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Heading into the two-game set at the Cranbrook Rec Plex this weekend, the Kootenay Ice were head-long in their attempt to reach the .500 record. The mark has somehow eluded the club since game six in early October.
Winners of three straight and sporting a 6-2-1-1 record over the last ten games going in, the Ice flirted with the mark Friday in an exciting 3-2 shootout loss to the Regina Pats.
On Saturday they fell to 11-13-1-1, shot down completely in a 6-2 drubbing by the Swift Current Broncos.
“We came out with our ’B’ game today,” said Ice rearguard James Martin, one of Kootenay’s few bright lights Saturday with a goal and an assist. “They did a good job and when we got into the fights there, it put us behind.”
The Ice were down 3-1 but far from out of the game when things got nasty halfway through the second period Saturday. Former Ice forward Micheal Stickland hit Drew Czerwonka in the neutral zone. Czerwonka wasn’t against the boards but the hit from behind had the big forward in a vulnerable position and shook him up. Former Bronco D Ryan Molle took exception to the hit, cross-checked Stickland and started swinging.
Then Bronco captain Derek Claffey got into the act and was promptly challenged by fellow captain Dustin Sylvester. While those two bouts were going on, Bronco rookie Reece Scarlett challenged Kootenay’s Joey Leach.
When the dust settled, Molle had a double minor to go along with his scrap, the second- and third-fight combatants were tossed, and Scarlett was treated for the broken nose Leach had given him.
Just under two minutes later, Czerwonka took a tripping minor that put the Broncos on a five-on-three for over two minutes that the visitors couldn’t convert. The kill brought the 2,621 in attendance to their feet in appreciation but failed to ignite the home side’s scoring touch.
“Personally I wanted to come in here and win,” said Stickland, a thorn in many of his former teammates’ sides all night. “Winning big is never a bad thing in my eyes but we were definitely looking for that first road win and tonight’s a big stepping stone for us to get that monkey off our back.”
Stickland questioned his own judgement on the Czerwonka hit, but also questioned Molle following up in kind.
“He had made the pass up to Czerwonka and I could see the hit coming. I hit him and I could hear (Molle) yelling from behind,” said Stickland. “He hit me with a cross-check but if he wants to go or whatever, just ask me, I’ll turn around. But I knew it was coming and I knew that after Molle made that pass he’d feel bad about it.”
The Broncos opened the scoring early in this one with Justin Dowling firing a backhanded laser over the shoulder of Ice starter Todd Mathews 1:03 into the game.
Halfway through the period Taylor Vause blocked a Hayden Rintoul point-shot and was off to the races, roofing a wrist-shot to make it 2-0. Ice head coach Mark Holick pulled his goaltender after that goal, but only to calm him down, promptly putting Mathews back in the nets 1:31 later.
Kootenay’s power play scored its second goal in as many nights when Matt Fraser got the home side back in the game off a feed from James Martin at 15:41.
The Broncos restored their two-goal lead 1:50 later when newly acquired Stepan Novotny backhanded his 15th of the season past Mathews to make it 3-1.
A scoreless second highlighted by the brawl gave way to a motivated Bronco club that stretched the lead to 4-1 early in the third. The WHL’s leading goal getter, Cody Eakin, took a pass from Stickland streaking into the slot and buried his 23rd of the season past Mathews.
Martin, playing his best game of the season against his old team, wired his second of the year past Morgan Clark to cut the lead to two.
Eakin would make the Ice pay again, sniping his second of the evening on a power play to make it 5-2.
Swift Current would round out the scoring with another power play marker by Justin Dowling at 9:30. Mathews was then replaced by Nathan Lieuwen for the balance of the game.
Kootenay’s bench boss lamented the club’s slow start. Factoring in Kootenay’s 2-8 record when their opponent scores first, giving the high-powered Broncos’ offence a chance to free-wheel wasn’t part of the plan.
“The first two were pretty good shots and after that we’re playing catch-up,” said Holick. “For a team that doesn’t score very often, playing catch-up is tough.
“But they’re a better team than their (now 13-11-0-2) record indicates. They’re big, strong and can score. They’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing right now and when they get things on track they’ll be a force.”
Pats 3 Ice 2 (SO) – On Friday, Kootenay survived a Pat onslaught early and skated to a 2-0 first-period lead on goals by Joey Leach and Kevin King. The Pats chipped away with Jordan Eberle scoring a power play goal in the second, and Kyle Mulder deflecting the tying goal past Todd Mathews with just over five minutes left in regulation.
After a scoreless overtime, Max Reinhart scored for the Ice in the shootout but both Brett Leffler and Matt Strueby beat Mathews to give the Pats the win.
Quick Hits – Kevin King’s powerplay goal Friday broke a 0-for-25 drought with the man-advantage dating back to a Nov. 7 loss to the Red Deer Rebels... D Brayden McNabb missed his eighth game with a knee injury but should return when the Ice start a five-game road trip in Kamloops on Friday… F Dominick Pacovsky took a shot off his foot against the Pats Friday and missed Saturday’s action while D Petr Senkerik was a healthy scratch… McNabb could play for Team WHL in Kelowna Thursday against the Russian Selects… Both Sylvester and King had modest four-game point-scoring streaks snapped Saturday.
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