The Kindersley Sr. Klippers hit the road for a pair of games against the Hafford Hawks and Edam 3 Stars. The games had a wrinkle however, as both had to be played at neutral sites. This was because of the mild weather, and a because there is natural ice in both Edam and Hafford.
Friday's game was played at the Don Ross Arena in North Battleford, with Hafford being the host. The Hawks scored first in this one, as Brandon Lesko got his 5th of the season, this one in the powerplay, to give Hafford a 1-0 lead. Kindersley answered back about four minutes later, as Kyle Donaldson got his 4th of the season to tie the game at one. Damon McKenzie and Byron Ismond picked up the assists on what turned out to be a 3-on-2 rush.
Hafford took over the game in the second however, scoring four goals in all. The first goal for the Hawks was a beauty, as Kyle Litchenwald used his hand eye coordination to perfection, knocking down a shot of the back boards, batting it down from the glass back to his stick, ane beating Klippers goaltender Cody Beswitherick to make it 2-1. The goal was Litchenwald's 5th of the season.
The Hawks kept coming, as captain Scott Thomson blasted a perfect shot from the top of the right circles to beat Beswitherick to double the Hafford lead for his 1st of the season. Then before the halfway point of the second, Jordan Braid got hos 3rd of the season to make the score 4-1. Then before the period was out, Kayden Tocher made it 5-1 for the Hawks, his 2nd goal of the season.
The third period only saw one goal, as the Hawks Kyle Ireland finished a perfect 2-on-1 setup from Jeremy Boyer for his 6th of the season. The game was completed dominated by the Hafford Hawks, as it it wasn't for Beswitherick it could have been much worse. Kindersley was missing some key pieces though, as Shayne Neigum, Troy Boisjoli and Jonny Calkins were out of the lineup.
The Sr. Klippers then shifted focus to the Edam 3 Stars for a Saturday matchup which was played at the Turtleford Arena. The first period was much of the same for Kindersley, as they were lucky to come out of it scoreless thanks to Logan Drackett, who was another Sr. Klipper who was not in the lineup Friday.
Kindersley did welcome back Boisjoli and Neigum to the lineup, and once they got things going in the second period they took the lead. First up was a goal by Kyle Donaldson, his 5th of the season, as he put one past 3 Stars netminder Taryn Kotchorek to make it 1-0. The assists went to Jessey Pocock and Nik Fomradas. Then the Klippers got a powerplay and took advantage, as Brody Ryberg took a perfect shot from the left point beating Kotchorek over the right shoulder to double the lead at 2-0. The goal was Ryberg's 2nd of the season, and the assists went to Carson Grolla and Kyle Donaldson.
Thanks to some penalty trouble and questionable officiating, Kindersley went down two men to start the 3rd period, and the 3 Stars got on the board to cut into the lead. It was Kendall Fransoo who finally beat Drackett for his 2nd of the season to make the score 2-1. Kindersley weathered the storm from the there, as they held on for the one goal victory thanks to Drackett and solid defense.
The powerplays handed out this game were the story, as Edam went 1 for 9, and Kindersley was 1 for 5. Despite this Kindersley managed to hang on and came out on top to up their record to 6-3. Edam came out and played this game with a chip on their shoulder, causing a chippy affair and a reason for all the penalties being handed out to both teams.
Kindersley will host Wilkie on Friday to wrap up the first half of the season. Puck drop at the WCEC is 8:00 pm.
Thu, Apr 25, 9:30 AM
