Klippers squeak past Ice Wolves for hard-fought win
Special teams issues continue to plague team
By Jordan Parker
The Kindersley Klippers got their offensive cylinders rolling Friday, October 15, versus the La Ronge Ice Wolves, in a 7-6 overtime win.
But with four of the six goals against coming off opponent powerplays, it’s clear the team still has some special teams work to do.
“It got a bit sloppy, and we ended up in the box a bit too much. We stayed with it and got past it in the end,” said Logan Linklater, the centreman who scored two goals and notched an assist in the last two games for the Klippers.
“Some calls didn’t go our way, but we need to move our feet more and not reach as much. We need to work hard and not take soft penalties.”
Though they ended up triumphant off an overtime goal from captain Mark Snarr, there are still some finer details for the team to work on.
“It was awesome to see Mark work hard and get the winner,” he said. “We’ve done well with guys missing due to injury, and it’s nice now that guys are getting back. We fought through it, and I hope we string together some wins. We need to be ready to play 60 minutes, so these days off have to keep us prepared and allow us to bounce back if we get scored on.”
They came back from a tough 5-1 loss last Wednesday versus the Notre Dame Hounds – and staved off four powerplay attempts – but the team’s lack of discipline almost cost them Friday.
Going into their week-long break, the team led the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in penalty minutes, amassing 315 in just 11 games. At 4-7-0 on the season, captain Snarr knows they need more finesse.
“We’ve been caught in some penalty trouble. Our penalty kill wasn’t great that night, but we overcame it and pulled it out,” he said. “The OT goal felt good, but it felt better to get the two points.”
“Having guys injured has played a role. We went to Flin Flon without a full lineup not long again. We’ve had defenceman Josh Pufahl playing forward.”
He acknowledges the penalty kill could be better. The team has allowed 48 goals against this year, only ahead of Friday’s opponent, the Ice Wolves in the league, who have allowed 56.
“We’re trying to figure out what works, and when we do, we’ll be dangerous. These are 25 guys who didn’t play for a year and didn’t have contact or throw their bodies around. Injuries are bound to happen. But we’ll get there,” said Snarr.
Ethan Ironside, a tough left-winger from Prince Albert, Sk., made his presence felt on Friday. The 5’10, 205 lb enforcer garnered 17 minutes in the box.
He nabbed a 10-minute Game Misconduct and a five-minute Major for Fighting after his rumble with Bryan Gilman in the second period. He also got an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty, which was served by Josh Danis.
“I got into a bit of a scrap, but it sparked the boys up, and we got that victory. It’s just one of those things; it happens,” he said.
“Our offence was really good that night. We could have kept a few out of the net, and we try to be better every day.”
He says the team should stay out of the box, but their penalty kill was strong prior to Friday.
“It’s just the way things happened. I’m happy we got the ‘W,’ and we will bounce back after this break and be ready to go Friday,” he said.
“We just have to trust ourselves, our abilities, and trust each other. I can see we’re starting to do that, and it’s great.”
Kindersley next visits the Nipawin Hawks on Friday, October 22 at 7:30 p.m. ST.