Atom 2 Chinooks defeated by Kainai in nailbiter home game

Atom 'C' Chinooks vs Kainai Chiefs
C. Davis photos and video

Chris Davis, Pincher Creek Voice

Pincher Creek's Atom C (2) Chinooks hosted the Kainai Chiefs at the MCC Arena on Saturday morning, October 3.  While the Chiefs ultimately prevailed over the Chinooks by a score of 6-4, local hockey fans were delighted to see an incredible amount of growth for the Chinooks since their last home game attempt.

The Chinooks were back on home ice after a successful road trip last weekend, when they defeated both Warner and Kainai.

Kainai's #12 Nick Fox scored first in the October 3 game, less than a minute into the first period at the 19:04 mark.  The Chinooks regained equal footing almost immediately after that when #18 Caleb Evans scored a spirited goal at the 18:28 mark, assisted by #3 Connor Stuckey and #21 Abi Cryderman.  Cryderman made an attempt a couple of minutes later that was oh-so-close.

The Chiefs were quite strong offensively, and as a result the Chinooks defence was kept busy throughout the first period, none more so than Goalie #30 Christopher LeBlanc, who put on a stellar performance.

The Chiefs brought the score up to 3-1 in their favour with goals by R.J. Eagle Bear and Jeff Blackwater.  They demonstrated good positioning and setups, good passing, good skating, and an agressive offensive style.

With 19 seconds left in the first period Caleb Evans rescued the mood of his team with another slick goal, assisted again by Abi Cryderman, to bring the score to 3-2.

Hat trick for Chinooks #18 Caleb Evans

In the second period the Chinooks were on fire.  Not literally, but they did manage to significantly douse the Kainai offence, and they brought the game to the Kainai end more frequently.  At the 11:19 mark Caleb Evans worked his magic again, scoring a quick one with a nice assist by #9 Corbin Litchfield, tying the game up at 3-3.  A solid round of back and forth hockey led to no gain for either team until the 6:32 mark, when Chinooks #11 Tristen Blood made good on several solid attempts with a goal, assisted by #10 Nico Charette.  With that, the Chinooks were in the lead 4-3.

Chinooks #11 Tristen Blood 

Kainai pushed back hard, and with only 17.5 seconds left in the second period Chiefs #10 Jeff Blackwater scored his second of the day, again assisted by Aliza Big Snake, tying it again at 4-4.  The third period played out with neither team getting the advantage.  A lot of back and forth play, and a couple of overworked goalies.

With 2:38 left in the game Blackwater scored again for the Chiefs, putting them up 5-4.  Then only 13 seconds later the Chiefs scored again, a second goal for Eagle Bear, and the clock ran out on a solid game with the Chiefs on top 6-4.

The Atom C Chinooks were definite contenders out there.  Both their offensive and defensive lines have greatly improved even over the short period of this new season.  They're showing real confidence in each other and themselves, they're passing, they're using the boards to their advantage, they're skating better every time I see them, and they're getting much better at bringing the game to their opponent's end and playing the game on their own terms.

Both Caleb Evans of the Chinooks and Jeff Blackwater of the Chiefs achieved hat-tricks in this game.