Tyler Traptow had a solid game against the North Stars last Tuesday, but is now on the disabled list after being injured in Wednesday’s game.
Kevin McBain
of The Clarion
The Klippers have had a solid January heading into this week.
The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team is playing .500 hockey so far with four wins and four losses against some very tough opponents.
The squad picked up two wins out of three games last week, defeating the Battlefords North Stars 4-2 on Jan. 23; the Humboldt Broncos in Macklin 3-1 on Jan. 24, before losing 3-2 to the league-leading Nipawin Hawks in their latest game on Saturday.
The Klippers were scheduled to be back in North Battleford last night, before hosting the Bruins tonight and Melville on Friday.
“It has been a challenging week with such tough opponents back to back,” said coach Geoff Grimwood. “I think we were pretty happy coming out with two wins, but would have liked to get that third win as well.”
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In Tuesday’s game, the North Stars got off to a quick start, scoring the only two goals of the first and after a scoreless second, the Junior Ks came out hard.
Cole Plotnikoff made his return to the ice last Tuesday after recovering from an injury early in the season.
They would score three in under a minute to pick up the win. Thomas Bollefer would score his first of the season at the 8:24, mark, followed by goals from Bryson Cecconi and Tanner Thompson. Nik Malenica would add an empty netter late in the game to seal
the deal.
In Wednesday’s win in Macklin, Curtis Peck had bookend goals in the period and the Klippers were up 2-1 after the first.
Devon Cyr would add the lone goal in the second, assisted by Peck. The shorthanded goal put the game away.
In Saturday’s loss, the Hawks scored three straight in the second period to take a 3-0 lead.
The Klippers however, made a valiant comeback, scoring two in the third to come within one.
Peck continued his hot streak with his third goal in two games. Newcomer Blake Kleiner scored his first goal in a Klippers’ uniform.
Grimwood said that he wasn’t disappointed in the team’s effort at all last weekend and that they’re really starting to play well as a team.
“We have really come together since the break. I think before Christmas we were dealing with a lot of injuries,” said Grimwood. “Now, we are starting to get back to a full lineup and things are getting better.”
In this stretch, Grimwood said that there are a couple of key components that have helped them along.
“Two things: Justen Close has been really good for us in net and he has given us a lot of confidence,” he says. “Number two, the guys are committing to the team game. We don’t necessarily have that star player, but the guys are buying into the team game.”
Heading into 2018, one of the aspects of the game that the team was focused on improving was their discipline.
Grimwood says that they are getting better in that area and they hope to continue working on it.
Another area that needs work is the power play.
“We’ve been struggling a bit, but we will be working on that,” he said. “Teams are never perfect and there are always things to work on. That’s the way it goes.”
On the injury front, Cole Plotnikoff made a successful return to the lineup last week, playing in the last three games.
“He is huge for us,” said Grimwood. “It is going to take him a few more games to get his timing back and things, but he brings so much energy to the team. It is great to have him back.”
Not in the lineup this week is Tyler Traptow, who was injured in Wednesday’s game in Macklin. Grimwood says they are still waiting for a complete diagnosis but it looks like he may be out for a few weeks.
Josh Fletcher continues to work towards his return. Grimwood says that there is no time set for his return but hopes to have him back before playoffs.
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