Survivor Series

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t’s that time of the year – that exciting time when teams battle hard for nearly 2 months to win the Baldy Northcott Trophy and earn the right to represent Manitoba at the Keystone Cup.
 
Playoffs!
 
This year, the league added a Survivor Series where the 4^th placed and 5^th placed teams in each division played off in a Best of 3 series to determine who would continue.
 
The North Division series saw the 5^th place Norway House North Stars play the 4^th place Fisher River Hawks, as the Hawks made their first playoff appearance.
 
Game 1 was Thursday night in Fisher River.  Norway House opened the scoring with 2 goals in a row, including one on the power play.  Fisher River scored twice to tie, including a power play goal of their own, with goals just 11 seconds apart.  With the game tied heading to the second, the teams both found their offences, as Fisher River scored 9 times, including 2 power play goals and a shorthanded marker, while Norway House added 6 of their own, with a power play goal to make the score 11-8 Fisher River after 40 minutes.  The 3^rd period saw the Hawks score 2 power play goals to go up 13-8, only to have Norway House add a power play goal of their own to cut the deficit to 13-9.  Over the final 7 minutes of the game, the Hawks added two more goals, while the North Stars tacked on one of their own.  When the final buzzer rang, the Hawks had won their first ever playoff game by a 15-10 score.
Fisher River was led by Dalton Woodhouse with 4 goals and 2 assists, while Darryl Thaddeus scored 4 goals and added 1 assist.  Both Evan Thickfoot & Brent Sutherland each recorded 2 goals and 3 assists.  Rayne Nykyforuk added 5 helpers.  Larry Traverse & Tyler Kemball each recorded 4 points.  Jared Thickfoot & Gavin Mason finished with 2 points each.  Arnie Mason, playing goal in an emergency situation, stopped 40 of the 50 shots he faced to earn the win.
Norway House’s Antoni Grieves scored 4 goals and added 2 assists.  Conley Spence & Mitchell Muskego each recorded 3 points, while Braden Simpson, Harley Muminawatum & Corbin Tait all finished with 2 points.  Jarred Gore got shelled with 81 shots, stopping 66 of them.
 
Game 2 in the series was Friday night in Fisher River.  The Hawks started fast, scoring just 34 seconds into the game.  Norway House responded with 2 goals not long after, including one on a power play & held a 2-1 advantage after 1 period.  The second period saw the North Stars jump out to a 3-1 lead, only to have the Hawks score 3 times in 2:45 to take a 4-3 lead to the 3^rd.  Norway House tied the game up a minute into the 3^rd, then took a 5-4 lead shortly after.  They added an insurance goal to go up 6-4.  Fisher River made a last push, scoring with 1:28 to go to narrow the lead to one, but that was as close as they could get, as the North Stars come away with a hard fought 6-5 victory to even the series at 1-1 and force a game 3.
Norway House was led by Darrian Sinclair, who scored 1 goal and added 2 assists.  Braden Simpson tacked on a goal and an assist & Corbin Tait scored twice.  Jarred Gore faced 51 shots, stopping 46 of them to earn the win.
Fisher River saw Darryl Thaddeus score a hat trick, while Evan Thickfoot added 3 assists.  Arnie Mason again tended goal, stopping 28 of the 34 shots he faced.
 
Game 3 was scheduled to be played Sunday afternoon in Norway House.  The Fisher River Hawks however could not make the trip and were unable to play the game.  Norway House was awarded the game 1-0 and therefore won the North Division Survivor Series 2 games to 1.  They will now face Peguis in the next round.
 
 
The South Division Survivor Series began Friday night with the 5^th place North Winnipeg Satelites playing the 4^thplace Arborg Ice Dawgs.
 
Game 1 was in Arborg and it was the Satelites who scored the only goal of the first period, a power play marker to hold a 1-0 lead.  Arborg tied the game & then went ahead 2-1 with the only 2 goals of the 2^nd period.  The 3^rdperiod saw both teams open the game up, as the Satelites tied the game on the power play, only to see the Ice Dawgs score a power play goal of their own to re-take the lead.  Over the final 9 minutes of the game, Arborg scored 3 times, while the Satelites added one more, as the Ice Dawgs grabbed a 6-3 win and a 1-0 series lead.
Travis Kilbrei paced the Dawgs with 4 assists.  Cory Kuldys added 2 goals and an assist, while Cal Finnson potted 2 goals.  Colton Davies scored a goal and added an assist.  Jon Narverud turned aside 45 of the 48 shots he faced in the game for the win.
Both Howard Grieves & Glen Paupanekis recorded a goal and an assist for the Satelites.  Marc Hildebrand faced 35 shots in the game, stopping 30 of them.  He was replaced by Trent Sargent late in the game, who faced 4 shots and made 3 saves.
 
Game 2 was played Saturday night in Winnipeg.  This time, Arborg opened the scoring, while on the power play.  North Winnipeg countered with 2 goals of their own, 1:30 apart to hold a 2-1 first period lead.  The second period saw the Satelites explode for 3 goals to go up 5-1.  Arborg got a goal back with just 11 seconds left, but were in a 5-2 hole.  The 3^rd period saw North Winnipeg add 2 more goals on, while the Ice Dawgs scored one.  North Winnipeg evened the series at 1-1 with a convincing 7-3 victory to force game 3.
Glen Paupanekis paced the Satelites with 3 goals and an assist, while Sean Murray chipped in with 2 goals and 2 assists.  Erik Rogalka added a goal and an assist to the scoreboard.  Marc Hildebrand turned aside 30 of the 33 shots he faced in the game for the win.
Travis Kilbrei led the Ice Dawgs with a goal and an assist, while Clint Torfason added 2 assists.  Jon Narverud stopped 33 shots in the game.
 
The 3^rd and deciding game between these teams was played Monday night, with the winner looking towards a series with the Selkirk Fishermen.
Arborg scored just 38 seconds into the game to grab an early lead.  They added another goal later in the period, but the Satelites cut their deficit to 1 with a goal in the final minute.  The second period saw the Ice Dawgs make the score 3-1.  North Winnipeg kept pressing and drew to 3-2, but just 22 seconds later the Dawgs had re-opened their 2 goal lead and gone up 4-2.  Only 26 seconds after that, the Satelites were back within one again at 4-3.  Arborg added a power play goal before the period was over to hold a 5-3 advantage.  The 3^rd period was all Arborg, as they poured in 3 power play goals to close out the game & the series 8-3.
Spencer Kilbrei scored a hat trick to lead Arborg.  Cal Finnson, Travis Kilbrei & Colton Davies all added a goal and 2 assists.  Clint Torfason dished out 3 helpers in the game.  Jon Narverud stopped 45 of the 48 shots he faced to get the win and put the Ice Dawgs through to round 2.
Glen Paupanekis recorded 2 assists in the game.  Parker Cassie, Howard Grieves & Sean Murray all scored single goals.  Marc Hildebrand stopped 36 of the 44 shots he faced.
 
Divisional Semi-Final action is set now, with all being Best of 5 series:
 
North:
Peguis Juniors vs Norway House North Stars
OCN Storm vs Cross Lake Islanders
 
South:
Selkirk Fishermen vs Arborg Ice Dawgs
St. Malo Warriors vs Lundar Falcons
 
Be sure to check the schedule & playoff brackets for updated scheduling and series information.