Red Lions’ Jesse Gramlich is on the doorstep waiting for this rebound during action on Friday night against Eatonia.

Kevin McBain
of The Clarion

Red Lions fans saw two great games last weekend.

The Sask West Hockey League team lost to Biggar 6-5 on Saturday, after defeating Eatonia 6-5 on Friday night.

With three games remaining in the season, the Red Lions are third with a record of 10-5-2 for 22 points, just one point behind the Macklin Mohawks.

In Saturday’s tilt, the Red Lions jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period with Jonny Calkins and Brandon Cummings scoring.

The turning point in the game came in the second period, when the Nationals scored three power-play goals on the same man advantage. However, the Red Lions were able to stay in the game and the score was 4-4 after two periods. Jesse Ismond and Jessey Pocock scored for the home team in this frame.

In the third, the Nationals scored two early to put the game away. Cummings scored for the Red Lions to cap things off late in the period, but that was as close as they would get.

Luke Sproule would stop 26 of 32 shots in the loss, while Zach Noble stopped 33 of 38 for the Nationals.

“We were hoping for a better fate,” said coach Wayne Samson. “We kind of let this game slip away and let them back in
the game.

Red Lions’ Captain Jonny Calkins lets out a rebel yell after assisting on team-mate’s Jesse Ismond’s goal in their 6-5 victory Friday night.

“The second period was definitely a turning point, when we got that six-minute penalty and they scored three times. We have to be more disciplined and stay out of the box.”

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The Red Lions seemed to be fighting an uphill battle in this one, receiving nine penalties as compared to just one for the Nationals.

“Our top offensive line is also our top penalty kill line,” says Samson. “If they have to spend that much time on the ice killing penalties it definitely wears them down.”

Friday, was a battle between teams that don’t really like each other, and it was their fourth meeting of the season – all leading up to an epic matchup.

The Red Lions pounced on the Huskies with Shayne Neigum, Cummings and Jon Haughn all scoring in the first period, when the Red Lions outshot the Huskies 21-11.

In the second, it was all Eatonia. Troy Boisjoli scored once and BJ Somerville showed that size doesn’t matter so much in hockey, as he used his quickness to score twice to knot the game up at three after 40 minutes.

In the third, Boisjoli scored his second of the night to give the Huskies the lead, but it didn’t last long, as Ismond, who has been red-hot as of late, scored a natural hat trick to put the game away.

The Huskies added one late, as Berkley Jodoin found the back of the net with just 37 seconds left in the game to give the Huskies one last gasp, but they couldn’t even things up.

Luke Sproule stopped 42 of 47 shots in the win, while Lane Michasiw stopped 46 of 52 shots in the loss.

“This was definitely a tough game,” said Samson. “When you sweep a season series from a team you may hope that you want to match up with them in the playoffs, but we definitely don’t want to play Eatonia.

“They are really big and tough and you definitely are hurting the next day,” he added. “We’ve had some great games against them this season and any team they match up against in league or provincials are going to have to be prepared.”

The Red Lions have just three games remaining in the regular season. They play in Kerrobert on Friday and host the Tigers on Jan. 26. Their final game is in Luseland on Jan. 27.

The Red Lions are just one point away from the second-place Macklin Mohawks, who will play Unity and Biggar this weekend, before closing out the regular season against Biggar on Jan. 26.

Notes

The draws for the provincial playoffs are out.

The Red Lions are matched up with the Shaunavon Badgers of the White Mud Hockey League in the first round of the Senior A playoffs. Shaunavon is in first place in their five-team league with a record of 10-1.

This series must be completed by Feb. 19.

The Eatonia Huskies head straight to the C semifinals against the winner of Hodgeville and Gull Lake. This series must be completed by March 5.

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