A pair of Iron Horse Kindersley Klippers crowd the net in an attempt to score during the 2-1 overtime loss on Nov. 9 versus the Melville Millionaires at the West Central Events Centre.
Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion
The Iron Horse Kindersley Klippers have finally gotten back into the win column after a string of losses. The team has been struggling to light the lamp.
Kindersley returned to home ice last weekend after four Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League games on the road in Wilcox, Weyburn, Estevan and Melfort. The Klippers could only manage to pick up a single point in the four games, but the team picked up three of a possible four points at home on the weekend.
The team travelled to Melfort on Nov. 7 and the Mustangs won 3-2 on home ice. The Klippers had a tough game on Nov. 9 at the West Central Events Centre (WCEC) dropping the game to the Melville Millionaires by a score of 2-1 in overtime. Kindersley bounced back on Saturday with a 3-2 win versus the visiting Estevan Bruins.
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After 22 games this season, the Klippers have an overall record of 13-6-2-1 for a total of 29 points. The 29 points has the Klippers in second in the Global Ag Risk Solutions Division and tied for third overall in the league.
The team is ranked second in goals against with only 50 goals allowed in the 22 games, but the team is second last in goals scored with a mere 61 goals on the season. Only the Nipawin Hawks have fewer goals against at 47, and only Melville has fewer goals for at 58. The La Ronge Ice Wolves have a record of six wins and 17 losses this season, but the team has scored one more goal than the Klippers.
Injuries have been a problem for Kindersley. Then top scorer Josh Fletcher sat out for several games after an injury early in the season, but the team is currently missing four of its top players in Kyle Bosch, Devon Cyr, Tyler Traptow and Blake Kleiner. Bosch, Cyr and Traptow are all in the top 10 in team scoring.
Bosch leads the team in scoring with 16 points in 21 games played, but Fletcher has 13 points in just 14 games for second in team scoring. Cyr is also averaging nearly a point per game at 11 points in 12 games this season. Only four players on the roster have played in all 22 games.
Clayton Jardine, the team’s head coach, said the injuries have taken their toll on the team and a part of the team’s lack of scoring could be attributed to key players being out of the line up, but the team is just struggling to score.
Melfort scored all three of its goals in the second period of the game on Nov. 7, and the Klippers fell just short by scoring a pair of goals in the third period. Bosch recorded a goal and an assist to lead the team’s near comeback.
The coach said teams are starting to crowd goalie Justen Close more often in order to make things uncomfortable, and there was a missed goaltender interference call on Melfort’s first goal last Wednesday. He noted that the league later admitted to the missed interference call.
He said the period spiraled out of control after the missed call and the Klippers were trailing by a score of 3-0 after two periods. The team had one bad period, but the coach said he was proud of the guys for fighting back with two goals in the third.
The Melville game was a penalty-filled affair. The Klippers were shorthanded 14 times in the game, and the Millionaires were shorthanded seven times. The final score was 2-1 after the overtime winner, but all three goals in the game were scored on the power play.
Jardine said it is easy to blame the officiating, but the guys were undisciplined and penalties ended up costing the team in the end. He said the Klippers killed off four 5-on-3 power plays, but still gave up two power play goals and “we can’t expect to kill off 14 penalties and win the hockey game.” It was nice to pick up a point, but it was a disappointing result against a team low in the standings, he said.
The Klippers came out of the gate flying on Saturday night against Estevan. Kindersley scored all three of its goals in the first period. The coach said it was nice to see the guys get up early, but they gave up two goals in the second period to let Estevan back in the game.
He noted that the second period has been the team’s worst period all season long, so he has been trying to address the struggles in the middle frame. Jardine admitted that the elephant in the room is the team’s lack of offensive production, but the lack of scoring is not the result of a lack of effort.
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