Kyle Bosch of the Iron Horse Kindersley Klippers shoots to score his second of three goals in the team’s 6-5 overtime loss to the La Ronge Ice Wolves on Jan. 4 at the West Central Events Centre. Bosch recorded six points (4G, 2A) in two games on the weekend, along with 12 points in his past six games, and he was named the SJHL Player of the Week on Monday.
Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion
The Iron Horse Kindersley Klippers look to be back on track after a shutout win following an overtime loss on home ice versus the league’s worst team.
Kindersley has played four games since coming off a 12-day break over the holidays. The Klippers are 2-1-1-0 since the break, and it has been a tough welcome back to the ice. However, the team is first in its division and second overall after 38 games.
The Klippers played a pair of games against the Battlefords North Stars to close out 2018, but it was a tough two games against the rival. Battlefords won 4-2 in Kindersley on Dec. 28, but the Klippers battled to pick up a 3-2 win in overtime on the next day in North Battleford.
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Kyle Bosch scored the winner in the 3-2 overtime win versus the North Stars. Josh Fletcher and Clay Keeley scored the other two goals in the overtime win. Keeley and Will Van der Sloot scored the goals in the team’s 4-2 loss at home to Battlefords.
Bosch was named SJHL Player of the Week on Monday after getting six points (4G, 2A) in two games versus the La Ronge Ice Wolves at the West Central Events Centre over the weekend. The last place Ice Wolves were in Kindersley for games on Jan. 4 and 5.
La Ronge won a wild game by a score of 6-5 in overtime on Jan. 4, but then the Klippers rebounded a day later with a 5-0 shutout. Kindersley earned three out of a possible four points from the home games this past weekend.
Justen Close started both games this past weekend, but he was pulled in the first period of Friday night’s game after allowing three goals on five shots. Zach Johnson stopped 19 of 22 shots to finish the game. Bosch’s first of three goals in the game cut the lead to 3-1 for La Ronge after 20 minutes.
Kindersley scored three times in the second period to take a 4-3 lead after 40 minutes. The Ice Wolves scored twice in the third period to get the game to overtime, and they scored 46 seconds into the extra frame. Ty Enns and Brett Neumeier scored the team’s other goals.
Close was looking for his first win since the break and he stopped all 22 shots on Saturday night to pick up his second shutout of the season. Austin Nault scored twice in the 5-0 win and Bosch, Cameron Shorrock and Tyler Traptow had goals.
Clayton Jardine, the team’s head coach and general manager, said teams often struggle in the first games before and after a long break. He said the team did not play well in its first game after the long break, but the team played well in its final game before the break.
Even with a push in the third period, he said the team did not look good in the 4-2 loss. The team did not look good for the first couple periods in North Battleford, but the team came alive in the third period and won in overtime, he noted.
There were seven total power play goals scored in the 6-5 overtime loss to La Ronge. The Ice Wolves went 4-for-7 on the power play, and the Klippers went 3-for-5 on the power play. The game went back and forth all night.
Jardine said the team has struggled on the power play at times during the season, but it was the first time all season he could recall such a struggle killing penalties. He noted that the Ice Wolves have the worst power play in the league, so it was a disappointing result for the Klippers.
He attributed the penalty killing woes to a lack of blocked shots, shoddy defensive zone coverage and poor goaltending. He said the team did not deserve to win on Friday, but the team rebounded on Saturday after a bit of extra preparation.
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