The Kindersley Junior Klippers kicked off the 2017-18 season Friday night at home against rival Battlefords North Stars. Shown here, from left: Klippers captain Cole Plotnikoff facing off against Layne Young of the North Stars. Dropping the ceremonial pucks are club president Brett Sautner and team governor Terry Shea

Kevin McBain
of The Clarion

The Klippers opened up their 2017-18 season against the rival Battlefords North Stars last weekend.

Unfortunately for the green and white, they were unable to scratch out a win on either night, losing 1-0 in overtime Friday and 4-0 in North Battleford Saturday.

This marks the Klippers’ 25th season in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

Klipper Tanner Thompson shoots on goaltender Taryn Kotchorek

Friday’s home opener was an exciting one, as the two teams battled hard.

“The home opener was a good night, we had a good crowd and I think people saw a pretty entertaining game,” said coach Geoff Grimwood. “The boys played hard and overall it was a pretty positive night.”

He added that the North Stars, the defending league champions, are a very good team and the Klippers had their chances offensively. But goaltender Taryn Kotchorek was on top of his game for the North Stars.

Klippers’ goaltender Justen Close also played very well as the home side was outshot 37-29, including 12-6 in the opening frame.

The game went into the three-on-three five-minute overtime with the Klippers getting the first chances, but the North Stars were able to find the back of the net.

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In Saturday’s tilt, the game was 0-0 going into the third period, but within the first 4:04, the North Stars would score three times to secure the win.

Lane Young did a lot of the damage for the North Stars, scoring once and adding two assists. He will be one to watch out for this season.

The North Stars would add a power play marker with two minutes left in the game to make it 4-0.

Again, Close played a great game. The Klippers outshot the North Stars 33-28 in this tilt.

Both teams had eight power play chances, with Kindersley racking up 58 minutes in penalties and the North Stars 48.

Grimwood was pretty surprised at being shut out.

“Obviously, the biggest struggle for us was offensively,” he said. “We have to do a better job at getting players to the net and that will be our focus this week.

“I don’t think that I’ve coached a team that was shut out two games in a row. That was a little surprising and I wouldn’t have bet on that,” he added.

Grimwood added that it’s still early and there is no reason to panic.

On the back end, he likes what he saw.

“I was pretty happy with our defence and our goaltending,” he said. “Justen was good in net. He was great on Friday and I think Saturday, they had just worn us down a bit.

“We can’t expect him to get us a win if we can’t score,” he added.

Player-wide, Grimwood said they are pretty much set and he likes where they’re at. He added that they do have to cut down on their roster size soon.

The Klippers host the 2-0 Humboldt Broncos tonight and Estevan (2-0) Friday, before heading to Saskatoon for an afternoon tilt against the Weyburn Red Wings (1-1). This will be game one of the SJHL showcase for the Klippers in Saskatoon’s Hamm Latrace Arena. The Klippers will also play on Wednesday morning against the Nipawin Hawks (0-2).

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