Week 18 Recap

With only 2 weeks remaining in the KJHL schedule, the playoff races are heating up and teams are looking to be playing their best hockey heading into the playoffs.

The week kicked off on Tuesday with an important South division matchup as the St. Malo Warriors squared off against the North Winnipeg Satelites.  The first period was a tight checking game, with both teams having a few scoring chances.  The lone goal of the period came with just 1:05 remaining as the Satelites took the lead.  The second pretty much followed suit, as another close checking period, however again the Satelites potted the lone goal, and held a 2-0 advantage heading to the final 20 minutes.  Early in the 3rd, St. Malo got on the board and narrowed the deficit, only to fall back to 3-1 shortly after.  Near the midway mark of the 3rd, the Warriors scored again, cutting the Satelites lead to 3-2.  North Winnipeg scored the eventual game winner at 2:54 to go, with the Warriors again answering back, but eventually running out of time to tie the game.

Kyle Collins led the Satelites with 2 goals (including the game winner) and an assist & Mathew Carrey added a goal and 2 assists himself.  Sean Murray recorded 2 assists in the game.  Marc Hildebrand made 28 saves in the win.

The Warriors were led by Chris Baldoke, who was in on all 3 St. Malo goals, with 2 goals and an assist.  Cody Zulyniak added 2 assists, as did Arnel Evans.  Jordan Taylor stopped 34 of the 38 shots he faced.

Wednesday had a game scheduled in Arborg, between the Lundar Falcons & the Ice Dawgs.  The first period was close, with the teams trading goals.  Lundar scored first and held that lead until Arborg answered back later in the period on the power play.  The second opened with Arborg scoring a few minutes in to take the lead, but then the Falcons scored a trio of goals, one even strength, one short handed & one on the power play to hold a 4-2 lead after 40 minutes.  The 3rd period saw Arborg narrow the gap, scoring just 1:06 in on the power play.  Arborg scored again to the tie the game a few minutes later.  The tie was short-lived as the Falcons scored the game winner on the power play with 11:43 to play in the 3rd.  Arborg applied the pressure over the final 10 minutes, but just couldn’t find the mark.  Give Lundar the upset win, 5-4 over Arborg.

Grant Sutherland led the Falcons’ scoring with 3 assists, while Jason Nikkel scored twice, including the game winner.  Derrick Peitsch made 45 saves on 49 shots in the victory.

The Ice Dawgs got a goal and an assist each from Brady Collins & Brock McMahon.  Travis Schalk made 22 saves in the loss.

With no games scheduled on Thursday night, the next KJHL took place on Friday, when the North Winnipeg Satelites stopped off in Lundar & Selkirk played in St. Malo.

With both teams looking to claim the win in this game, the Selkirk vs St. Malo game was sure to be close.  Selkirk opened the scoring at the 6:42 mark of the first, then added another goal just 55 seconds later.  St. Malo got on the board late in the first, and went to the room trailing 2-1.  Neither team found the back of the net in the second, and Selkirk was clinging to a 2-1 lead.  Just before the midway point of the 3rd, Selkirk scored again, and opened up a 2 goal advantage.  St. Malo scored on the powerplay later in the period, but that was as close as they could get, as Selkirk hung on for the 3-2 win.

Devan Lobb led the Fish in this game, scoring once and adding an assist.  Kyle Pache & Jesse Reid-Whyte, who had the game winner, scored singles.  Bretton Fewchuk made 26 saves to record the win.

Jared Magne scored once and added an assist & Justin Collette recorded 2 asissts to lead the Warriors.  Cody Zulyniak also scored a single marker.  Jordan Taylor made 27 saves in goal for St. Malo.

As Selkirk won their matchup Friday night, North Winnipeg was looking to keep the possibility of claiming the South Division title alive with a win in Lundar.  Meanwhile, Lundar was looking to start a winning streak of their own, after coming off their upset victory over Arborg.  There was no scoring in the game until just before the midpoint of the first, and Lundar snapped the tie.  Just 15 seconds later, the game was tied up, as the Satelites were on the board.  Quickly in the 2nd period, the Satelites took advantage of a powerplay opportunity and took a 2-1 lead, which they held to the end of the period.  In the 3rd, Lundar scored 3 straight goals, taking a 4-2 lead.  North Winnipeg added a goal of their own late in the period to draw within one, but then with their net empty, gave up the insurance marker.  With the win, Lundar scores their second straight upset victory, while the Satelites would need to rebound Saturday night against the Fishermen.

Saturday night had a big South division matchup between the Selkirk Fishermen and the North Winnipeg Satelites.  This one was played in St. Andrews and had legendary former Selkirk head coach Al Hares in attendance.  With a win, the Fishermen could clinch the South Division title, while the Satelites were looking to keep their own chance at the title alive.

The Satelites took a 1-0 lead in the first on the period’s only goal.  They increased their lead in the 2nd, and held a 2-0 advantage, until the Fish scored a shorthanded marker late in the period.  The Fishermen took advantage of a late 2nd period penalty by the Satelites and scored on the powerplay to open the 3rd, tying the game at 2-2.  Selkirk added 2 more goals, nearly 4 minutes apart later in the period, and held on for the 4-2 win.

Tanner MacVicar led the Fish with 2 goals and an assists, while Cale McBride also added 2 goals.  Cory Balcaen chipped in with 2 assists in the game.  Jordan Liske made 24 saves on 26 shots to get the win for his club.

The Satelites got single goals from Vinny Carriere and Kyle Collins.  Cory Hyndman made 26 saves in the game for his side.

The second game on Saturday night had the Peguis Juniors closing out their northern trip with a single game in Norway House, and then moving on to OCN for a Sunday game.  Norway House caught Peguis sleeping off the mark in this one, and scored just 33 seconds in the game.  Peguis found their legs and tied the game a few minutes later, but Norway House scored again late in the period and took a 2-1 lead to the room.  The second period was all Peguis, as they scored 3 unanswered goals, and held a 4-2 lead going in to the final frame.  In the 3rd, the Juniors scored twice more, only to be countered once by Norway House.  They later scored twice more again, with the North Stars adding one more to their total.  It wasn’t enough, as Peguis cruised to an 8-4 victory.

The Juniors were led by league-leading scorer Jordan Anderson, who recorded a hat trick and 2 assists in the game.  Darryl Flett & Waylon Neault each added a goal of their own and 3 assists for 4 points each.  Ralph Cochrane added a single goal and an assists & Theoren Spence added 2 assists in the game.  Ryan Delorme made 26 saves to record the win.

The North Stars were led in scoring by Sam McKay, who scored twice.  Glen Paupanekis & Preston Folster both added a goal & an assist in the game.  Sean Bradburn turned aside 39 shots in the game.

On the schedule for Sunday was a matchup between Peguis and OCN, in OCN, along with the St. Malo Warriors playing the Arborg Ice Dawgs.

Arborg & St. Malo played a close checking first with no goals until the final minute of the period.  Arborg broke the tie at the 1:03 mark, and then scored with 1 second remaining in the period, shorthanded.  The second period saw Arborg add to their lead with the only goal, and took a 3-0 advantage to the 3rd.  The Warriors got on the board a few minutes into the period, then surrendered another goal to Arborg, who then held a 4-1 lead.  That’s the way this one finished, as the Ice Dawgs closed out the game for the win.

Leading the way for the Ice Dawgs were Cory Kuldys & Brock McMahon, who each recorded 2 goals & an assist for 3 points.  Jon Narverud gave up a single goal on 41 shots in the win.

St. Malo’s Cody Zulyniak scored the lone goal for his club.  Jordan Taylor made 28 saves in the game for the Warriors.

The final game of the weekend had the Peguis Juniors in OCN for a game against the Storm.  The game opened with Peguis scoring 4 times in the first period, and holding a commanding 4-0 lead after 20 minutes.  OCN scored the lone goal of the second period, and what turned out to be the final goal of the game.  The teams battled back and forth, but neither could find the back of the net the rest of the game, as Peguis recorded the 4-1 victory.

The Juniors saw all their goals scored by different players: Dallas Cochrane, Ralph Cochrane, Tyler Woodhouse & Tyson Anderson.  Tyson Anderson also recorded an assist.  Ryan Delorme & Keifer Tacan split the game, with Delorme picking up the win, but Tacan making 14 saves on 14 shots in the game.

OCN’s lone goal was scored by Brandon Sinclair-Martin.  Brody Claeys gave up 4 goals on 32 shots in the loss.

The KJHL is in its final week of the regular season, with playoffs set to start the week beginning February 17th.  The final weeks kicks off on Tuesday, with the Lundar Falcons looking to keep their winning streak alive as they visit the North Winnipeg Satelites, who are looking to get back into the win column.  Wednesday has two games on the schedule, with the Satelites visiting the Peguis Juniors & the Selkirk in Lundar for a game against the Falcons.  On Friday, the Arborg pays a visit to Steeltown for a Valentine’s Day matchup against the Fishermen, while the Peguis Juniors head to St. Malo to play the Warriors.  On Saturday, the Satelites play Lundar while OCN heads to Norway House for the final meeting of the season.  Sunday has a single game on the schedule, as the North Winnipeg Satelites close out the regular season against long-time rivals Selkirk with a matinee in Selkirk.

The playoff matchups are set in both divisions now, as teams play out the regular season, looking to build some momentum, or keep it going as they head into the playoffs.  Stay tuned for the full playoff picture as it unravels!