Cold Lake Ice take big strides in weekend action
Rivals come to town
The Cold Lake Ice sat at 1-3-0 entering play on Friday. The team headed to St. Paul to play the Canadiens in the first Battle of the Lakeland. Both teams have had similar starts to their season. On Saturday night, the Ice returned to Imperial Oil Place for a playoff rematch against Killam. This is your Cold Lake Ice Post-Game Report presented by Lake City Coach, and Original Joe’s Cold Lake!
Effort shows in shots
The Cold Lake Ice had a heck of a start against the St. Paul Canadiens. Scott Thackeray opened the scoring on a feed from Colton Buchta, and Donovan Bibeau. The Canadiens would strike back, and tie the game headed into the second period. The Ice had a glorious chance at the side of the net in the period, but missed as the puck skirted straight through the crease. Cold Lake took the coach’s words, and pounded shot after shot on St. Paul.
“[It] went really good. We’re all going hard. Playing the game. Hardwork beats talent. That’s what [the score] shows.” Shane Witney said after the first period.
Result doesn’t match effort
The second period was a continued chess match. Both teams weren’t willing to give an inch. The Canadiens scored a goal 13:27 into the period, but Nelson Schiiler was unfazed the rest of the way to intermission. The Canadiens went up 3-1 to start the third period, but the Ice responded quickly. 15 seconds later Jean-Guy Boisvert found Steven Kufflick to cut the St. Paul lead to 3-2. The Canadiens would manage one more, but Ice piled up several chances in the third period. The shots finished 42-41. The Ice followed Coach Scott Hood’s game plan, and played what might be their best game of the year so far.
Rivalry reignited
The Killam Wheat Kings paid a visit to Imperial Oil Place on Saturday night. The two teams last played back in the first round of playoffs last year. The Killam Wheat Kings completed the sweep of the Ice at Imperial Oil Place. The first period was very quiet. The Ice, although down five guys, managed to play the full twenty and kept the Wheat Kings off the board. The Ice ran into penalty trouble in the second period. Killam scored the opening goal, but couldn’t hold the lead. Jonah Henderson capped a big goal to tie it four minutes later. The Killam Wheat Kings capitalized on Ice penalties minutes later, scoring two goals to end the period. They were up 3-1 at that point.
Tyler Sparrow scored the only goal in the third period. The Wheat Kings skated through the rest of the third period easily managing a depleted Cold Lake bench. The game ended 4-1, but it was a valiant effort for the under-manned Ice team.
“It was a good game, they were playing well, and we were short-handed. And battling. We kind of got off the rails a bit, and took some bad penalties. You’re not going to win in this league taking penalties. Like I said in the pre-game we can’t score. Once again, one goal tonight, that’s not going to cut it.” Head Coach Scott Hood said post-game.
Weekday road trip
The Cold Lake Ice will play Saddle Lake in Saddle Lake on Wednesday. The game is an 8 p.m. start.
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