High Country Rockies douse Midget Huskies' Provincials aspirations

A tale of two great goalies - Huskies' Jeremy Kretz (above) and Rockies' Kody Briggs (below)

Lloyd Lybbert photos

Chris Davis with Toni Lucas

Photos and videos by C. Davis, T. Lucas, L. Lybbert

Pincher Creek's Midget Huskies saw their Provincials aspirations dashed after a loss and a tie during provincial playdowns to the Black Diamond based High Country Rockies.

On Sunday the Rockies hosted the Huskies and defeated them 6-4. That put the Huskies in the position of needing a three point win when they hosted the Rockies at Pincher Creek's Memorial Community Centre arena on Tuesday evening, January 28. That game played to a 4-4 tie.

The Huskies started the game off in style when #9 Blair Goodreau scored only 36 seconds in. Huskies Captain #22 Zach Wall had a shot lined up but misfired as Rockies #8 Daniel Hemus was moving in to intercept him, and Goodreau was ready in perfect position at the blue line as the puck slid his way to slap it in. Wall and #12 Colin Lincez picked up assists on the play.

This game was an exhilarating battle from beginning to end. The Rockies are a fast and hard hitting team, doggedly determined in their pursuit of the puck. Despite playing a short bench, missing 4 teammates, forced to scramble their lines, the Huskies were in it determined to win it. Both teams gave their all defensively as well. Onlookers were treated to some mighty fine hockey.

The Rockies messed with the Huskies' usual style of play at every possible turn. Gambits we've seen work all season for the Huskies were foiled with a frustrating regularity. Both teams demonstrated top-notch passing skills. Both teams can skate. Fast. Controlled. At no time did the pace ever let up.

At 10:35 on the clock Rockies #8 Daniel Hemus raced in with Huskies defenders right behind him to score unassisted, tying it 1-1. Five minutes of intense back and forth followed, with some stellar performances from both goaltenders, Ethan Foster in the Rockies net and Jeremy Kretz in the Huskies net.

The Huskies killed off a 2:00 minute penalty, but it cost them momentum. With 5:30 remaining in the first Rockies #17 scored, assisted by #16 Connor Brogden, bringing it to 2-1. The pace continued unabated, but that score stood to the end of the period.

I've had the privilege of seeing all of the Huskies play for four seasons now, including while wearing Chinooks and Thunder jerseys, and out of that blur of games the second period of this game will be remembered by me as one of the finest so far.  Down 2-1, five points away from where they needed to be, banged up from a hard-played first period, facing formidable opponents, the Huskies poured their hearts into this one.

Those hearts must have sunk a little at the 15:41 mark when the Rockies notched another goal, bringing it to 3-1. That one was a textbook play as #16 Connor Brogden drove it up the right wing, make a well-timed pass to #9 Wilson MacDonald, who quickly put it home into the lower left corner. A mere six seconds later Huskies #23 Craig Marshall smacked one high glove-side to bring it to 3-2. Classic. The Huskies incurred a 2 minute penalty at the 15:11 mark and killed it, again losing some momentum. The hits were getting harder, and the pressure was intense. The Rockies incurred a four minute penalty at the 12:53 mark, but the Huskies were unable to capitalize on it. At 3:44 the Rockies donated another player to the box, this time for 2 minutes. 

With 2:27 remaining Huskies #26 Marc Sciarra evened the score to 3-3. That was an interesting play. Wall takes it to the net on the powerplay, grabs his own rebound, dances around with it at the left boards near the goal line, and then makes a long pass to the right point where Sciarra knew just what to do with it, slapping it straight in as the Rockies' defence scrambled to react. 27 seconds later the Huskies incurred another penalty, two minutes assessed with two minutes remaining. They killed that one off to end the period still tied 3-3.

The third period was a bit of a mess. Both teams were showing signs of fatigue. Things were getting sloppy in general. The hits got harder and harder. That didn't seem to faze Blair Goodreau, at least at the beginning of the period. He took the puck on a long lonesome stroll from his own blue line to the Rockies' net, a quick backhand, a ding for good luck and apparently in enough to make the difference. 4-3 Huskies. If that had ultimately been a game-changer the jaws would be wagging. Second goal for Goodreau, not bad for a defenceman...

Offence, defence, it's all hockey to Huskies #9 Blair Goodreau

The Huskies were still in contention for that needed three point win, but it didn't happen. The two teams played to a draw, visibly running out of steam as the game progressed. In the last five minutes you could feel the desperation set in - the Huskies were desperate for those two points and the Rockies were desperate to deny them. With 4:19 remaining the Rockies tied it 4-4, the second goal of the game for Connor Brogden. #13 Cole Goss earned an assist on that one, and it was all over but the rough stuff. The Rockies incurred 4 penalties in the last three and a half minutes of the game (a total of 20 minutes in penalty time!) including a game misconduct for #17 Kody Briggs. Four penalties for Briggs all told, including his two in the second period, for a total of 18 minutes. 2 minutes shy of a full period. The big ones coming with 10 seconds left in a game you've essentially won. Unusual choice. The Huskies also incurred a 2 minute penalty with 1:50 remaining.

Despite the silliness at the end of the game, both teams did the classy thing and lined up for the traditional handshake. Final score 4-4. Playdown win to the Rockies. Heckuva good game, and I sure wish there was a next time.

"This our Olympics, its for the kids," said Rockies Coach Steve Briggs. "The kids played hard, they did everything they could to try to win, and it was both teams going. That's all you can ask. Ask all the fans, we definitely provided some pretty good entertainment for them. I'm really happy, really proud of our boys." Briggs acknowledged the Huskies as well. "They were great, and played their hearts out too. Somebody has to lose, and unfortunately they did, but fortunately, we did it. We're so proud of Ethan (Rockies goalie Ethan Foster), he did it all for us. He got our player of the game."

The Rockies will be playing Warner in the next round of playdowns.

The Midget Huskies are scheduled to host Kainai for a regular season game this Friday January 31 starting at 8:00 pm at the MCC arena.