Lethbridge 2 edges Bantam Chinooks in rowdy barnburner

Bantam Chinooks vs Lethbridge 2
C. Davis photos and video

Chris Davis, Pincher Creek Voice

Pincher Creek's Bantam Chinooks hosted the Lethbridge 2 Spitfires at the MCC arena on Saturday, January 19.

The Chinooks got off to a good start, scoring three unanswered goals in the first period.  The first of those was an unassisted power play beauty at the 14:40 mark by Ethan Richards, who knocked the puck out of the air near the Spitfires net, slapping it to the ice, controlling it, and sending it home.  An excellent passing play near the 9:23 mark saw the puck go from Kieran Douglas to Captain Sam Gerrand to Richards at the net and in. Jessen Luco scored for the Chinooks at the 2:30 mark and at the end of the period the Chinooks were ahead 3-0.

The second period was more or less dominated by the Spitfires, who came out running and seemed to have figured out how to shut down the Chinooks' offence, particularly of note was their goaltender, who was an impenetrable wall.  The Spitfires scored 4 unanswered goals in the second period, despite a concerted effort on the part of the Chinooks' defence, bringing the score to 4-3 in the Spitfires' favor.

The third period was a rowdy affair, with one foul mouthed Spitfires coach getting ejected, only to continue hurling his invectives from the stands.  The Chinooks hammered the Spitfires net repeatedly to little avail.  On the Chinooks' end goalie Jeremy Kretz was a wall of doom for the Spitfires' offence.  This period was a battle of the goalies, and it came to a draw.  The Spitfires scored once, with only 7:38 left in the game.  Austin Kristjanson scored for the Chinooks with 4:37 remaining, assisted by Ethan Richards and Sam Gerrand.

Final score: Spitfires 5, Chinooks 4

Pincher Creek's Bantam Chinooks are currently second in the Spud League standings with 10 wins, 2 losses, and 3 ties.  They have 5 regular season games left on the schedule.