Kyle Donaldson, who recorded five points versus the Unity Miners on Friday, cuts in from the wing during his team’s 7-3 win against Unity.

Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion

A five-point performance by Kindersley Sr. Klippers rookie forward Kyle Donaldson has helped to propel the team to victory in its only game last week.

The Sr. Klippers defeated the Unity Miners by a score of 7-3 on Nov. 30 at the Co-op Arena. The win took the team to a perfect 6-0 record on the season, and the Sr. Klippers have sole possession of second in the Sask West Hockey League standings.

Donaldson’s five points (1G, 4A) led the team in the win and the line of Donaldson, Nick Josephs and Landon Longmire combined for 10 points in the game. Josephs, who was playing in his first game of the regular season, had three points (1G, 2A) and Longmire picked up two points (1G, 1A).

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Defenceman Kyle Cummings pitched in with a pair of goals including the team’s seventh goal on the power play. The other goal scorers were Jessey Pockock and Ethan Wigley, whose goal in the second period turned out to be the game-winning goal. Goalie Luke Sproule stopped 20 of 23 shots to pick up his sixth win of the campaign.

The Sr. Klippers are two points behind the Wilkie Outlaws in the SWHL standings. The Outlaws are also perfect on the season with a record of 7-0. Kindersley and Wilkie are the only two undefeated teams through the first part of the season.

Matt Glencross has enjoyed a lot of success in his first campaign as the team’s head coach. He said the team dominated play in the first period against Unity, but the team was only up 2-1 at the end of the period.

He noted that Unity’s goal in the first period was a disappointing one for Sproule, but the team responded in the second period to take a 5-2 lead into the final frame. Glencross said the team continued its push in the third period.

The coach said Josephs cannot make every game due to his work schedule, but he is a “pretty crafty” forward and an important part of the team when he is in the line up. He put Josephs with Longmire and Donaldson on the second line, and the decision paid off.

“Any line you put (Josephs) on, he’s not going to hurt you,” Glencross said, recognizing that he was a little surprised by the chemistry the Longmire line had on Friday. “He could have went on either the top line or the second line and I’m sure either line he was on would have had some success.”

He noted that there is a good chance Josephs will play with the two Sr. Klippers rookies when he is able to play. Longmire and Donaldson have been playing together all season long, but they have been joined by a rotating list of players on the second line.

The top line of Johnny Calkins, Jesse Ismond and Jessey Pockock has also been impressive at times this season, but the team is getting strong contributions at both ends of the ice from all three of its top lines, the coach said.

Glencross said the team has not been getting big leads in games, but the team is not falling behind in games and it makes a difference when a team does not have to chase the game. The team has been getting a lot more shots than its opponents and it has been a successful recipe so far.

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