Palominos crush Cowboys

Chris Davis, Pincher Creek Voice

Cowboys vs Palominos
C. Davis photo

The Piegan Cowboys hosted the Nanton Palominos at Pincher Creek's MCC Arena on Saturday night, February 18, for game two of a best-of-five, in the first round of the RHL playoffs.

Saturday night's game had an element of grudge-match to it for the Cowboys, after Caleb Bailey suffered a dislocated shoulder from a hit-from-behind in Friday night's 8-0 defeat by Nanton.  The damage is serious enough to warrant surgery, and will keep Bailey out of the rest of the season.

Nanton scored early, and scored often.  Their passing play was exceptional, their offence was determined, and their defence was solid.   By contrast, the Cowboys seemed distracted and disorganized, often passing wildly to no gain.  They failed to mount a significant offence, and the Palominos found every hole in their defence.  The Palominos made the most of their power-play, in a game with fewer penalties than usually occur when these two teams meet.

At the end of the first period the score was 0-4 for Nanton.  The Cowboys came out determined in the second period, and a goal by #25 Dan Bikman at the 15:28 mark revived the optimism of the hometown crowd, but only briefly.  Nanton scored a flukey goal that ricocheted off of Cowboys' #12 Byron Jackson as he was guarding the net, a deflating moment for the Cowboys.  Cowboy goalie #31 Jeff Kaupp couldn't get a break in this game, and the situation kept getting more desperate for the Cowboys.   The second period ended with the Palominos ahead 1-8.

The third period started with another encouraging moment as Cowboys' #22 Colin Bradbury scored in the first minute.  Unfortunately, it was to be the last ray of hope for the Cowboys.  Again Nanton dominated the play, scoring almost at will, eventually winning the game by a disheartening 14-2.  The Palominos left the ice without participating in the traditional post-game handshake.

The third game in this playoff series will be played at the MCC Arena in Pincher Creek on Saturday, February 25, starting at 8:30 pm.  It's a do-or-die game for the Cowboys.  If they lose it, the season is over for them.  Given their record against the Palominos, it's likely to be their last home game of the season either way.


Win or lose, Cowboys fans have stuck by the team, and their old-school style of hard-hitting hockey.