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
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Klippers get Weyburn in first round
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, February 18, 2011
Friday odds and ends
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.
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.”
“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.”
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 was planning to go to North Battleford with the Klippers today, but due to being sick and it being a short week at the Clarion (because of the Monday holiday) I changed my mind.
Although this home-and-home with the Stars is essentially meaningless for both sides, it does give them a chance to work on various parts of their game and get a sense of where they're at heading into the playoffs.
The Stars begin their survivor series against Flin Flon, so they might rather not play that Tuesday game in Kindersley. The Klippers, meanwhile, will have two weeks off to rest up.
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Here's the Klippers-Yorkton story that ran in Wednesday's Clarion (ignore the parts that say they still have a shot at first place):
Hoffman leads Klippers over Terriers to keep hopes for first alive
Jordon Hoffman scored 46 seconds into overtime to give the Kindersley Klippers a 4-3 win over the Yorkton Terriers on Saturday and keep their slim first-place hopes alive.
Hoffman tipped a Sean Flanagan point shot past Terriers’ goalie Warren Shymko to move the Klippers within three points of the Sherwood-leading Dogs, with three games left and a game in hand.
One of those contests was last night against the Melfort Mustangs. The Klippers close out the regular season with a home-and-home series with the Battlefords North Stars, Friday in North Battleford and Tuesday in Kindersley at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s overtime winner was Hoffman’s second in a game that saw the Klippers trail 2-1 and 3-2.
“It was a broken play. (Riley Down) walked it over to Flanny and he flipped it on net, I got a stick on it and it changed directions an inch or two and went in the net,” said the Major product.
Saturday’s game was much tighter defensively than the last time Yorkton came to Kindersley, which resulted in a 9-6 Klipper win. It was their third straight victory over the Terriers.
After a scoreless first, Andrew Dommett struck first when he beat Shymko less than two minutes into the second. Yorkton replied with two goals in a three-minute span midway through the frame.
Clarke Breitkreuz pounced on a loose puck in the slot and slipped it past the left pad of Sean Cahill at 8:13. Then Jeremy Boyer hit defenceman Devon McMullen with a brilliant slap pass in the crease for an easy tap-in.
The Klippers tied it up at 13:31 when Hoffman finished off a Taylor Duzan set-up with a glove side deke. But Robbie Ciolfi put the Terriers up again 36 seconds into the third on a weak shot that beat Cahill five-hole.
The game’s turning point came with five minutes left when Keon Vick took a double-minor for high-sticking Braeden Adamyk to set up a Klipper 4-on-3.
Johnny Calkins scored top shelf only 12 seconds into the man-advantage, although the Klippers failed to score on the second minor, leading to overtime and giving the Terriers a crucial point in the standings.
The win clinched second place for Kindersley and home ice advantage in the first round.
“There’s still mathematically a chance that we could catch Yorkton, but at this point in time our focus switches a little bit,” said coach Rockie Zinger. “It doesn’t really matter where you finish or what points you get, now you’re gauging. You’re seeing where you are against this team, against that team, what it takes to beat those teams.”
Zinger praised Hoffman and Duzan for their work away from the puck and said it was good to see them rewarded after a bit of a dry spell on the score sheet.
“In the last month and a half, Jordon Hoffman and Taylor Duzan have been the best two penalty killers in the SJHL. Any team we’ve seen, there haven’t been two guys who penalty kill like they do. It’s good to see (Hoffman) get rewarded in terms of points.”
Added Hoffman: “We were working hard all night, chipping pucks in, doing what we’re told, hitting guys and we got rewarded in the end.”
The Klippers killed off all five of their penalties with relative ease, but Zinger wasn’t happy with his team’s discipline.
“There were some real needless penalties, some penalties in the offensive zone. There are penalties coming off the bench and that’s a cardinal no-no,” said the coach. “It’s going to stop on its own because if you keep doing those types of things, there will be other guys that plug into the lineup that won’t do it.”
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For anyone who follows the Red Lions and senior hockey in the area, several players on the team are now on twitter, including Chris Wellar, Chad Dorsett, Dustin Garrett and Adam Bowden. Also, John Sonntag is the latest Klipper to join twitter (D. Jay McGrath did not obey the will of the people, which is unfortunate).
Wellar had one of the best lines I've read in a while earlier this week. The Red Lions were recently eliminated from provincials by the powerhouse Maidstone Jets, a heavy favourite for the provincial A title which has assembled players from four or five teams for their run.
Wellar tweets: Breaking news: Peter Forsberg signs with the Red Lions after 9-0 loss in Macklin
I ask why there hasn't been a press conference.
He replies: Not really worthy of the press conference due to the fact Maidstone cut him cause he couldn't crack their lineup
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This was the scene at the WCEC grounds on Tuesday as the sod-turning ceremony was held for the new arena. The weather wasn't ideal as papers (and my hair) blew all over the place, but it went ahead. Now it's time to get to work - see next week's Clarion for the details on what will happen next.
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| From left: Sherry Magnuson (town CAO), Ted Inman (Clark), Tom Geiger (councillor), Patrick Johnston (youth council mayor) and Wayne Foster (Kindersley mayor). |
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The Leafs finally traded Tomas Kaberle today after three years of "will they or won't they" at every trade deadline and draft day.
I didn't expect it to happen, especially after they dealt Francois Beauchemin to Anaheim. But if Kaberle was going to walk as a free agent, the Leafs had to get something for him and Brian Burke got a whopper of a return in my opinion.
Joe Colborne is a bit of a gamble, I admit, but he has a tantalizing mix of size and skill that made scouts drool the year Boston picked him 16th overall from the Camrose Kodiaks.
As long as Colborne is given a year or two in the AHL to hone his game, and people don't expect him to be Jesus, I like his odds of filling the void in the middle, on the second line or perhaps even the first.
On top of that, Boston gave up their first round pick (which will be late in a somewhat weak draft) along with a conditional second rounder in 2012, if Kaberle signs an extension in Beantown or they make the final this year.
Sure, the deal probably means Toronto's first rounder (sent to Boston in the Kessel deal) will be higher, but that's why the B's gave up as much as they did. I really like the deal for Toronto.
In the last two weeks, Burke has acquired two first round picks, two recent first rounders in Colborne and Jake Gardiner, along with Joffrey Lupul, a third rounder and probably a second rounder in exchange for Kaberle, Versteeg and Beauchemin. He gets a big A+ from me. This is the direction I wanted him to take when he joined the Leafs.
Speaking of trades - will there be any left to make by Feb. 28? Trade targets are dropping like flies this week!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Hoffman scores OT winner as Klippers clinch second with win over Terriers
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.)
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, February 9, 2011
Wednesday grab bag
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.
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.
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.”
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
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
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Klippers-Humboldt preview
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.
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.
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