Kevin McBain
of The Clarion
The Klippers finished off a three-game Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League road trip Saturday on a positive note, defeating the Estevan Bruins 2-1 on Saturday night, after losing to the Red Wings 3-1 on Friday and to the Bruins 3-2 in overtime last Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the Klippers were scheduled to play in Wilcox against the Hounds, but that game had to be postponed due to bad road conditions.
The Klippers hold a record of 16-16-3-2 record for 37 points, good enough for fourth place in the Olympic Division.
The team has a bit of time off and a bit a of a rest before taking on some very tough teams before the end of January.
On Jan. 23 they host the division leading Battlefords North Stars. On Jan. 24, they host Humboldt in Macklin. On Jan. 27, they host the league-leading Nipawin Hawks. On Jan. 30, they are in the Battlefords and on Jan. 31, they travel to Estevan to take on the Bruins, who lead the Viterra Division.
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Head coach Geoff Grimwood said that it was a positive week for his hockey club.
“We thought the guys played really well and we had a good week,” he said. “I don’t like singling guys out, but Justen Close and Tanner Thompson played phenomenal all week and they really led the way.”
On Saturday, Thompson kicked off the scoring with the lone goal in the second after a scoreless opening frame. Brody Ryberg scored his sixth of the season on the power play at the 9:34 mark of the third.
Estevan’s Arthur Miller would score on the power play late in the third, to close the gap, but they could not manage any more.
Goaltender Close had a solid game, stopping 37 of 38 shots in the victory.
In Friday’s game, the Red Wings scored two power play goals and an empty-netter to give them the win.
Will Van der Sloot was the lone goal scorer in this one, scoring to make it 2-1 late in the second period.
The Klippers outshot the Red Wings 33-24.
In last Wednesday’s game, the Klippers took the Bruins to overtime, thanks to a great third-period effort, with Keilian Olson and Thompson scoring in the third to tie things at two.
The Klippers were outshot in this one, 36-22.
Focus
A main focus of the coaching staff heading into 2018 was to cut down the number of penalties (the team leads the league with 1,095).
Grimwood says that they continue to work towards that goal and have made progress.
“We are a physical team and play hard,” he said. “Obviously we are spending to much time in the box and we will continue to work on our discipline.”
Coming back
The Klippers have been without Captain Cole Plotnikoff since September after an ankle injury. He is on the cusp of returning and Grimwood says that he is day-to-day, but hopes to have him back in the lineup on Jan. 23.
Also getting close to coming back is Josh Fletcher, who has been out since November. Grimwood says that there is no date set for his return, but he will not be back in the lineup until February.
“These are two really important guys for us and they left a big hole, when each of them were injured,” he said. “They are great leaders on an off the ice for us and it will be good to get them back.”
New additions
The Klippers added a couple of new players to the lineup recently.
On trade deadline day, the Klippers obtained Blake Kleiner from the Drumheller Dragons for a player development fee and earlier, the Klippers picked up Zach Johnson from the Notre Dame Hounds, again for a player development fee.
Kleiner joined the team Friday in Weyburn and played in Estevan as well. He is a 1998-born player from Lethbridge. He stands at 5’11” tall and weighs in at 185 lbs.
“We saw him in the last two games and we are really happy with what we see,” said Grimwood. “He has a really good shot and provides us with some more offence on the back end.”
Johnson, a 1999-born player, was picked up from the Notre Dame Hounds to replace Billy Girard, who left the team prior to the Christmas break. He is a native of Regina and stands 5’11” tall and weighs in at 165 lbs.
“He played for the AAA Trojans, the same team that Justen was with so it provides us with some consistency there,” said Grimwood. “He hasn’t played for us yet, we are just kind of riding the hot hand with Closey, but we hope that these two will be our tandem for the rest of the year and next year as well.”
SJHL/MJHL showcase
Forward Keilian Olson, goaltender Justen Close and coach Geoff Grimwood are in Regina this week for the SJHL/MJHL showcase, featuring three teams from each league.
Olson and Close are both playing with Team Kunitz and they played Monday night and came away with a 4-2 win over the MJHL Belfour team.
Close played the final 29:02 of the game and stopped 22 of 23 shots in the win.
They were scheduled to play again Tuesday afternoon.
Grimwood is also taking part in the event, as an assistant coach with Mike Reagan.
“This is really good for the league,” said Grimwood from Regina on Monday. “There are a lot of NCAA and NHL scouts here to watch these guys play. It is a real positive experience for everyone.”
He said that the coaches decided to try this event in addition to their SJHL showcase held earlier in the season.
“We just thought that we could add a secondary showcase and do it with the MJHL,” he added. “It’s just another way to showcase the players.”
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