Atom Chinooks make it to Playoffs round two

Atom Chinooks vs Crowsnest Thunder and Coaldale Cobras

2011/12 Pincher Creek Atom Chinooks
C. Davis photo

Chris Davis, Pincher Creek Voice

Playoffs round 1: Atom Chinooks vs Thunder

On Friday, March 2 Pincher Creek's Atom Chinooks hosted the Crowsnest Pass Atom Thunder for the first of two round-one playoff games.

The Thunder dominated the first period, outscoring the Chinooks 4-1, a gap that proved too big to overcome for the home team, despite taking the second period 3-2 and tying the third period 3-3.



Penalties hurt the Chinooks in this game, particularly in the second period.  They logged 22 minutes of penalty time compared to the Thunder's 10 minutes.   Chinooks #25 Taite Jessen got a hat-trick and an assist in the game.  #21 Josh Conley scored twice.  #2 Easton Fitzpatrick and #3 Jesse Hall scored once apiece, and #9 Trinity Tanner got two assists.  Thunder Captain #20 Terran Chomyn was a force to be reckoned with, scoring five goals and getting one assist.  #10 Colby Snider  got an assist on four of those goals, and scored once in his own right.

Final score: Thunder 9, Chinooks 7

The second game between these two teams was played at the Crowsnest Sports Complex in Coleman on Sunday, March 4.  For the Chinooks to move forward in the playoffs they had to win this game by a three point margin.

The first period was an evenly-matched struggle, with strong defence displayed by both teams.  The Chinooks scored first, a goal by #2 Easton Fitzpatrick, assisted by #3 Jesse Hall, with 4:43 left in the period.  Thunder #19 Matt Merritt scored an unassisted goal with 58 seconds left in the period, tying it up.  The second period was also a draw at two goals apiece, with Chinooks #20 Nelz Vance and #21 Josh Conley scoring unassisted for their team.  In the third period the Chinooks put in 100%. Two unassisted goals, the first by #26 Cameron Little and the second by Conley, went unanswered by the Thunder.

When the buzzer rang at the end of the third period the Chinooks were up 5-3.  This meant the two teams were tied 12-12 for the best-of-two, and an overtime period was necessary to decide the playoff round.  Chinooks #26 Cameron Little became the hero of the hour when he scored, unassisted, ensuring his team would move forward to round two of the playoffs.

Final score: Chinooks 6, Thunder 3

Playoffs round 2:  Atom Chinooks vs Coaldale

Atom Chinooks vs Coaldale Cobras
C. Davis photo

The Chinooks hosted the Coaldale Cobras at Pincher Creek's MCC Arena on the evening of Tuesday, March 6 for the first game of playoffs round two.  Coaldale has proven to be a tough team for the Chinooks to beat this season, and this game was no exception.  The Cobras got off to a fast start, scoring twice in the first minute of play.  Chinooks goalie #30 Carl Tetachuk was kept very busy in this game, which all too often was played in front of his net.  Chinooks #21 Josh Conley scored at the 14:51 mark, with an assist by #11 Easton Fitzpatrick.  With 5:35 left on the clock in the first period Cobras #14 Derrien Tonin scored his second goal of the game.  The first period ended with the Cobras up 3-1.

The Chinooks were shut out of the second period, which saw Coaldale score twice.  The Chinooks gathered penalties and as a result played short-handed for much of the period.

Josh Conley scored a beautiful goal in the third period, assisted by #10 Lloyd Lybbert.  It was to be the Chinooks last goal of the game.  An overabundance of penalties again damaged their forward momentum, and the strong Coaldale offence kept them on the defensive.  A final goal by Cobras #3 Hunter Gudmundson was his second of the game, both assisted by #5 Nolan Price.

Final score: Cobras 6, Chinooks 2

The Cobras demonstrated a well developed passing play in this game.  They kept the play confined to the Chinooks' end for much of the time. The Chinooks seemed to be playing tired and distracted, something they will have to work on for their next deciding game against the Cobras.