Klippers fall to bottom of division standings
By Jordan Parker
After an admirable win-streak last month, the Kindersley Klippers have fallen back down to earth.
The Klippers – marred by injuries and suspensions all year – now find themselves at the bottom of the Global Ag Risk Solutions division with 25 points.
At 12-14-0-1 through 27 games, they’re over half the season in. They sit four points behind the next closest team, the Notre Dame Hounds. In their last 10, they’ve gone 4-6, including a walloping by the Humboldt Broncos on November 30.
“We need to work hard here. It was a good game against Notre Dame last weekend, but it’s because we stuck to our game plan. When we win, it’s because we pay attention to the plan,” said Assistant Coach Mitch Topinka.
Though they beat Notre Dame 3-1 on Friday, December 3, they were felled 7-2 in the game before that against the Humboldt Broncos.
“Last week against Humboldt, we had an unbelievable first period and then veered away. We went down 2-1 and completely threw it all out of the window in the third. We just need to do what works,” he said.
Topinka says the goaltenders on the team, Matthew Pesenti and Brett Sweet, are keeping the team in the playoff conversation.
“Sometimes Pesenti makes four or five great saves in a row. We need our defensive core to be more assertive and clear guys out, so these goalies don’t need highlight-reel saves constantly,” he said. “We have arguably two of the best goaltenders in the league, and they stop a lot of rubber. They keep us in games every night.”
There have been trades and acquisitions over the last two weeks, and Topinka and Head Coach Ken Plaquin see positive changes.
“We did those deals for a reason, and we brought in three-four d-men to help the back end. They’re young and have upside,” he said.
“The changes in the dressing room have been positive, and hearing conversations there have been great. I mean, you never want to trade (Mark Snarr) your Captain away, but we felt a change was needed. Bringing in Josh Morton, Brayden Koch, and more has been a boost.”
The Klippers most recently acquired defenseman Liam Bell from the Nipawin Hawks for a 2023 2nd round draft pick as well.
“Lately, Liam has been practicing, and it’s a big addition. This not only helps us this year, but it helps us next year,” he said. “There are guys who needed to face the chopping block for these deals to happen, but we needed to move forward.”
Topinka says one thing needs to be reinforced to keep the group trending in a good direction.
“We’ve pushed all year and talked about attention to little details. Whether it’s a five-foot pass on the tape instead of in the feet, keeping your stick on the ice or other things, we just are keeping working. We just want the guys to work hard,” he said.
Forward Tylin Hilbig leads the team this year in points, notching nine goals and nine assists a piece for 18 points in 27 games. It’s a great individual effort; however, he knows himself and the team need to come together to rise in the standings.
“We hit a bit of a bump, but we won against Notre Dame on Friday, which was huge. We’re starting to gel, and it should only be better from here,” he said.
The team’s trades – which saw Captain Mark Snarr and Assistant Captain Jack Michell depart – have led to a new makeup on the roster.
“I was sad to see our guys go, but morale in the room is good. We have some grit to our back end, and they’re all just good people,” he said.
The Notre Dame game saw Kindersley overtake them 3-1 on Friday, December 3, even though they were outshot 35-25. However, goals from Jaxon Georget, newly-acquired Andrew Blocker, and Cash Arnsten helped propel them over the Hounds.
“We were in a bit of a slump, and that helped break it. They had our number all year, and it was great to go into this week off on a positive note,” he said.
“I think we need to keep playing tough, and we need to play this second half of our season with the mentality if we don’t fight, we’ll miss the push here.”
Tylin Hilbig - PHOTO COURTESY KINDESLEY KLIPPERS
