Will Van Der Sloot of the Iron Horse Kindersley Klippers battles for the puck in the team’s 2-1 win against the Melville Millionaires on Oct. 13 at the West Central Events Centre.
Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion
The Iron Horse Kindersley Klippers took three of four possible points last weekend in a pair of Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League games that each needed more than 60 minutes to decide the outcome.
The Klippers opened the weekend with a game against the Yorkton Terriers on Oct. 12 and the visiting team won in overtime by a score of 3-2. The Klippers turned the tables a day later with a 2-1 shootout win to defeat the Melville Millionaires.
In the Yorkton game, Caden Benson and Cameron Shorrock scored the two goals in regulation for the Klippers, and Justen Close stopped 34 out of 37 shots in the overtime loss. Devon Cyr scored the team’s only goal in regulation in the 2-1 win on Saturday, and Zach Johnson stopped 19 out of 20 shots.
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The two games on the weekend were the first of six straight home games at the West Central Events Centre. The homestand continues tonight when the Klippers host the Humboldt Broncos, and on Saturday versus the La Ronge Ice Wolves.
In last Friday’s game, the Klippers dominated in the first period while the Terriers responded with a dominant second period. The third period was even on the ice, and the up and down affair ended in a 2-2 tie. The Terriers managed to light the lamp in 3-on-3 overtime for the win.
The Melville game was another story for the home side. The Klippers controlled play for most of the game on Saturday night. The shots were 13-4 for the Klippers after the first period, 30-12 after the second period and 50-20 at the end of regulation.
Despite being badly outplayed, Melville opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal about six minutes into the third frame. The Klippers fought hard to bounce back and Cyr tied the game at the midway point of the period. The shootout needed four shots by both teams and Kindersley’s scorers were Josh Fletcher and defenceman Blake Kleiner.
There was also a scary incident in the second period of Saturday’s game when Klippers forward Tyson Laduke had to be taken out of the arena on a stretcher after taking a major blow to the head from Melville forward Jaxon Tait.
Clayton Jardine, the Klippers head coach, said Laduke is doing well considering the hit, but he spent the night in the hospital and he has been tested for a concussion. The league has issued a five-game suspension to Tait for the illegal hit to the head, he said.
The coach said Yorkton has been playing well, but second periods have been a bit of a weakness for his squad. He noted that the Klippers have had strong starts to their games, but the team’s play has been dropping off in the middle frame.
He said the team is going to focus on picking up its play in second periods, but it bit the team on Friday. Jardine said the team bounced back playing a complete game on Saturday. The game could have been a lopsided affair if not for a great performance by Melville goalie Colby Entz, who stood on his head to stop 49 of 50 shots.
Jardine said Entz deserves credit for keeping his team close, but the score could have been very different if not for his performance. The Klippers had no business being down a goal to Yorkton, but the team finally solved Entz.
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