Ice Kneel to Kings in Game 1

Cold Lake falls 7-4 on the road against Killiam

The Cold Lake Jr B Ice hit the road for game 1 of their playoff series against the Wheat Kings. The long 3.5 hour bus trip down to Killiam took it’s toll on the Ice after keeping in the game for the first 40 minutes, eventually tired out and loss the match in the third period.

The match was very physical, with fast turnovers, Head Coach, Scott Hood says that’s the type of hockey the club needs to be prepared for, “it was very physical, they like to get the puck deep and chase down our D-man. We had to turn the page on them and do the exact same thing. We got away from it for a bit, but overall it’s one game.”

Killiam opened the game with a goal from Kyle Sanders at 4:13 in the first; which Sanders followed up with a slashing penalty two minutes later. The penalty set Darian Hartley up nicely, from Alex Antal to put in a power play goal seconds after the door swung shut in the penalty box. The Wheat Kings broke the tie before the close of the period, with a goal from Craig Lynes.

One minute into the second,  Drew Bish put in an unassisted goal to advance the Wheat Kings with a two goal lead on the Ice. The Ice fought hard and were able to close the gap with a power play goal from Brae Howatt at 4:17; assists to Jason Hamilton and Jacob Bartman.  Captain of the Ice, Curtis Witney followed it up with an unassisted goal at 7:35. Unfortunately, for the Ice, the Wheat Kings were not satisfied leaving the period tied; Brett Yuha put a goal past Ice’s netminder, Dyson Loewen with seconds left on the clock.

A close 4-3 game heading into the third, the Ice tied it up at 5:07 from Nathan Pliska, with assists to Carlen Stahn and Ethan Lacrocque. Breaking the tie for the second time in the game, and ultimately, taking the game winner,  was Craig Lynes for Killiam at 8:16. The Ice would follow that the goal up with some penalties that would seal the deal for the Wheat Kings. Two more goals would come in, one each for Clay Lang and Kyle Sanders, both on the power play. That would close it for game 1 of round 1 of the Northeast Alberta Jr B Hockey League playoffs with a 7-4 win for Killiam.

“We’re definitely not out of this,” Coach Hood says the team is prepared to meet the Wheat Kings again Friday evening, in Killiam, for game 2 of the playoffs. Puck drop at 8:30 pm, you can catch updates, intermission reports, scores and more on Lakeland Connect’s social pages thanks to Lake City Coach. The Ice return home for game 3 of the playoffs Saturday at 7:30 pm.