Pincher Creek hockey to November 2, 2014

Peewee Chinooks vs Picture Butte
Photos and videos C. Davis and T. Lucas

• Initiation Chinooks keep their sticks on the ice
• Oil Kings edge Novice Chinooks
• Atom Chinooks host tough Rebels
• Peewee Chinooks win two, lose one
• Midget Huskies undefeated in three starts
• RHL Huskies lose to Nanton, win against Kainai on a technicality

Initiation Chinooks keep their sticks on the ice

Initiation Chinooks vs Nanton

The Initiation Chinooks hosted Nanton on Saturday morning, November 1.  It was a pleasure to see these two young teams demonstrate their skills.  Nanton won the game by a significant margin, but a goal from Keegan Yellowhorn of the Chinooks avoided a shutout.  At this stage of development basic skills like skating, stick handling, and teamwork were the most important things, and all of those were abundantly evident during this game.

Oil Kings edge Novice Chinooks

Novice Chinooks vs Taber Oil Kings

A weaker second period cost Pincher Creek's Chinooks in their Sunday November 2 home Spud League seeding game against Taber's Oil Kings.  The two teams were very evenly matched, and were 2-2 going into the second after goals from Chinooks Maddix Dyck and Lane Conley (assisted by Joah Randall) and Oil Kings' Tage Jensen and Kayden Kress.  Jensen scored the lone goal in the second, unassisted, to make it 3-2 Oil Kings going into the third.

With 12:29 remaining in the third Oil Kings' Hayden Span increased their lead to 4-2, assisted by Samuel Tolsma.  That could have been game over for the Chinooks, but they really poured it on in the latter half of the third, definitely assisted by their goalie, who put in a Herculean effort.  The game got a bit chippy near the end, and the Chinooks served the only two penalties of the game as it wound down.  Neither side was slowing up.  With only 2.7 seconds left Walker Anderson scored for the Chinooks, a nice way to conclude a great game, for a final score of 4-3 for the Oil Kings.  I'm looking forward to seeing these two teams play each other again, because this was a very close, exciting game.

A tip of the hat to returning officials Chaz and Nelz Vance, good job.  It was also nice to see Pascale Lepine back in the barn, checking out the action.

Atom Chinooks host tough Rebels

Atom Chinooks vs Bow Island

The Atom Chinooks hosted Bow Island's Rebels at the MCC arena on Sunday afternoon, November 2.  Quite simply, the Rebels were playing on a different level, winning the game by a significant margin.  Rhett Fitzpatrick saved the Chinooks from a shutout by scoring in the third.

Peewee Chinooks

Peewee Chinooks vs Kainai

The Peewee Chinooks played Kainai twice in the last two weeks, the first an away game at Kainai on October 26 and the second a home game for the Chinooks on November 1.  Both were Spud League seeding games.The larger Kainai bench had trouble making headway against the Chinooks in both games.  The Chinooks won the first game by a wide margin.  Chinooks goalie Wes Krampe stopped 92% of the shots aimed his way.

Kainai had a stronger second game on November 1, but the Chinooks prevailed to win it 11-6 in front of a happy hometown crowd.  Scoring for the Chinooks in that effort were Brayden Scotten and Nelz Vance with two goals and an assist each, Michael Kleinhans with two goals and an assist, Caleb Evans and Easton Fitzpatrick with two goals each, and Logan Deley with a goal and an assist. Also earning assists for the Chinooks were Nico Charette, William Johnson Jr., and Cade Ames.  Connor Stuckey and Christian Berthiaume were also strong presences on the ice for the Chinooks, two rising stars that bear watching.  Scoring twice each for Kainai were Trace Crow Chief and Dryden First Water. M Blackwater scored once and also earned an assist.  Nick Fox scored once.  Jet Black Water earned two assists.

"It was a good game, the kids are really starting to work well together," said Chinooks Coach Kayne Evans after the second game against Kainai.  He was happy with the performance of the team.  Evans said that the have played Kainai earlier in the season.  Of Kainai's better showing he said "They have improved, they have really improved in a week.  Our kids are improving too."

Peewee Chinooks vs Picture Butte

The Chinooks found themselves up against a steeper challenge on Sunday, November 2 when the Picture Butte Blades came to town. Chinooks goalie Wes Krampe earned his cupcakes in this contest, as he faced a barrage from the Blades' offence throughout.  At the end of the first period the Blades were ahead 4-1.  The Pincher Creek goal came from Logan Deley, assisted by Tristan Blood and Nico Charette.

The Blades doubled down in the second, which ended 8-2.  Nelz Vance scored for the Chinooks, assisted by Caleb Evans.  The Chinooks held their own in the second half of the second period, rising to the challenge, and in the third period they carried that momentum forward, outshooting and outscoring the Blades.  In the last ten minutes of the period the Chinooks were playing at a new level, with Logan Deley scoring twice, both times assisted by Easton Fitzpatrick, the second of those goals short handed at the 10:18 mark.  Hat trick for Logan Deley!  That brought it to 9-4 for the Blades, and neither team scored after that, despite good efforts from both sides.  Solid goaltending on both ends of the rink particularly in that latter half of the third. 

Midget Huskies undefeated in three starts

The Midget Huskies remain undefeated after their first three games of the season.  At their home and season opener they defeated Bow Island 7-3 (click here for that story).  On October 24 they travelled to Picture Butte, winning that game 11-0.  Last weekend, on Saturday November 1, they travelled to Kainai, winning that game 9-2.  The Huskies will be at their other home rink, the Crowsnest Sports Complex, on Saturday November 8 starting at noon, to play Picture Butte again.  They'll be in Pincher Creek on Friday November 14 to host Warner, the only team they haven't faced yet this season. That game is scheduled to start at 8:00 pm.

RHL Huskies lose to Nanton, win against Kainai on a technicality

The RHL Huskies lost an away game 11-0 to Nanton's Palominos on October 31 after playing with a small 10-skater bench.  The next day, November 1, the Huskies hosted the newly re-formed Kainai Braves for the first time at the MCC arena in Pincher Creek, with the Braves coming from behind to win it 6-5, or at least that's what everyone thought.  It was discovered afterward that Kainai played with an ineligible skater, and as a result they forfeit their win, based on league rules that have been made clear and have been previously enforced, giving the Huskies two points and their first official win of the season.  It's not the way they'd prefer to win of course, but that's the way it is. Attendance was very good at the Pincher Creek rink, with 206 tickets sold.

Huskies GM Jeff Kaupp had this to say about the bizarre turn of events: "It's a shame such a good game was decided by a technicality. Both teams played good and it was entertaining hockey. Kainai came to play and they have a good team. I'm sure next time we meet it will be a fast paced physical game."

Here's the story as I originally wrote it, because the game was an exciting one, worthy of recollecting:

The Huskies started and ended strong in the game against Kainai, but a weak second period cost them dearly.  Scoring for the Huskies in the first period were Alex Elliott and Mason Bond, who also earned assists on each other's goals.  Also earning an assist on Elliott's goal was Hayden Shackel.  2-0 Huskies going into the second.   Scoring for the Huskies were Brett Tarcon and Hayden Shackel.  Assists went to Kievan Weasel Bear, Shawn Robertson, and Marty Wicks. The Braves scored our times in the second period, goals coming from Kash Shade, Mike Whitequills, Clay Plume, and Manny Yellowfly.  Assists went to Ty Day Chief, Jeremy Weasel Moccasin, Clay Plume, and Shawn Wells.  4-4 going into the third.

Mike Whitequills scored twice for the Braves in the last period to earn a hat trick. Shawn Wells and Colton Wells earned assists on those goals.   Scoring for the Huskies were Hayden Shackel and Brett Tarcon, with assists going to Kevin Olson and Marty Wicks.  6-5 Braves, before being disqualified for having an ineligible skater.

Penalties were kept to a minimum, with Kainai serving 8 minutes and Pincher Creek serving 6 minutes.   47 shots on net for Pincher Creek and 53 for Kainai.

Stars of the game:

1. Mike Whitequills (Braves)
2. Brett Tarcon (Huskies)
3. Danny Weasel Fat (Braves)

The RHL Huskies are on the road for the next three weekends, and will be back at the MCC on Saturday, November 29.

This hockey report brought to you by Pincher Creek Co-op