Liam Fraser of the Iron Horse Kindersley Klippers and Derek Patter of the Humboldt Broncos take the opening faceoff on Sept. 29 at the West Central Events Centre. It was the Broncos’ first visit to Kindersley since the bus crash in April. The Klippers and the fans gave a stick-tap salute to the Broncos as they came onto the ice.
Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion
The Iron Horse Kindersley Klippers have hit a small bump in the road with back-to-back losses after getting off to a hot start for the 2018-19 season.
After splitting a pair of games at the 2018 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League showcase a week ago in Warman, the Klippers returned home for games against the Estevan Bruins on Sept. 27 and the Humboldt Broncos on Sept. 29 at the West Central Events Centre (WCEC).
The Klippers defeated Estevan by a score of 4-2 at the SJHL showcase on Sept. 24, but the Bruins turned around to beat Kindersley by the same score of 4-2 at the WCEC on Thursday. The team lost a closely contested affair to Humboldt by a score of 2-1 on Saturday night.
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Saturday night was First Responder Appreciation Night at the WCEC and local first responders from Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Kindersley Fire & Rescue Brigade and the Kindersley RCMP each participated in a ceremonial puck drop. The Klippers and fans gave a stick-tap salute to the Broncos when they made their way on to the ice.
The pair of losses gave the team a record of 4-3 early in the season, and the team fell from first place to third place in its division as a result. The Klippers looked to rebound last night when the team hosted the Nipawin Hawks.
A score was not available in time for publication, but the game would be a tough test for the home team. The Hawks were the only undefeated team in the league heading into last night’s game. The Klippers head out on the road this weekend for two games against the Flin Flon Bombers on Friday and Saturday.
One of the larger crowds in recent memory was out to watch the Broncos first game in Kindersley this season. The Klippers led 1-0 after the first period, but Humboldt scored two goals including a power play goal in the second period.
The home team had its chances in the third frame, but they could not manage to find the back of the net. Damon McKenzie had two prime scoring chances in the third, but Humboldt goalie Rayce Ramsay stymied him both times. McKenzie took a penalty with less than three minutes left to all but dash a chance for the tying goal.
Clayton Jardine, head coach of the Klippers, said the team played well in the first period of Thursday’s game versus Estevan, but the team’s effort dropped off in the second and third periods and the visitors took advantage.
The loss to Humboldt was a different story. The final shot tally was 40-29 for the Klippers, so they had chances. Jardine said the guys played better against Humboldt than Estevan, but they ran into a hot goalie and the Broncos got the right bounces to win by one goal.
“I thought it was a really good hockey game,” he said, referring to the team’s close loss on Saturday. “It was an entertaining hockey game. (Humboldt) came out on the right side of it, but Thursday I was disappointed in our effort.”
As explained by the coach, the team had a dominant first period against the Bruins and the home side was up 2-0 after the first period. The team did not put out the same effort for the rest of the game and Estevan scored four unanswered goals for the win.
Jardine admitted that the team could have played better on Saturday, but the overall effort was there and goals were tough to come by. He said no single player is lighting up the score board and the goals are going to be scored by committee, but the team’s depth is its biggest strength. The team also has to get back to outworking its opponents.
Associate captains Blake Kleiner of the Iron Horse Kindersley Klippers and Derek Patter of the Humboldt Broncos participate in a ceremonial puck drop on First Responder Appreciation Night at the West Central Events Centre on Sept. 29. Tracy Watt of the Emergency Medical Services, Fire Chief Ron Hope and Const. Kevin Wilson of the Kindersley RCMP each drop a puck before the game as other first responders gather around them.
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