Jon Haughn of the Red Lions pokes the puck past the Wilkie goaltender in senior hockey action Friday night.

Kevin McBain
of The Clarion

It’s not the way you really want to start a season.

The Kindersley Red Lions lost both games in their home-opening Sask West Hockey League weekend – losing 9-8 in Macklin Saturday in overtime after an opening 9-4 loss to the Wilkie Outlaws on Friday night in Kindersley.

In Friday’s tilt against the defending senior A league champions, the Outlaws would score five straight goals in the opening period and two more late in the second period to make the score 7-0, before the Red Lions finally hit the scoreboard.

Jesse Ismond scored at the 1:57 mark, then Jon Haughn getting one just over a minute later to put some life back in the home side.

In the third, Tanner McCullough added one more to make it 7-3, but the Outlaws responded at the 6:07 mark. Brandon Cummings would add one more in the third to make it 8-4 at the 4:07 mark.

The Outlaws closed out the scoring with just 3:08 remaining in the game.

Cameron Reid stopped 37 of 46 shots in net for the Red Lions while the home side scored four on 34 shots on Jared Herle.

This was as chippy one. According to the score sheet, the Outlaws went 0/22 on the power play while the Red Lions were shut out in 10 chances.

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“We had a really bad first period,” said Red Lions coach Wayne Samson. “But I think we won the next two periods. I think the boys were a little overwhelmed. They really wanted to beat them and our tempers flared up. But we kept working hard and never gave up.”

In Macklin, the two teams stayed pretty even.

The score was 3-3 after one period with Djay McGrath opening things up for the Red Lions and Shayne Neigum scoring two straight to make it 3-3. The Mohawks would add one more with just 30 seconds left in the period to tie things up.

The Red Lions’ Scott Brownlee and McGrath would score in the first half of the second to go up 5-3, but the Mohawks would come back to score four unanswered to make it 7-5 in their favour.

Jesse Ismond added one with just 14 seconds remaining in the period to make it 7-6.

In the third, the Mohawks would add one more at the 10 minute mark to make it 8-6. However, the Red Lions showed some more fight late in the period with McRath and Brandon Cummings scoring less than a minute apart with less than two minutes remaining in the game to tie things up and send it into overtime.

The Mohawks’ Cody McKinnon would score with just eight seconds remaining in the first overtime frame to pick up the win.

Cameron Reid stopped 15 of 22 shots in the opening two periods. Luke Sproule came on in relief to stop 17 of 19 shots the rest of the way.

Both teams went 0/9 on the power play.

The Red Lions hope to regroup after a week off. Next weekend, they play three in three nights, beginning in Unity on Friday, Nov. 17, and in Eatonia on Nov. 18. They host Luseland on Nov. 19.

Samson said that they will be working hard on their defensive zone coverage and making sure everyone stays a little more discipline in the games ahead.

“We have four more practises this week and next. I think you will find we are a different team when we come back,” he said. “We just have to remember to go out and just play hockey.

“It’s early and I’m definitely not going to push the panic button just yet. I think once we get going here, we will be a team to be reckoned with.”

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