hoffman, Jesse Mysiorek, Riley Down (his first of the year), Johnny Calkins and Sanfred King scored for the Klippers. Andrew Johnston and Ryan Fox replied with two each for Flin Flon.

The Klippers (20-15-2) are now tied for third place in the SJHL, behind only Yorkton and La Ronge.

A scout from St. Scholastica, a Div. III school in Duluth, Minn., was at the game tonight to see John Sonntag and Johnny Calkins.

I'll have more in the morning, but for now, here are the post-game reactions.

Rockie Zinger

Taylor Wasden

John Sonntag

Klippers drop a bomb on Flin Flon for fifth straight win

2010-12-19T00:30:00.003-06:00

The Klippers were in a pretty festive mood after tonight's game and it wasn't just because of Christmas.

Five different players scored in a 5-1 victory over the Flin Flon Bombers in the first of a two-game set this weekend. Kindersley has now won five in a row.

The goals came from Cody Lund, Jesse Mysiorek, Johnny Calkins, Andrew Dommett and Sanfred King. The Klippers dominated the Bombers on the forecheck in the first period, led 2-0 after two and really blossomed in the third.

Don't look now, but the Klippers (19-15-2) are now in sole possession of second place for the first time in quite a while. Weyburn is one back and Estevan is two back, both with a game in hand. Yorkton had their nine-game winning streak snapped tonight and they are 12 points ahead of the Klippers, with an extra game played.

Bump of the game: Jesse Mysiorek
Three Stars: 1. Braeden Adamyk, 2. Johnny Calkins, 3. Jesse Mysiorek
Honourable mentions to Sean Flanagan and Sanfred King. Both guys were very impressive tonight. It was one of those nights when it's really hard to pick these because so many guys played really well.

Both teams will do it all over again tomorrow at 6.

Interviews:

Tanner Kissick's line with Down and Wasden was terrific tonight. He was under heavy scrutiny during this interview...

Rockie Zinger talks about how important the strong forecheck and traffic in front were tonight, the contributions from all lines and tomorrow's game.

Friday grab bag

2010-12-17T17:29:00.001-06:00

A few items to mention heading into the weekend...

Earlier this week it looked like Kindersley's Shayne Neigum - traded from Kamloops to Regina on Tuesday - could be joining the Klippers.

Neigum wanted to play the rest of the year in Kindersley instead of reporting to the Pats, but they more or less forced him to report by refusing to release his rights. He had to report or start his post-secondary education.

Shayne would have been a great addition to the Klippers, especially considering he's already friends with most of the guys on the team.

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Don't forget the Truck Lotto draw will be made during Saturday's game. It's not too late to buy your ticket.

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Team Canada's roster for the Spengler Cup has been announced and three players from the region are on the team.

Kindersley's Joel Kwiatkowski, who played parts of seven seasons with Ottawa, Washington, Florida, Pittsburgh and Atlanta, is on the team for the second time. The 33-year-old defenceman is in his third season playing in Europe and is currently with Bern in Switzerland. Joel was kind enough to do an interview with me two years ago when he played for Cherepovets Severstal (KHL) and it was an eye-opener to say the least.

Kerrobert's Curtis Murphy, also a defenceman, is headed to the Spengler for at least the second time (that I know of, anyway). Murphy, 35, only played one NHL game (with Minnesota in 2002-03), but he dominated in the AHL with back-to-back defenceman of the year honours and three all-star nods. Murphy is currently in his fourth season with Langnau in Switzerland.

Finally, most NHL fans will remember Unity's Curtis Brown from his days in Buffalo and San Jose. He was a key cog for the Sabres for years and piled up 736 NHL games before heading to Europe in 2008. The 34-year-old forward is in his second year with Swiss team Biel.

Congrats to all three players. They should have just called it Team West Central Saskatchewan.

I don't always get a chance to watch much of the Spengler Cup, but I love going through the rosters each year and remembering players from 10 years ago. It's like a trip down memory lane for the hardcore hockey fan. Really, how else would you remember names like Micki Dupont, Domenic Pittis and J.P. Vigier?

The other teams this year are HC Davos (the host, as always), Dynamo Moscow, ERC Ingolstadt and Energie Karlovy Vary. I have a friend from Karlovy Vary and he wouldn't shut up when the Czechs won the worlds this year, so I hope someone snuffs them out.

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Here's a story that disgusted me this week. The Ontario Minor Hockey Association suspended a coach for the rest of the season because he pulled his team off the ice after an opponent called a black player on his team a n----r.

So, the moral of the story:

Racial slur = three games

Standing up against the racial slur = five months

The most ridiculous part? The OMHA said it considers the slur and the forfeit as "completely separate infractions."

Cause and effect, people. Or better yet, how about some common sense?

Have a great weekend and see you at the WCEC.

Interviews from the road wins

2010-12-17T00:53:00.003-06:00

A little late on getting these up, but as promised, here are the player interviews from the wins in North Battleford and Gull Lake this week.

Justin McDonald was stellar against Notre Dame in his first start since Oct. 22. We did the whole Ottawa Senators bike interview routine, just without a cameraman...

Johnny Calkins was dominant in the win over the Stars Tuesday. He talks about the play of his line that night and the first game under Rockie Zinger.

Andrew Dommett talks about his performance in North Battleford and has some harsh words for the Stars and their coach's antics late in the game. He also proves, once again, that he absolutely cannot multi-task during an interview.

Ryan Benn on his goal Tuesday, the sideshow late in the game and his feeling that this winning streak will "take" compared with past momentum swings for the Klippers.

Klippers win fourth straight in Gull Lake

2010-12-16T01:56:00.000-06:00

For the first time this season, the Klippers have won four straight games, including back-to-back road victories.

Sean Flanagan scored the winner on a perfectly placed shot from the top of the left circle with under five minutes to go as the Klippers edged Notre Dame 3-1 in a neutral site game at Gull Lake.

It was a tight game all the way through, with Justin McDonald, making his first start since Oct. 22, going toe to toe with Hounds netminder Russell Abbott.

Notre Dame's Trevor Cameron opened the scoring at 16:29 of the first. After some heavy pressure by the Klippers in the Hounds' zone, Cameron and David Lerner broke out the other way.

It stayed that way until nearly 12 minutes into the second when Johnny Calkins again scored a power play goal on a quick, accurate shot from the half-boards.

Both teams failed to convert on golden opportunities to take the lead, with the Klippers whiffing on a two-minute 5-on-3 in the second, and Notre Dame not converting on back-to-back power plays early in the third.

Finally, Flanagan finished off a play that began with hard work from Andrew Dommett. He busted his chops to get through a pair of Hounds inside the blueline, then dished it over to the slot for a wide open Calkins... who fanned on it. The puck went into the corner and Braeden Adamyk made a great pass out to Flanagan, who had at least five steamboats to get the shot off.

Adsy didn't hesitate to remind us after the game that he got robbed of the apple on the scoresheet... but he did add the empty-netter with four seconds left.

Time to get to bed, but I will give major kudos to Justin McDonald. He has not started in nearly two months, never complained, kept working hard and preparing for that eventual next shot. It paid off tonight. He may have only made 19 stops, but several were big ones that held his team in the game at critical times. Mac got the green helmet tonight and he deserved it.

Tomorrow, I'll put up an interview with Justin about tonight's game as well as several from the Battlefords game Tuesday.

One last thing, our broadcast setup was....err, interesting to say the least. I am thankful we didn't get dinged by a puck or two. And Keith, if yer reading this (and I know you are) thanks for the gloves, they saved my hands from frostbite.

Off to Gull Lake!

2010-12-15T13:52:00.002-06:00

Not enough time here for a full preview of tonight's game, but I'm excited for it. This will be my first trip to Gull Lake. I'm wondering what the rink will be like.

The Klippers defeated Notre Dame 5-2 last week with pink jerseys. Let's see if they can do it again without the pink.

It may have gotten lost in everything that has transpired the last few days, but the Klippers are on a three-game winning streak. From talking to a few players last night, it seems the guys are confident about their direction and they're putting the coaching change behind them. As Rockie mentioned after we got back to Kindersley, the guys would love nothing more than to reel off a few wins going into the Christmas break.

Tonight's game will feature perhaps the two most underrated defencemen in the SJHL, in my opinion. James Howden and Johnathan Sonntag do not get nearly the attention they deserve. Both guys are big, strong vets who can wipe you out with a big hit, play well positionally and be an impact player in the offensive zone. Sonntag had a big game in North Battleford (aside from a goal that was scored when he was in the box) and I look for more of the same from him tonight.

Justin McDonald has not started a game since Oct. 22. Do not be surprised if he gets the call tonight. I have no info at this time as to who will start, but he really needs to get a game in before Christmas and with a big two-game set against Flin Flon this weekend, this could be the night.

It looks like Gull Lake is on Sasktel's 3G network, so I should be able to send out updates via twitter tonight.

Dommett, Calkins lead Klippers over Stars

2010-12-15T03:19:00.002-06:00

Well, this one sure was entertaining but maybe not for the reasons you'd expect.

First, to address the officiating tonight. It was all over the arena and it's all over the web, how lopsided the penalties were tonight. Al Smith handed out 10 power plays to the Klippers and two to the North Stars.

Were there a couple calls missed on Kindersley? Yes. Not many. When the penalties are that one-sided, normally you see a make-up call or two, and that didn't happen tonight. As for the Stars' penalties, each one that I saw was legit.

And here's the thing. The Battlefords North Stars were very much in this game late in the third period. They lost their composure as a result of the penalties and their coach's behaviour. The penalties they took in the last few minutes were no one's fault but their own.

What set off the powderkeg with four minutes left was Blake Tatchell failing to score on a breakaway with Jesse Mysiorek coming at him from behind. Let's make one thing clear, Tatchell was NOT hauled down as some are claiming. Did Mysiorek interfere with him? You could make an argument. He was poking around his legs trying to knock the puck off his stick from behind. Did it slow him up? Maybe, but he still got a good scoring chance. Maybe it should have been a penalty, but it was not a blatant case of interference.

After the breakaway, the puck came down the other end of the ice.

And then Ken Pearson lost his mind.

I saw the first water bottle and thought it had come from the stands. Then another one, and I look down and Pearson is livid. Next came an entire rack of sticks. Then a medicine cabinet, which shattered and left pills all over the ice. Then fans began to throw various objects on the ice.

On the one hand, it's hard to blame Pearson because of the penalty situation and the pressure his team is under to win. On the other hand, you can't expect your team to keep their cool if you don't do the same, especially late in a game that they absolutely still had a chance to win.

In any event, it was Rockie Zinger's first win as the Klippers' interim head coach. He started the game with the same lines that Larry had been going with lately, but switched back to the regular lines early in the game and each of them clicked again, most notably the Calkins unit.

Andrew Dommett scored a hat trick, his first of the year, and Johnny Calkins was unbelievable with a goal and three assists, controlling the tempo of the game, leading the rush and doing a bang-up job in his own end as well. As impressive as Dommer was, you easily could have handed the first star to Johnny as well. These boys were motivated tonight, no question.

Ryan Benn scored the other goal, a one-timer off a pass from D. Jay McGrath early in the third.

It started badly for the Klippers when Tim Rollins squeezed the puck between Sean Cahill's pads at the side of the net just 14 seconds in. But Dommett responded at 11:51 when he took a pass in the high slot and buried it low glove side.

Kyle Hall scored twice in the first 16 minutes of the second to put the Stars up 3-1, but Dommett fired back again on a play that started with hard work and ended with a fluke. The captain somehow held in a booming clearing attempt, beat his man along the boards and sent a quick pass across the front, looking for Braeden Adamyk. It went off a Battlefords skate and past Graham Hildebrand.

Hildebrand was nailed for unsportsmanlike at the end of the second period and Calkins scored on the PP, 34 seconds into the third. It was the same play he scored on against Notre Dame Thursday as he set up along the right half-boards, took a pass from the point and wired it short side. Less than two minutes later, Benn tied the game on a great shot.

Dommett rounded out the hatty and made it 5-3 at the 8:54 mark on yet another power play. Then all the madness started. With the way the Stars were running around late in the game, I figured they were done, but Tatchell did score a shorty with under two minutes left to make sure it went down to the buzzer.

The shots were 39-35 for the Klippers.

I watched the game with some of John Sonntag's family, and he had a heck of a game.

Here is what Rockie Zinger had to say about his first SJHL victory as a head coach. I talked to a few of the boys after the game... but it's late, and I'm really tired. I'll try to get the other interviews (Dommett, Calkins, Benn) up tomorrow, but I'm heading to Gull Lake too so there may not be time.

A little more clarity

2010-12-14T09:52:00.003-06:00

I still have not heard back from Larry, and this story definitely isn't over yet, but after speaking with Terry Shea and a few other people this morning, it has become clear to me that this decision was based entirely on players being unhappy.

"It had nothing to do with the record. I want to make that clear," Terry told me this morning.

All kinds of rumours are flying around, but I've heard one from a pretty solid source about action taken by a few discontented players. I will expand on that if and when I can get it confirmed.

This is the story running in The Clarion tomorrow.

Wintoneak gets the axe
Assistant Zinger named interim coach

The Kindersley Klippers’ board of directors dropped a bombshell on local fans and the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League on Sunday night.

Fifth-year head coach and director of hockey operations Larry Wintoneak was asked to resign and assistant Rockie Zinger was handed the interim tag for both roles.

The Klippers have not met expectations during the first half of the regular season, but team governor Terry Shea hinted that the board’s decision was related to discontent in the locker room.

“It had nothing to do with the record. I want to make that clear,” Shea said Tuesday.

Several players gave indications on Monday that all was not well in the Klipper room and that many were not having fun under Wintoneak and his old-school, sometimes abrasive style of coaching.

Asked if some players had tuned out their coach, forward D. Jay McGrath said some of his teammates weren’t enjoying the game anymore.

“I can see that. People quitting and people not having fun on the road trips. In general, people not having fun and not showing up to the rink with a smile on their face, people afraid to make a mistake.

“I respected him, I didn’t have anything against him, but some guys didn’t fit with him and didn’t like playing for him,” said McGrath, who added that some players would not accept Wintoneak’s “rules.”

Winger Braeden Adamyk said that while he had no issues with his coach, the situation had gone downhill.

“Maybe the respect level wasn’t there anymore,” he commented. “I think everybody was somewhat in shock because I don’t think anybody thought it would happen. A few guys had a little bit of relief on their faces (at practice Monday). Spirits are definitely up today.”

Forward Justin Gerwing was one of several who said they had heard rumblings of a change behind the bench, but he expected that assessment to wait until after Christmas, at least.

“I didn’t see it coming this quick. I heard talk about it, but I thought it wasn’t going to happen.”

Several players had left the team during this season, the latest being winger Tanner Exner in early December, and that was believed to be one of the board’s concerns.

Klippers president Rod Perkins declined to comment on the matter.

Wintoneak had signed a two-year contract extension over the off-season, and the team, already coming off a poor fiscal year, is now on the hook for the remaining year and a half on that deal.

“The financial thing was one of the issues ... but it was time for him to move on and seek other things,” said Shea. “As a board, we felt it was best for the club.”

Zinger, who now takes over the reins at age 29, said he always aspired to become a Junior A head coach, but never like this.

“I was blindsided,” said the Dodsland native. “You sign a coach to a two-year contract and I never would have thought in a million years that this would be.

“It’s been a roller coaster 24 hours for myself, and I imagine for the boys, and I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s been like for Larry.”

Wintoneak could not be reached for comment on Monday or on Tuesday morning.

The coach was cut loose shortly after the team’s Christmas party on Sunday and Zinger was taking in the Red Lions game later that night when he was offered the interim job for the rest of the season.

Zinger said he doesn’t believe Wintoneak lost control of his team.

“I don’t think that he lost the room. That’s his team in there. Those are guys that he recruited, he brought in.

“I think where it comes from is the expectations were so high right off the start of the year and whoever placed those expectations and developed those, it’s a little bit unfair. We’re one game above .500. We’re not in a bad situation.”

Adamyk said with the Klippers expected to do so well this year, some players got complacent.

“At the beginning of the year, we thought it would come too easy for us. Me and a lot of guys in that room thought you didn’t have to work. That’s not the case in this league,” he commented.

“I feel bad because we should have been a better team for him. It just sucks how things worked out.”

The new bench boss said he will put a priority on making the game enjoyable for the players.

“If they’re not having fun coming to the rink, you’re not going to get much out of them. Every one of them has my respect until they do something to lose it,” said Zinger. “I’m going to work them hard and try to push buttons and make them better hockey players and hopefully get the most out of them.

“All I know is it’s my job now to maximize the potential of the talent we have in that dressing room.”

He added that the team’s system and style of play will not change, but “maybe it’s just a little different tone and different delivery of that message to get through and be a fresh start for those guys.”

Zinger said his immediate focus is on getting through the team’s four games this week and then taking the Christmas break to reflect, assess his team and decide whether anything needs to be done before the Jan. 10 trade deadline.

“There was no preparation for this. It kind of caught me off guard and now you’re doing what you can to get through,” he commented.

McGrath said he and his teammates will play hard for their new coach and they believe in what he’s selling.

“Rockie’s a good guy, a good coach, good with the community. I’m comfortable around him because I’ve known him since I was a little kid.

“We’re all going to listen to him and we’ll respect him, and if we do that, we could go a long way this year.”

Despite the parting of the ways, many expressed their respect and appreciation for what Wintoneak did in his time in Kindersley.

“I do know what Larry Wintoneak did for this community and for this team,” said Zinger. “People might forget that when he came in here, there was a big mess to clean up. He did a fantastic job with that. His legacy that will be left here is something he can be proud of.”

Gerwing, who cracked the team ahead of several other rookies this season, added: “I respect him completely. He taught me a lot. I thought he was a good coach, but what can I say, it’s not my decision.”

“I consider him a friend of mine,” said Adamyk. “You never want to see a friend get fired or lose a job they care about and love, but I guess it is a business.”

Zinger, Gerwing audio & my reaction

2010-12-13T23:17:00.004-06:00

As promised earlier, here are the interviews with Rockie Zinger and Justin Gerwing from this afternoon. The other interviews (with Adamyk and McGrath) were done over the phone, but you can read some of their comments in the posts below.

Would have had this up earlier tonight, but I had curling. The world doesn't stop when crazy stuff goes down. The good news, we won 9-2.

Also, here is the interview I did with Dan O'Connor on the Sports Fix tonight.

******************************************

It has been a long, somewhat emotional day and now I have a little time to relax and give my own thoughts on this whole thing.

When Rod Perkins called me this morning and said he had a "news scoop" I certainly did not expect it to be Larry Wintoneak getting the axe. You can say what you want about Larry's coaching style and the team's fortunes this year, but the news caught me completely off guard.

I felt Larry had mellowed a bit in recent times, but at his core, as a coach, he has not changed. There have always been players who could not handle the way he runs his team. There has always been the odd player leaving, and that happens with other Junior A teams too. Larry Wintoneak can be a polarizing figure to his players. Some guys love playing for him, and others can't stand it.

In the time I have been here, Rod Perkins and the rest of the board have expressed nothing but support and admiration for Larry and the way he runs his ship.

But in past years, Larry has gotten results with this team, despite the odd off-ice spat. This year, the team has not lived up to very high expectations so far, and perhaps that combined with the departure of a few players was enough for the board.

Did he lose the room? I've gotten a few no's from players, but also some interesting comments that seem to back up the suggestion that everything wasn't rosy in the room. Players have told me about the sense of relief, even some happiness at practice today. That maybe the respect factor was no longer there. That some players just weren't having fun and felt like Larry was on their case all the time.

It seems so odd to think that only a few months ago, Larry had just signed an extension and been named head coach for Canada West at the WJAC. There was so much optimism, and now he is out the door before Christmas.

On to my personal experience with Larry.

It took a while for us to warm up to each other. Larry can be intimidating for anyone meeting him for the first time, let alone a 22-year-old rookie reporter who had just moved across the country. Once we got to know each other a little better, I can honestly say that dealing with Larry Wintoneak was a pleasure. Sure, he is gruff at times and we had moments when we didn't see eye to eye, but he always made time for me and he was always frank during our interviews.

Dealing with the media didn't seem like it was just a chore for him. We always chatted before and after an interview talking about what was new, the weather, him asking how things were back home in PEI, about my parents. We had many a great conversation about the Island after he was there for the 2009 WJAC. He took an interest in how I was doing in Kindersley and I appreciated that. We would often talk about Walker and the rest of his children, and how they were doing.

Each time they came back from a road trip, I'd interview him over a coffee at Tim's, which of course made it better.

I had the odd parent ask me what it was like dealing with Larry, and tell me they didn't envy me for it. To be honest, it was never that tough. You treat him with respect and you get it back. Sure, sometimes I didn't look forward to interviewing him after a bad game, but he never refused to talk, even after being ousted from the playoffs, and I was grateful for that.

Larry taught me a lot over the past two-plus years and helped me to grow as a sports reporter. I wish him all the best wherever he winds up next, and I'm sure he will land on his feet somewhere.

McGrath chimes in on Wintoneak's dismissal

2010-12-13T16:19:00.000-06:00

Had a chance to talk with D. Jay McGrath not long ago about the Klippers relieving Larry Wintoneak of his duties.

I will expand on all of the reaction as well as audio later today when I have a chance, but for now I'll pass on snippets of what I've been told.

D. Jay said he respected Larry and had no problem with him, but that some players didn't get along with him and "didn't like playing for him."

When I asked him if some players had tuned out the coach, he replied:

"Yeah, I can see that, (with) people quitting and people not having fun on the road trips. In general, people not having fun and not showing up to the rink with a smile on their face, people afraid to make a mistake."

He added that some players wouldn't accept his "rules" and that he'd heard some talk, but did not expect Wintoneak to be cut loose.

McGrath also said that a coach can only do so much and the players have to pick it up.

"It's us. We have to start playing better. Some guys will probably get more comfortable in the room and not have to worry about someone being on their case all the time. It could be a good thing or a bad thing. We'll have to wait and see."

Meanwhile, I've gotten calls from several newsy-type folks around the province regarding today's developments. I think this decision by the Klipper board has caught a lot of people off guard.

Larry Wintoneak out as head coach

2010-12-13T11:35:00.005-06:00

Larry Wintoneak is no longer the head coach of the Kindersley Klippers.

Rockie Zinger has been named interim coach.

Update

Klippers president Rod Perkins had no comment on the reasoning for the move this morning, but from what I've pieced together, Larry was asked by the board to resign last night. Rockie said he thought it was strange that board members were not at the dinner yesterday at the curling club, but didn't think anything of it. Later, a few minutes into the Red Lions game last night (Rockie and a few Klippers were there), he was called into the office and offered the interim head coach/DHO role.

I will have interviews with Rockie, Braeden Adamyk and Justin Gerwing up later today. For now, here is some of what I've found out.

- players were informed when they showed up for practice today
- Zinger and Adamyk both say they don't think Larry lost the room
- Adamyk did make some interesting comments, such as "Maybe the respect level wasn't there, but he definitely didn't lose it" and "A few guys had a little bit of relief on their faces. Spirits are definitely up today."
-Gerwing said he "heard talk about it, but I thought it wasn't going to happen ... this quick"
-Zinger said it's a bittersweet time for him. He wanted to be a Jr A head coach at some point, but "I didn't want it to happen this way"
-Adamyk said he counts Wintoneak as a friend, thought he gave players opportunities they might not have gotten elsewhere, and said "I feel bad because we should have been a better team for him"

If I'm able to reach Larry today, I will let you guys know ASAP what he has to say.

I will be on the Sports Fix with Dan O'Connor tonight to discuss the coaching change and what it means for the Klippers. It starts at 8 and you can listen here.

At some point when this all dies down, I'll post my personal thoughts on Wintoneak being cut loose.

For now, I will say I'm shocked that the board chose to do this half a season after he signed a two-year extension, especially considering they were already in debt due to the fire.

Another BCHL addition, this time up front

2010-12-13T11:13:00.000-06:00

As expected, the Klippers have added another forward to bring their number up to 14 after the departure of Tanner Exner.

Ryan Elliot is an 18-year-old forward who last played with the Powell River Kings of the BCHL, where he had one goal in 21 games so far this season.

Elliot arrived in town yesterday, just in time for the annual Christmas party. The Stonewall, Man., native should give the Klippers some added depth should injuries strike, although I would not bet on him getting into many games while everyone is healthy.

Elliot had been dealt to the Winnipeg South Blues about two weeks ago after Powell River brought in Justin Bardarson from Melfort.

I was planning to get this up last night, but after the Christmas party I headed to a Red Lions game and was pretty tired out afterward.

*********************************

Speaking of the Christmas party, it was a pretty good time. My bowling team got saddled with Wasden, Benn and Rogers but we tried to make the most of it. We had a great meal at the curling club after bowling.

A few tidbits...

D Jay McGrath is a quitter
Taylor Wasden is surprisingly good at bowling
Casey Rogers proved that Americans have to do everything by force (I am surprised he didn't do any actual damage)
D Jay McGrath is a quitter
Ryan Benn and Jesse Mysiorek, like me, are big Michael Vick fans
Bowling was pretty good to stickboy Ryley Kennedy. He did pretty well on our team, and then he took home a turkey when he won the turkey bowling contest at the Red Lions game
D Jay McGrath is a quitter

**********************************

On the topic of Michael Vick, he and the Eagles put me in great position in my playoff match-up this week. I was down 12 points heading into last night, but thanks mostly to Vick and David Akers (and despite Jeremy Maclin doing absolutely nothing), I'm up 32 now heading into the Monday nighter.

I have Adrian Peterson tonight and the other guy has Joe Flacco, so I'm pretty sure I can hang on and move into the semis.

And speaking of football, did you hear about the roof collapse at the Metrodome? Fox left a camera inside trained on the roof overnight, in case this happened. Just spectacular footage. The Vikings and Giants are now playing tonight at Ford Field in Detroit.

Big third period helps Klippers win on Pink Jersey Night

2010-12-09T23:29:00.005-06:00

The first two periods were a bit of a snorefest, but the Klippers turned it on in the third to pull out a 5-2 victory over the Notre Dame Hounds in pink. Johnny Calkins scored twice along with singles from Andrew Dommett, Jordon Hoffman and Jesse Mysiorek.

Trevor Milner opened the scoring for the Hounds barely two minutes in after a bit of a puckhandling gaffe by Sean Cahill. Dommett tied it at 11:45 on the power play when he slipped a rebound past the right pad of Russell Abbott.

About three minutes later, with the Klippers playing keepaway on a delayed Hounds penalty, Calkins banged in a rebound in the crease to put his team ahead 2-1. But Notre Dame tied it with just 8.5 seconds left when James Howden's PP point shot was tipped by Todd Christian.

I felt the Klippers were lucky to get out of the first period tied. Their forecheck was virtually non-existent, they failed to get pucks in deep and had some turnovers. Cahill made some good saves in the first.

The second period? Four shots each. Nothing to report from that 20-minute snoozer.

Hoffman put the Klips ahead 3-2 at 2:17 of the third. He forced Abbott to make a big save on a 1-on-1 and the rebound skittered into the right corner. Hoffman got to it and fired from a really bad angle, but he was quick enough that the puck went in before Abbott had gotten up.

With about six minutes left, the Klippers were handed almost a full-length 5-on-3 and they took advantage quickly. Calkins, stationed at the right half-boards, took a pass from the point and one-timed it low short side to give his team some insurance. Then, with three minutes left, Jesse Mysiorek tapped in a loose puck sitting in the slot on a scramble in front.

The Klippers had two PP goals tonight and another one that was scored on a lengthy delayed penalty. That's good news for a team whose power play has not been setting the world on fire.

Taylor Duzan left the game after the first period. He took a hit late and was sent to the penalty box later on the same shift. He did not return after that. He hurt his ankle, but it doesn't sound serious.

Ryan Benn sat out tonight because he was feeling sick. It was good to see Tanner Kissick get in tonight. He had some dangerous chances.

Back to Russell Abbott for a sec. He was clearly frustrated with his team (maybe himself, but he made some phenomenal saves, especially in the third). After the Klippers' fifth goal, he smashed his stick over the net. At the end of the game, he threw each piece of his gear at the bench, one by one, as he skated off. He was livid. And as I mentioned on twitter, I can't blame him. He made some beautiful stops, especially with the glove, only to have his team get nothing done at the other end, and leave him hanging in their own end.

***************************************

Early returns suggest the Klippers along with their jersey sponsors raised about $7,500 for the Canadian Cancer Society tonight. I don't know whose jersey brought in the most in the silent auction, but I know Dommett and Duzan's jerseys were very high toward the end. It's great to see the Klippers and the local community able to contribute to such a worthy cause as breast cancer research.

And I must say, the pink jerseys looked very, very good this year. Last year's sweaters were kind of dull with a plain, black Klippers logo. These ones were snazzy.

Interviews

Johnny Calkins had a four-point night a day before his 20th birthday. After being named first star he got to open some birthday gifts with his family in the lobby.

Andrew Dommett chipped in two points tonight, including the Klippers' first goal. It was his first goal at the West Central Events Centre since the fire on January 8, as hard as that is to believe.

This interview was going just fine until it was sabotaged by a certain dad who will go unnamed... but it was Ken Calkins.

Larry Wintoneak discusses the lulls early in the game and increased tempo in the third, Sean Cahill's WCEC debut, the departure of Tanner Exner and Pink Jersey Night.

New poster for Sonny Days Snow Removal?

2010-12-09T12:13:00.002-06:00

Pearce Gourley in Nipawin

2010-12-08T23:39:00.001-06:00

I had heard about this a few days ago but completely forgot about it until now.

Former Klippers winger Pearce Gourley is now back in the SJHL with the Nipawin Hawks. I am not sure exactly when the Hawks picked him up, but it was a few days before Dec. 1. He has played in two games for them so far.

Pearce played seven games for the Swan Valley Stampeders and it apparently wasn't working out for him. Nipawin is a young team looking to the future so I'm sure he will get some good minutes for the Hawks.

Meanwhile, Beau Taylor is still in Swan and it sounds like he's loving it there. He has five points in seven games for them so far. Great to see him doing well.

Exner goes home

2010-12-07T14:03:00.001-06:00

As mentioned by Brenden on his blog yesterday, it is true that Tanner Exner has left the Kindersley Klippers.

From what I have been told, Exner informed Larry Wintoneak of his decision on Sunday night.

It seems there are personal issues involved, but I will not get into that here.

Exner had been pencilled in beside Sanfred King right from the start of training camp, but he struggled early in the year and eventually was dropped to the fourth line.

He had started to turn it around on the scoresheet recently, including three points in four road games last week.

Exner was acquired along with Lance Tabin for Travis Eggum midway through last season. Eggum, who wanted more ice time, is now third in the SJHL scoring race. With the departure of Exner, that deal isn't looking so hot now. That said, I don't believe Eggum would have gotten the opportunity here that he now has in La Ronge. This is a deep squad.

Exner's time in Kindersley will be remembered more than anything for that dramatic goal he scored last year with four seconds left in Game 6 in Yorkton, sending that series to a Game 7 in Eston. It was the definition of clutch, and it gave the team new life after some heartbreaking losses earlier in the series.

All of a sudden the Klippers are down to 13 forwards, along with seven defencemen and two goalies. Perhaps a little more trimming than Larry would have liked. I would not be surprised to see another '91 or '92 bottom-six forward brought in soon.

I spoke with Larry Monday afternoon about the road trip and the showcase, as well as the release of goaltender Alex Peck. I will try to get that up tonight, but it is a busy night for me so we'll see.

SJHL Showcase opens today

2010-12-03T11:49:00.000-06:00

The annual SJHL Showcase opens today in Weyburn, and I wish I could be there. But it's just too far to go when there are other events to cover here at home.

I went to last year's Showcase in North Battleford and it was a blast. It's a pretty unique experience to see three or four games in a day, especially with some teams you don't see very often. Watching, say, Flin Flon and Melfort go at it at 11 a.m. is awesome, because you just don't see that.

Add in the fact that the place is packed with scouts from the NCAA, CIS and NHL, and it's a very cool experience.

As Andrew Dommett said, the scouts do come and watch you at other times in the year, but you can't tell me his four goals against the Stars last year didn't have Lake State drooling.

Josh Thorimbert had many scouts watching him at last year's Showcase, including Colorado College, and he helped the Klippers to a win over Melville while there.

The Klippers play the Stars today at 5 p.m. and Flin Flon tomorrow at 11 a.m.

I'm sure Weyburn will do a great job with this. Some people aren't big fans of their arena, but I enjoy it.

Speaking of the Stars, they traded Shayne Morrissey to the OPJHL in a late move that probably surprised a lot of people. The skilled 18-year-old from Newfoundland had been thought of as a huge part of their team this year.

In another late-breaking move, La Ronge traded Richard Cameron to Notre Dame, and he'll face his old team this weekend.

Brett Penner to Flin Flon

2010-12-01T23:34:00.001-06:00

Well, Brett Penner's time in Quesnel didn't last long. That is, if he even made it out there.

The former Klipper's rights were traded to Flin Flon today for futures. Penner, 18, left the Klippers in October and was just traded to Quesnel last Thursday for Sean Cahill.

There were quite a few other deals in the SJHL today, and the Melfort Mustangs were very busy. In their biggest deal, Melfort brought in bruising defenceman Scott Brkich from rival Nipawin for 17-year-old forwards Dustin Skilliter and Tyson Dallman.

They acquired forwards Jordan Bauer ('91) from Canmore, Devin Balness ('92) from Brooks, and Spencer Mault ('92) from Grande Prairie. They also traded 20-year-old forward Cole Gibson to Estevan for 15-year-old defenceman Mason Logan, and dealt forward Justin Bardarson ('90) to Powell River for futures.

Meanwhile, Flin Flon traded defenceman Patrick Sitko ('90) to Oakville for futures. One would think there could be something coming back next year in this case. The Bombers also got defenceman James McNulty from Okotoks in a deal that completes the recent trade of Matt Maleschuk.

Notre Dame sent 20-year-old forward Austin Lauder back to his hometown in a deal with the Winnipeg South Blues.

Battlefords swapped forwards, sending Daniel Franks ('91) to Thunder Bay for Mitch Galbraith ('90).

Finally, Estevan brought in blueliner Matt Szpak ('91) from Fort Mac.

No word on any Klipper movement at this time.

Of course, if you haven't heard, the Klippers won a big four-point game in Estevan 4-2 tonight. Goals came from Adamyk (2), Duzan and King. Klippers are now one point behind the Bruins with two extra games played. Second through fifth in the Sherwood is incredibly tight.

Duzan, Rogers named runners-up for monthly awards

2010-12-01T11:04:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure if congratulations is the right word, but kudos to Taylor Duzan and Casey Rogers for putting themselves in consideration for the SJHL players of the month for November.

Duzan, Doug Lindensmith and Brayden Metz were the runners-up for the player of the month honour, which went to former Klipper Travis Eggum. Eggum had 30 points in just 12 games and now leads the SJ in goals with 27.

On the back end, Battlefords' Cris Neurauter was named the defenceman of the month. Rogers, Tanner Korchinski and Byron Sorensen were also considered.

I think it's a tremendous accomplishment for Casey considering he only got here halfway through the month.

For him to come in and make the adjustment from the NAHL, deep in the heart of Texas (OK I'm sorry) and to be noticed around the league so quickly, is very impressive.

Congrats to Casey and also to Duzy who had a hell of a month on the scoresheet.

Now if they could just win on the road.

Wintoneak on Cahill, trade front, weekend losses, etc.

2010-12-01T01:03:00.002-06:00

I said I'd get this up last night, but I worked like a madman over a 24-hour stretch and didn't have time to get to it. Anyway, this is the chat I had with Larry Wintoneak on Monday afternoon. He talks about the Sean Cahill trade, the need to ship out a 20-year-old, the disappointing weekend losses and the status of Jordon Hoffman, among other things.

We had a discussion about the proper pronunciation of Cahill in PEI compared to the west, before starting the interview...

If the video won't load for you, you can watch it here.

Klipper captain chooses Lake Superior State

2010-11-30T11:43:00.001-06:00

From Wednesday's Clarion:

He weighed the pros and cons for nearly a year, and now Andrew Dommett has made his choice.

The Klippers’ captain announced Monday that he has committed to Lake Superior State University for the next step in his career.

LSSU and Ferris State, both in Michigan, had been vying for his services since his breakout performance at the SJHL Showcase last season in North Battleford.

Dommett, 20, flew down to see both campuses over the summer and eventually based his decision on his comfort level.

“What it boiled down to is where I felt comfortable,” said the Major native.

“I talked to my mom and dad about it. They can’t make the decision for me, but they want me to be comfortable and go somewhere for four years where I’m not going to be homesick.”

He said two of the biggest selling points for Lake State, as it is known, were the small town feel of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., and his dealings with head coach Jim Roque.

“It’s a small town just like Kindersley, I thought it would be an easy transfer from a small town like Major,” he said.

“And their coach, I really liked him. He has a great knowledge of the game and he’s a great person ... the whole organization won me over, from the coaching to the school to the facility, everything was just great.”

Dommett also spoke to several former LSSU players, including ex-Klipper star Troy Schwab and 2009-10 assistant coach Trevor Weisgerber.

He said Schwab talked to him honestly about his experience and pointed out the flaws of each school, rather than persuading him to go to his own alma mater.

“I have to give him credit for putting in the time with me,” said Dommett.

He added that Weisgerber helped him out with the paperwork and making sure he got what he wanted out of the scholarship.

He said several other schools had some interest, including a few Division 3 colleges, but it was always between Lake State and Ferris State.

“It’s the biggest decision of my life so far, so hopefully I don’t regret it,” said Dommett.
“The offer Lake State gave me was incredible. I’d be kind of dumb not to take it.”

Roque told Dommett he will be given a chance to fill the shoes of Will Acton, the team’s top left winger, who is not returning next year. The coach told him they were very similar players.

“Jim’s such an honest guy. He told me straight up, with the amount of money they’re putting into me to come down, they don’t want me sitting in the stands.”

Despite scoring six goals in two games at last year’s showcase, Dommett urged other players not to put any more effort into that weekend than their other games.

“That’s one thing people get wrong. They try extra hard at the showcase. Schools are going to come watch you no matter what. They’re going to come on those Wednesday nights because they want to see how you play then.”

Edmonton firm awarded tender for first phase of multi-use building

2010-11-30T02:02:00.000-06:00

This will appear in Wednesday's Clarion:

Edmonton firm awarded tender for first phase of multi-use building
Expected to break ground on $12.2 million project in February

Kindersley's new arena is one step closer to reality.

The tender for phase one of the planned multi-use facility, which includes the arena and lobby, was awarded last Tuesday to Clark Builders of Edmonton.

Of the six companies initially selected for interviewing, Clark and Stuart Olson Dominion were the two finalists.

"Both firms worked very hard, both are very capable," said Milt Walker of Walker Projects. "We had a process that involved evaluation of each proposal and meetings including representatives of the building committee and the town of Kindersley. In the final analysis, Clark won out; just a little bit better price and a little bit more features."

Clark Builders pegged the cost of phase one at $12.2 million. The final design is now in the works, but the conceptual design submitted with the proposal calls for a seating capacity of 400, all on one side of the arena, along with standing room.

Walker described the delivery of structural steel as the "critical path item" and that will not likely take place until February. As such, he expects "some mobilization" of resources in January but figures the ground breaking will come in early February. Materials could be ordered by December.

"They want to be able to have the steel arrive as soon as the foundations are finished, and so there’s requirements for some design and there’s no point in starting to do the foundations ahead of the critical path schedule," Walker explained.

He said the target is to finish the arena sometime in December 2011 and have it open the following month. He described it as "an extremely aggressive schedule."

Brian Robinson, vice president of business development at Clark Builders, said his firm has done several recreational facilities in recent years, including the North Central Community Recreation Centre at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, and a massive multi-use recreation centre in Lac La Biche, Alta.

Although most of the company's $500 million worth of work each year is done in the Edmonton area and the Northwest Territories, it is looking to expand eastward.

"We’re actively looking at doing a number of different arena projects and getting into the Saskatchewan market," Robinson said Monday. "It’s a project we feel we’re very good at doing. The design-build is one of our fortes. We have an opportunity to design it economically and work with a team of professionals. It was a good fit in terms of where we want to go."

Clark Builders has been in business for 36 years.

Kindersley mayor Wayne Foster said he is excited about the schematic designs and looks forward to seeing more detailed drawings.

"It’s an amazing-looking facility. We can’t wait until we get the renderings. That’ll probably be in January," said Foster. "We have some conceptual drawings now that are just stunning. It’s such an enhancement to that area of our town."

BBB Architects has been working on the design of the entire facility in Toronto, and Walker said the specific designs for phase one will fit into that.

He added that he was impressed by the ability of the building committee members - all 26 of them - to put their heads together and agree on what they wanted to see. Not only that, the motion was passed unanimously.

"That’s pretty darn good when you get arts and culture and sports and minor sports and the Klippers and Red Lions and the whole group to agree on something. We were very, very pleased with that," he commented.

Robinson has been involved throughout the selection process and he said he feels at ease dealing with officials from the town, the building committee and Walker Projects.

"I feel absolutely comfortable with the process and the people I’ve been involved with, particularly with (town administrator) Sherry (Magnuson) and (councillor) Tom (Geiger), and certainly the Walker people have been very fair and explained very clearly what it is they were looking for," Robinson replied.

"I think we’re really excited about it and we were able to develop a plan and a concept that excited the people we were presenting to. We brought a high-quality building and a very stylish type of building that will certainly add to the landscape of Kindersley."

More fundraising will be required to complete the multi-million dollar phase, on top of insurance money. Plans are already being made by the building committee.

"That fundraising component is a necessary evil, unfortunately," said Foster. "We’ve had a great response already without really going out and promoting and looking for funding. There’s going to be all types of opportunities to participate in funding."

Beyond the arena and lobby, the entire multi-use facility is expected to cost in the range of $35 million. Funding from the provincial and federal governments will be required to make that happen, Foster acknowledged.

"We’re waiting to hear if they’re going to come up with any more stimulus programs or green programs, those kind of things. We’ll certainly be knocking at their doors looking for funding," said the mayor.

Walker said those discussions are already underway and he also expects help from other sources, given the outpouring of support that came from the North American hockey community in the weeks immediately after the fire in January.

"When they lost their arena, all of Canada in the hockey community certainly came to the forefront in terms of support," said Walker. "Politicians are always supportive of things that are supported by a large amount of people, so we’re confident we can successfully make our case."

One group that will most certainly be happy with the new arena is the Kindersley Sledge Hockey Club. The facility will be specially designed to accommodate the sport, with everything from removable benches to see-through panels in the boards. The benches will also be installed flush with the ice surface so that players can get on and off the ice easily.

"I can hardly wait to see the first sledge hockey game," said Walker. "I'm really excited for that. That's such a heart-warming story to see."

Dommett commits to Lake Superior State; goalie could move today

2010-11-29T16:43:00.001-06:00

According to Brenden Ullrich, Klippers captain Andrew Dommett has committed to Lake Superior State University next year.

Congratulations to Andrew. He had interest from several NCAA schools beginning early last season and had flydowns to Lake State and Ferris State over the summer. It was only a matter of time until he chose where he would spend the next chapter in his hockey career. I'm sure it's a relief for him to have that over with and to be able to focus just on the Klippers now.

Lake Superior State is located in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, just over the Canadian border. Many SJHLers have played there over the years, including former Klippers star and 2004-05 SJHL MVP Troy Schwab.

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I talked to Larry Wintoneak not long ago and he is working the phones looking to move a netminder today. He more or less said that the guys know a 20-year-old goalie is going to be moved, and while he wouldn't say outright that it's Alex Peck, that is more than likely what will happen.

I'm going to be working overtime tonight but I'll try to get that interview up later in the evening.

Roster trimming on the way

2010-11-29T13:46:00.001-06:00

It's a hectic day for me but I do have a few seconds for a quick blog post. I talked briefly with Larry Wintoneak earlier this afternoon and he said he's in the middle of figuring out how to trim the roster.

Keep in mind, the Klippers now have 10 20-year-olds with the acquisition of Sean Cahill. Only nine can be dressed in a Junior A game (you'll notice Cody Lund was scratched Friday and Alex Peck wasn't on the game sheet Saturday). With two 20-year-old goalies, you'd have to think Peck's days are numbered, but you never know.

Speaking of Cahill, I know that in some cases, if a guy plays a game after his 21st birthday he loses a year of NCAA eligibility. But it seems that may only be true if the player hasn't committed to a school at the time. Cahill's birthday is March 15, and if this rule applies to him, he would not be able to play after that without losing a year. I've been told it doesn't apply to him, but I'll clarify this when I talk to Larry later today.

How 'bout them Riders? Too bad, so sad. The last two Grey Cups make me happy I was only cheering for the Riders because I hate Montreal.

Klippers acquire another goalie; not done yet

2010-11-26T10:49:00.005-06:00

UPDATE: The Klippers have acquired yet another goaltender, Sean Cahill, who played for the Okotoks Oilers last season. It looks like he was dealt to the Brooks Bandits in the off-season but there are no records of him having played this year.

Cahill is a 20-year-old Calgary native. What this means for Alex Peck is anyone's guess.

Nickel will go to the Fernie Ghostriders of the KIJHL to try to crack that squad.

When asked if this development was related to a Brett Penner trade, Larry Wintoneak said "We hope so." It sounds like he isn't done.

Sorry for the second blog post on this, but Google won't let me sign into the blog, so I had to post this via email.

More info on Sean Cahill:

He went 22-8-3, 2.66, .911 with two shutouts in 36 games for Okotoks last year. He was traded to Brooks Bandits in the off-season but it appears he did not report. Just 10 days ago, his rights were dealt to the Quesnel Millionaires of the BCHL for two forwards. I have been told he did not report there and so his rights became available.

Cahill, who played for Rockie Zinger in Okotoks, was one of three runner-ups for last year's AJHL top goalie award. He already has a scholarship to Alaska-Fairbanks.

Sounds like an accomplished netminder.

UPDATE #2: Just heard from Dusty Nickel and thought I'd share his comments about his brief time in Kindersley.

"I really enjoyed my time with the Klippers," he said. "I had a lot of fun and it was one of my best hockey experiences and I wish it would have lasted longer."

He said he is not heading to Fernie right away, but has talked to the coach there and will keep his options open as for his next move.

Nickel no longer with Klippers

2010-11-26T10:32:00.000-06:00

I heard a rumour this morning and have now been able to confirm with Larry Wintoneak that goaltender Dustin Nickel is no longer with the Klippers.

At this point I don't know if he has been traded or let go. From what I heard earlier this morning, the best I can piece together is that he and Brett Penner were traded to the Okotoks Oilers for a player, but that is nowhere near confirmed. I have heard a player is coming from Okotoks though.

Trying to find out more details now and I will pass them on when I know.

Wintoneak says Penner deal "close"

2010-11-25T13:50:00.000-06:00

Just a quick update on the Brett Penner trade front. I talked to Larry at a barbecue held in honour of Elwin Peever, who has kept the buses running in Kindersley for the past 30 years.

Larry said a deal to trade Penner's rights for a player was "close" and he was checking his phone constantly waiting for a response from the other team.

It may not be just Penner's rights moving; we may see him packaged up with another player here. I will have more news when it becomes available.

As for the barbecue, several community groups showed up to honour Elwin for his work driving and fixing the buses for the last three decades. Not many communities have their own bus service to transport their teams all over the province and, in some cases, across Western Canada. The buses were run by Kindersley Minor Sports for years.

Three years ago, a group of volunteers including Rod Quinney, Joanne McAdam and Ralph Donahue (and others) agreed to take over the buses, as a special arms-length division of Minor Sports, to try to get it out of debt. In three short years, that group (Kindersley Charters) has managed to turn a profit with a venture that had been bleeding red ink. When Kindersley Charters' mechanic requested to retire this summer, the buses were sold to Oyen's Doug Jones, with a requirement to keep them in Kindersley.

The Klippers were one of the groups in attendance today and they (Larry Wintoneak, Rockie Zinger, Andrew Dommett, Sean Flanagan, Braeden Adamyk) presented Elwin with an autographed home jersey.

Sonny Days Snow Removal

2010-11-25T00:19:00.000-06:00

Here's a commercial for Sonny Days Snow Removal (five minutes? Who are we kidding, this is a freakin' infomercial) starring D. Jay McGrath and John Sonntag, with a cameo from a skeptical Andrew Dommett, and a roar of disbelief from Johnny Calkins.

You better watch out Vince. Deej is the next Slap Chop guy in the making.

Klippers win second straight, 7-3 over Humboldt

2010-11-24T22:29:00.010-06:00

For the first time since Oct. 6 - exactly 49 days - the Klippers have managed to win two games in a row with tonight's 7-3 victory over the Humboldt Broncos.

As has been the case often this year, the Klippers got off to a hot start in the first period before letting their opponents back in during the second. In this case, Kindersley led 3-0 after the first on goals by Braeden Adamyk, D. Jay McGrath and Sanfred King.

Adamyk's goal came on a deflection of a Sean Flanagan point shot. I'm not sure Adamyk meant to do it as he was heading for the net, with his back to the shot, and it just happened to hit his stick on the way by. McGrath shot a one-timer five hole to make it 2-0 and King let go a pinpoint wrist shot from in tight, top left corner, for the third goal.

Humboldt then scored three in the second, although the Klippers got goals from Tanner Exner and another from Adamyk to take a 5-3 lead after two.

Jeremy Boyer made it 3-1, taking a pass in the slot from the right corner and putting it over Peck's blocker. But Exner responded 21 seconds later on a feed from Taylor Wasden. Then the Broncos scored 42 seconds apart, first on the PP when a blocked shot popped to Adam Antkowiak on the doorstep for an easy backhander, then when Buzzeo broke free on a breakaway and scored blocker side. Finally, Adamyk made it 5-3 for the Klippers with six minutes left in the second.

McGrath and Taylor Duzan both scored in the final eight minutes - McGrath on a deke and Duzan on a juicy rebound with 16 seconds left - to seal the win.

The Klippers got contributions from everyone tonight, getting at least one goal from each of the four lines, including three from the Benn-King-McGrath unit.

A big reason for the win was the team's ability to generate pressure in the Humboldt zone and keep it on. The forecheck was great and the defencemen were very good at holding the puck in to allow for sustained pressure. When it was all said and done, the Klippers fired 42 shots on Broncos netminder Matt Hrynkiw (Humboldt had 30) and they were consistent with 14 shots in each period.

Alex Peck made some big stops and gave the Klippers a chance to push back after allowing the goals in the second period. He has won his last three starts and as you'll hear in his interview below, he's getting more confidence. I believe the Klippers will cut down to two goalies by Dec. 1.

Bump of the game: Taylor Wasden for a hit midway through the first period, in a corner of the Humboldt zone, that was so hard it knocked two stanchions (I think that's what they were?) out of the glass. They fell onto the ice and had to be put back in on the next stoppage.

Three Stars: 1. Braeden Adamyk, 2. D. Jay McGrath, 3. Sean Flanagan. Honourable mentions to Johnny Calkins and Ryan Benn.

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On another note, defenceman Jeff Bartel has been cut. But the Klippers will retain his rights, as he will go out to the KIJHL to play with the Creston Valley Thunder Cats. It's not a bad move for a player who had to play single-A last year due to a broken arm. He should get to play regularly and then be a regular on the Klipper blueline next year.

Larry Wintoneak said he is on the verge of trading the rights to Brett Penner for a player, probably in the next 24 hours. He said several teams have had interest in Penner, and he hinted that he may be able to package a couple of players to upgrade at a position and pare down the roster at the same time.

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Interviews

D. Jay McGrath scored twice tonight and talks about how his line with Sanfred King and Ryan Benn is gelling. I have some more goodies from this duster coming later tonight so check back for a good laugh.

Alex Peck made 27 saves tonight and has now won his last three starts. He says he's getting more confident and has simplified his game between the pipes.

Larry Wintoneak talks about the win, the play of the King line, the departure of Jeff Bartel and probable action on the trade front this week, among other things.

Klippers vs. Humboldt preview

2010-11-24T19:10:00.003-06:00

I'm looking forward to seeing Humboldt for the first time this season. Of course, the big question is which Bronco team we will see at the West Central Events Centre. Humboldt has struggled recently after starting the season on fire and being ranked the #1 team in Canada for several weeks.

I'll be very interested to see if Dean Brockman makes any changes before Christmas. Don't forget, Humboldt is hosting the RBC Cup next season and if Brockman decides that this team isn't going to get it done, he'd be well advised to deal away some talented 20-year-olds for younger impact players who will contribute to a potential national championship team next year.

The Klippers didn't have much trouble with Humboldt last year, thumping them 8-1 and 9-5 at home. Of course, that was a much different Bronco team.

Humboldt Broncos

Make no mistake - despite their recent struggles, this is an extremely dangerous team with a lot of depth. With the likes of Justin Buzzeo, Jeremy Boyer, Spencer Braaten and Nick Keller, along with secondary scoring from Troy Gasper, Ward Szucki, Riley Gillies and others, the Broncos have attacking power coming out the ying-yang. They are second in the SJHL in total goals. That said, Humboldt has lost seven of their last 10 games and are coming off a 7-4 loss to Battlefords last night that saw the Stars score four times in the third period.

On the back end, 18-year-old Josh Roach has been a revelation and a huge part of Humboldt's success. In his second SJHL season - he had 14 points last year - the Saskatoon product has six goals and 23 points in 25 games. They also have 17-year-old Tanner Clark, who played 29 games last year and was returned by the Swift Current Broncos early this season. Other than that, the Humboldt blueline has had a lot of turnover from last season, with stay-at-home defender Kenton Valliant the only other returnee. The Broncos are seventh in goals against.

Between the pipes, 2009-10 SJHL MVP Andrew Bodnarchuk is still around, although he's losing quite a few starts to backup Matt Hrynkiw (17 and 11 appearances, respectively). Not sure who we'll see tonight although Bodnarchuk started last night in North Battleford.

Kindersley Klippers

The Klippers are coming off a big win over Weyburn on Friday and have no doubt spent the five days since then hitting the gym. Larry Wintoneak has often talked about using these off-stretches early in the season to work on fitness, and that is especially important this year since the Klippers didn't have access to their facilities until the end of September.

On the attack, the focus will continue to be on Andrew Dommett and how he adjusts to playing again. It will take a few games for him to get back into top form and, as he said the other night, to get his hands back. Calkins and Adamyk had good nights on Friday and their play will no doubt help the captain make the transition. Another guy I'll keep my eye on is D. Jay McGrath (he of Sonny Days Snow Removal). He's played with Sanfred King recently and I thought he looked great on Friday. He really moved his feet and put pressure on the Wings with his forecheck. It's only a matter of time before that line puts up some numbers, I think. Also of note, Justin Gerwing is eligible to play tonight after serving his three-game suspension for a staged fight. My guess is we see him in, but it's hard to say with 14 healthy guys.

On the blueline, there are eight guys in the picture and time may be running out for certain guys to show why they deserve to stick around. Larry Wintoneak said Friday that he's going to trim down the roster soon, and you'd have to think a defenceman will be included in that. As for a player to watch, for me, it's Casey Rogers. He seems to be getting more comfortable in the SJHL and should only improve as that process moves along. He scored on a heck of a shot Friday and is very poised in moving the puck up ice. Defensively, his positioning is very good. When you consider he's only 19, I see Casey as a huge addition to the Klipper blueline in the short and long term.

In goal, your guess is as good as mine. Peck and Nickel have been alternating starts for the most part, but Peck could get in again. We'll find out at game time.

Changes to the blog

2010-11-24T12:33:00.000-06:00

Good afternoon and welcome to hump day. It's the middle of the week, and if you're me (which you probably are not), that means the busiest time of the week is over and the pace slows down a bit.

You may have noticed a few changes to the blog yesterday and today. I've gotten a domain name for the site, which means you can now access it by going to klipperreport.com without the blogspot part. The old address will still redirect you to the new one, though.

At the top of the page, you'll notice I've added pages for the team's schedule as well as Klipper articles from The Clarion. The calendar is colour-coded for home and away and you can see the opponent by clicking the date. Both pages are a work in progress. Over the next couple of weeks I'll add more to the Articles page and eventually have all my Klipper stories up there.

With the new domain also comes a new email address. If you want to contact me regarding anything to do with the blog, or the Klippers, you can now reach me at josh@klipperreport.com

For some reason, the blogroll on the left side of the page has disappeared with the move. I'll try to figure this out and get those links back up ASAP.

I'm still exploring what I can do with the new tools, so if you have any ideas for things you'd like to see, or feedback on the changes, leave a comment and I'll see what I can do.

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Speaking of Klipper stories, here's the article running in today's Clarion.

Dommett makes early return in Klipper victory
Last-second bounce leads to defeat against Bruins

He was not the saviour, but there was no doubt about the impact of Andrew Dommett in Friday’s win for the Kindersley Klippers.

Captain Klipper made his return from a broken jaw two weeks ahead of schedule and the Klippers got a late goal from Braeden Adamyk to defeat the Weyburn Red Wings 4-2.

It was a much-needed win, coming two days after a last-second fluke handed the Klippers a 5-4 loss to the Estevan Bruins.

The victory gave the Klippers (12-11-2) a three-point cushion on Weyburn (11-12-0-1) for third place in the Sherwood Conference. They are five points behind Estevan.

The Humboldt Broncos visit tonight for a 7:30 p.m. contest before the Klippers hit the road this weekend for games in Melville Friday, Yorkton Saturday and Weyburn on Tuesday.

Dommett, who was injured in the second game of the season in La Ronge, was medically cleared to play on Thursday and made his long-awaited return two months to the day after breaking his jaw.

“Obviously it was a little different than practice, but I felt good out there,” said Dommett, who had not been expected back until December. “I’m going to keep it simple. Right now, I gotta get my hands back and not hold onto the puck too long in the neutral zone.”

The left winger had several chances in his first game back, most notably in the first period when he faked a shot to slip past a defenceman for a partial breakaway, but shot the puck into the chest of goalie Mitch Kilgore.

“I had that one glorious opportunity,” he recalled. “I gotta get more comfortable. I should have maybe deked there; instead, I shot ... eventually I’ll get my hands back and the sense of the game back and go from there.”

Weyburn opened the scoring 58 seconds in when Brock Appleyard beat Klipper starter Alex Peck. But Kindersley responded less than three minutes later when Casey Rogers rang a point shot off the iron and in for his first SJHL goal.

Just shy of the eight-minute mark, Rodney Cowie put a rebound past Peck one second after Taylor Duzan came out of the penalty box following a tripping call.

After failing to generate much offence in the second period, the Klippers drew even with 45 seconds left when Duzan scored his league-leading 21st goal of the season.

“Duzan said he wanted to score 30 this year and he’s well on his way to that,” said head coach Larry Wintoneak.

The Klippers’ strong forecheck paid off at 6:41 of the third when they caught a break on the game-winner.

A Weyburn clearing attempt from behind the net hit Johnny Calkins in the chest inside the blueline. He couldn’t settle down the bouncing puck for a quality scoring chance, but Adamyk gathered the rebound in the corner, skated out the right side and caught Kilgore off-guard with a quick short side wrister.

“I think Addy just hung in there that extra second (on the forecheck),” said Wintoneak. “Pretty good read by those guys.”

Calkins added an empty netter with 10 seconds left.

Winger Jesse Mysiorek, one of the hottest Klippers of late, said his team needed the two points against a divisional rival.

“We came out keeping to our game plan, getting pucks in, working hard, skating, forechecking. Getting that win is great for us.”

He added that getting Dommett back is a shot in the arm for everyone, particularly after a rough stretch over the last few weeks.

“It’s huge for the team, a huge motivation boost for everyone. You can just see it in the room, everyone’s ready to go now,” said Mysiorek. “I think we’ve found our identity with Dommer coming back.”

Wintoneak said he was satisfied with his captain’s first game back and that it will take time for him to get back into top form.

“He created a couple of opportunities, he was good on the wall I thought, he made some good plays to get pucks out for us. Earlier he had a lot of jump and then at the end you could see that his legs were a little bit heavy,” the coach commented.

“We held it together. We missed him immensely, but we played through it. We were .500 without him and now he’s back in the line-up and we’re looking forward to it.”

Dommett will likely have to wear a cage for the rest of the season and with that comes a few adjustments. But he said it won’t change his game.

“I know there’s still a little bit of a risk for re-breaking it, but I’m not going to play how I don’t play,” he said. “I’m going to play every shift the way I normally play, the hard-nosed, gritty, in your face kind of game.”

He will have to get used to the cage obstructing his view of the puck and keep his head up.

Friday’s game was Dommett’s first in Kindersley in more than 10 months, since before the fire in January. His injury came two weeks before the home opener in October.

“It felt wonderful, coming out in warm-ups. It’s our home and I missed it. Coming out for the first period, seeing the fans in the stands, it felt unbelievable,” he reflected.

On Wednesday, the Klippers and Bruins looked to be headed for overtime when a bad bounce intervened, literally.

With the game tied 4-4 and only a few seconds on the clock, the Bruins broke over the Kindersley blueline 2-on-2. Ben Findlay fired either an errant shot or a dump-in about three feet wide of the left post.

Goalie Dustin Nickel had come out to cut off the angle, and as he glided back into his crease, the puck skipped off the end boards, hit him in the back of the leg and trickled over the goal line, with less than one second on the clock.

“Unfortunately those things happen and I’ve been on the other side of it where we won with no time left on the clock,” said Wintoneak. “When you lose like that, it hurts.”

But the Klippers were able to bounce back two nights later.

“We talked about being resilient and it’s a trait of this club,” said the coach. “When we get knocked down, we get back up.”

The Klipper goals came from Jordon Hoffman, D. Jay McGrath, Mysiorek and Duzan. Estevan got two goals from defenceman Ty Ariss on rockets from the point, along with singles from Matt Dochylo and Joel Kot.

With Dommett back in the fold, the Klippers are up to 25 players, including three goalies, and Wintoneak said the roster will be trimmed by two or three by the Dec. 1 deadline.

Forward Tanner Kissick has been nursing an injury and was expected to resume skating on Monday.

Stats, stats and yes, more stats

2010-11-23T13:29:00.001-06:00

Every Tuesday morning, on deadline day for The Clarion, I take an hour or so to update that Klipper stats box you see on page two of the sports section. I go through the game summaries, the scoring leaders, the special teams stats, goaltending, league standings, etc. Every now and then I come across something interesting, but I usually don't have any more time to go through the stats than that hour on Tuesday morning.

So to start your Tuesday afternoon, here are all the Klipper stats you can handle and then some.

Record: 12-11-2-0, 26 points (3rd in Sherwood, 6th overall)
Goals For: 104 (5th), Goals Against: 100 (10th), Goal Differential: +4 (6th)
Home: 7-3-2, Away: 5-8
In overtime: 1 OT win, 1 SO win, 2 OT losses
Shootout: 1-0, one goal on two attempts (Taylor Duzan on Nov. 9), .500 (1st)
Scoring first: 6-4
Record vs. Sherwood: 7-7, Record vs. Bauer: 5-4-2

Power play: 23.6% (4th) Home: 23% Away: 24.5%

Penalty kill: 75.6% (10th) Home: 75.9% Away: 75.3%

Shorthanded goals for: 5 (T-2nd)

Shorthanded goals against: 0 (1st)

Penalty minutes: 796 (1st, 125 more than Flin Flon)
Major penalties: 32 (1st, 10 more than Nipawin)
Opponent PIM: 670 (1st, 11 more than La Ronge)

Goals per game
Overall: 4.16 for, 4.00 against
1st: 34 for, 31 against
2nd: 28 for, 41 against
3rd: 40 for, 26 against

Shots per game
Overall: 954 for, 834 against (average 38.16-33.36)
1st: 311 for, 269 against (average 12.4-10.8)
2nd: 306 for, 296 against (average 12.2-11.8)
3rd: 323 for, 265 against (average 12.9-10.6)

Leading after 20 7-3
Trailing after 20 2-4
Tied after 20 3-4-2
Leading after 40 7-0
Trailing after 40 3-9-1
Tied after 40 2-2-1
Outshoot opponent 10-3-2
Outshot by opponent 2-8

Top scorers
Johnny Calkins 25-8-26-34 (10th)
Taylor Duzan 25-21-8-29 (13th)
Braeden Adamyk 25-25-15-14-29 (14th)
Scorers in top 15: Three (T-1st with La Ronge, Estevan)

Taylor Duzan is tied for the SJHL lead in goals with 21 (Ryan Andersen).
Johnny Calkins is third in assists with 26 (behind Justin Buzzeo, Doug Lindensmith).
Taylor Duzan is tied for second in shorthanded goals with three (behind Robbie Ciolfi).
Taylor Duzan is tied for second in first goals with four (behind Jesse Mireau).
Lance Tabin is second in penalty minutes with 93 (behind Jesse Mychan).
Riley Down and Justin Gerwing are tied for the SJHL lead in major penalties with five each.
Taylor Duzan has the second-longest goal streak this year at seven games, scoring nine goals from Sept. 19 to Oct. 9 (behind Ryan Andersen). Duzan is currently riding another five-game goal streak, with nine goals over that stretch. It is the longest active goal streak in the SJHL.
Sanfred King is tied for the third-longest assist streak this year at seven games, picking up 11 helpers from Sept. 23 to Oct. 16 (behind Brody Luhning, Doug Lindensmith).
John Sonntag is 11th in scoring among defencemen with 15 points.

Taylor Duzan has the only four-goal game in the SJHL this season (Nov. 9 vs. Melville) and his six points that night are tied with Justin Buzzeo and Dylan Smith for the most in a game.
David Haaf has the most penalty minutes in one game with 47 (Sept. 19 vs. La Ronge).
Johnny Calkins has the most PP assists in one game with four (Oct. 2 vs. Battlefords). Sean Flanagan is second with three the same night.
The Klippers are tied with Humboldt for most goals in a game with 11 (Oct. 3 vs. Weyburn).

Two games are tied for most total goals in a SJHL game this season and the Klippers were involved in both of them, a 9-6 loss to La Ronge Sept. 19 and a 8-7 OT loss to Melville Nov. 11.
The Klippers were also involved in both of the games with the most penalty minutes: Sept. 19 in La Ronge (180) and Oct. 16 in Flin Flon (153).
The Klippers are tied for most PP goals in a game with five (Oct. 2 vs. Battlefords).
The Klippers occupy the top three spots in single-game shots in the third period: 22 on Oct. 15 vs. Flin Flon, 22 on Nov. 3 vs. Battlefords, and 21 on Oct. 23 vs. Nipawin.

Johnny Calkins leads the Klippers in power play goals with four.
David Haaf leads the Klippers in PIM per game (4.17), followed by Riley Down (3.93), Lance Tabin (3.88), Justin Gerwing (2.89) and Johnny Calkins (2.76).

Goalie stats
A comparison of stats for the five goalies who have played for the Klippers this season: Alex Peck, Dustin Nickel, Justin McDonald, Scott Hellyer and Patrick Johnson. Aside from Johnson's one game, they are ugly.

Record: Hellyer 5-1, Johnson 1-0, Peck 4-4, Nickel 1-3, McDonald 1-4
GAA: Johnson 1.37, Hellyer 3.58, Peck 4.12, Nickel 4.52, McDonald 4.67
Save percentage: Johnson .958, Hellyer .898, Peck .878, McDonald .854, Nickel .845
Minutes: Peck 481, Hellyer 469, McDonald 244, Nickel 226, Johnson 88.

The Klippers have an average height of 5'11.5, including 5'11 for forwards, 6'0 for defencemen and 6'0 for goalies.
The Klippers have an average weight of 182.2 pounds, including 182.4 for forwards, 183 for defencemen and 179 for goalies.
Some day I'd like to go through all the rosters and see who has the biggest and smallest teams.

The Klippers have 16 players from Saskatchewan, three from Manitoba, three from Alberta, and one each from British Columbia (Lund), Quebec (Peck) and California (Rogers).

The Klippers' average attendance of 517 ranks 11th in the SJHL, just behind Melville and ahead of Notre Dame. Yorkton ranks number one with an average of 896.