Playoff teams in the second round

 Round the League

We’ll start here in Fernie where the Riders defeated the Rockies 4 games to 2 and will now play Kimberley who defeated Golden 4 games to 1. This is a 2 vs 4 matchup.

Teams that finished higher than their opponent in the standings get the weekend games to start. There is no conspiracy everyone knew this was suppose to happen last summer. 

On Friday- Saturday Fernie will play in Kimberley then back here in Fernie on Monday and Tuesday, March 6 and 7.  Just like the Rockies series game five is on the Friday in Kimberley and game six on Saturday in Fernie.

Game seven would be in Kimberley on the Monday.

Grand Forks didn’t make the playoffs last year but they had a good summer recruiting and finished in first place in their division. A remarkable turnaround.

Because Spokane was not in the league again this year the first place team in the Nelson-BV division had the option of playing Beaver Valley or Creston and they picked Creston.  That probably gave Creston some motivation and they quickly dispatched  the Bruins 4 games to 1. 

Creston will now play Beaver Valley a 3 vs 4 matchup and the Hawks will have home ice after they defeated Nelson 4 games to 2.

In another world hundreds of miles away ... First place overall Princeton defeated Summerland 4-0 and will now play North Okanagan who surprised second place Osoyoos 4-1. This is a 1 vs 3 matchup.

In Revelstoke the Grizzlies won 4-0 over 100 Mile and will now have home ice against Sicamous who defeated Kamloops 2-1 in game seven Monday night. This is a 1 vs 3 matchup.

The Ghostriders move on to play Kimberley

 With a 5-1 win Saturday night the underdog  Ghostriders won their series with the high scoring Rockies four games to two.

Fernie will now play Kimberley, tentatively scheduled to start Friday in Kimberley. 

We try not to use long words so Kimberley fans should know that “tentatively" means it’s possible that could change

Game Six

The Riders overwhelmed the Rockies in the first period and had a 3-1 lead. 

In the second they survived a pretty good Rockies push but Fernie scored the only goal.

In the third with Aiden Kruhlak’s big saves they finished the game off and the 1020 screaming fans went home happy.

Aiden Kruhlak made some spectacular saves for the Riders in the series and out gunned Ewan McDevitt again on Saturday. 

McDevitt was pulled with about five minutes left in the game but Kruhlak shut them down and MacDuff scored the only goal.

A few notes

There was some hugging in the final handshake lineup... clearly most of the players know each other from camps, minor hockey, trades etc.

With a league best 218 goals scored in the regular season the Rockies were a formidable opponent ... but in the six playoff games Fernie scored 21and let in 16. The CVR scored 16 and allowed 21. That tells me that the players really bought into Head Coach Ty Valin’s game plan.

With about 30 seconds left in the game D-man Andrew Kennedy had the puck behind his net with a Rockies’ player in pursuit... Much to the amusement of this writer Kennedy played keep away by skating in circles and not giving up the puck. If it would have been a 20 year old chasing him like say Damon Byers I think Kennedy would have a limp today.

Kort Kisinger, Jarod Sigouin, Jack Lambert and Scott Sinclair scored the four game winning goals. 

If there was a vote I think the fan favourite would be #13 Liam Fitzgerald... a fearless fireplug who chipped in with 5 points in six games and was second in team scoring just a few points behind Kort Kisinger with 5G and 3A 

Team President Barb Anderson says it has been nine years since the Ghostriders have won a first round series.

Congratulations to the players and coaches.

CLICK HERE to see the full Ghostrider scoring stats

Game six is tonight Saturday February 25 at 7:30

The Ghostriders lost 6-4 last night so tonight February 26th in Fernie the Riders will play game six of their best of seven series with the Columbia Valley Rockies. 

The Ghostriders lead the series 3-2 so the Rockies have to win tonight and whoever wins this series will move on to play Kimberley.

The Ghostriders only have one injury and that is to D man Kaden Slobodian who has missed the last two games. Liam Samycia is available after a long recovery from an injury.  The Rockies Jamieson Franz is still suspended for a boarding major late in game three and can play game seven if the Rockies win tonight.

Last night in the Valley the Rockies stayed alive with a 6-4 home ice win.

The Scoring from Friday Night

The shots were 35-39 for the Rockies. Aiden Kruhlak was in net for the Riders and Ewan McDevitt was in goal for the Rockies who had 675 fans in attendance.

Round’ the League 

The bolded teams have won their series

Kimberley had a 4-1 win over Golden and win the series 4-1

Creston had an 8-5 win in Grand Forks and win their series 4-1

Nelson won 3-2 in OT  and Beaver Valley leads the series 3-2

North Okanagan won 5-3 and have defeated Osoyoos 4-1

Kamloops won 4-2 but are down 3-2 to Sicamous

Princeton won their series 4-0 against Summerland. 

Riders win game four and now lead 3-1

 The Ghostriders worked their way back from a 2-0 deficit then scored the game winning goal in overtime giving them a 3-2 win and a 3-1series lead.

Game five is in Invermere this Friday night. If there is a game six it will be in Fernie on Saturday February 25.

Game four

The Rockies scored one in the first and one in the second and were leading 2-0 but with 5:06 left on the clock Jack Lambert scored his third goal of the playoffs giving the Riders a little light at the end of the tunnel.

Things were looking dim late in the third period  but the Riders worked some magic and with just 2:08 left on the clock Taylor Haggerty scored the game tying goal sending the game to OT.

The 720 fans didn’t have to wait long in the overtime and just 2:23 into the period Kort Kisinger scored the game winning goal.

A few game notes

The Rockies 2-0 lead in the second period seemed almost insurmountable with the way they were defending their end of the ice but the Riders never quit and chipped away and eventually tied the game.

On the tying goal the Rockies looked like they were easily going to clear the puck out of their end but Kort Kisinger made a nice move and kept the play alive and a few passes later Kisinger passed to Taylor Haggerty for the tying goal.

In the OT Ethan MacDuff (2-assists) set Kisinger up for a chance in front of the net and he didn’t miss.

Aiden Kruhlak made some spectacular saves in the third period that kept the Riders in the game and gave them a chance to win.

His counterpart Ewan McDevitt made some great stops as well and both goalies could have been players of the game... except well.. Kisinger was a big part of both the tying and game winning goals.

Credit the Riders Coaches for keeping their players on track and getting them to never give up.

A lot less animosity in game four but because the Riders won in overtime it was still as fun to watch.

Round' the League

The higher seeded teams are bolded and the lower seeded teams were at home last night.

Kimberley won 3-1 in Golden and now lead 2-1

Creston won 2-1 in Grand Forks and outshot them 55-34 they now lead the series 2-1 

Beaver Valley defeated Nelson 7-3 and lead that series 2-1 now.

Revelstoke defeated 100 Mile 3-1 and lead that series 3-0

Sicamous defeated Kamloops 5-4 and now lead that series 3-1.

Riders win game three and lead the series 2-1

Game Three

Monday night’s game was a hotly contested affair that featured several big time hits cheap shots and seven goals. Fernie won the game 5-2 and now lead the series 2-1.

There was no scoring in the first period but there were several penalties and scrums after the whistle, one misconduct and one game misconduct to Anthony Dominia.

In the second period Kobe Mason  got the Rockies on the board with a power play goal but a few minutes later Liam Fitzgerald tied the game then Ethan MacDuff scored on the power play and the second period ended with the Riders leading 2-1.

In the third Jarod Sigouin  scored what would turn out to be the game winner making it 3-1 then Andrew Karam scored the Riders second power play goal for a 4-1 lead.

Lucas DeLa Salle made it a little closer at 4-2 but Kort Kisinger scored into the empty net to guarantee a Ghostrider win.

Aiden Kruhlak out duelled the Rockies goalie Brett Sweet  in net and now the Riders have made it so the Rockies have to win at least one game here in Fernie. The shots last night were 36-35 for the CVR.

Sweet and the Rockies were clearly rattled by the third period where they had hardly any grade A scoring chances. 

They seemed to lose their composure especially at the end. Tonight’s game here in Fernie will be very interesting.

Can the Ghostriders continue Coach Ty Valin's “Keep em to the outside" game going again tonight... 

Game five is in Invermere on Friday night and if there is a game six it will be here in Fernie on Saturday night.

Round’ the League

There were only two other games last night.

Osoyoos lost in North Okanagan 7-4 giving the Knights a 3-0 series lead.

Sicamous defeated Kamloops  5-2 and they lead their series 2-1.

All the other series get going again tonight.

The Riders get a split on the road and Round’ the League

The Fernie Ghostriders and the Columbia Valley Rockies played the first two games of their seven game series in Invermere and the Riders skated away with a split and the series is tied 1-1.

I consider that a success against the hi scoring first place Rockies.

The Ghostriders won 2-1 in overtime on Friday then lost 4-2 on Saturday night.

 So far these games have featured several big hits and a few breakaways by both teams. 

Game one was a very tight checking game that favoured the Ghostriders but on Saturday it opened up a bit, it wasn't a track meet or anything, but a little more freewheeling and that favoured the high scoring Rockies.

In game one in Invermere the Ghostriders pretty much had to circle the wagons in the first period and try to keep the Rockies to the outside and limit their good scoring chances. 

The Rockies scored the only goal in the first and they outshot Fernie 17-2.

In the second the Riders found their legs and   had an 8-7 advantage in shots but neither team scored.

In the third period Fernie outshot the Rockies 11-9 but couldn’t score until they pulled goaltender Aiden Kruhlak  for the extra attacker and with 2:06 left on the clock Liam Fitzgerald (Kisinger- Fournier) finally tied the game at one each.

In the overtime the Riders took a penalty but Aiden Kruhlak was strong in the net and they killed it off. Then the Rockies took a penalty but they didn’t kill it off and  Jack Lambert scored on the power play giving the Riders a 2-1 OT win.

Goalies Aiden Kruhlak and Ewan McDevitt were the game stars.

__________________________

On Saturday the game was a little more open and that favoured the Rockies who scored two in the first  and two in the second. 

Fernie’s goals were from Jack Lambert (Fitzgerald- Kennedy) and Scott Sinclair.

The shots were 41-25 Rockies

Ewan McDevitt and Ghostriders Aiden Kruhlak were the goalies Saturday.

Round' the League

The higher seeded teams are listed first

Kimberley and Golden are tied 1-1, Kimberley won 4-2 then Golden won 3-2 in OT. 1000 fans in Kimberley Friday.

Grand Forks and Creston are tied 1-1 Creston won game one 3-2 then the Bruins won 7-3 in front of 625 fans

Nelson and Beaver Valley are tied 1-1, Nelson won 5-4 then lost 6-2 in front of 1005 Nelson fans Saturday. BV had 2PP and 2 SH goals.

The only surprise so far is the first place Osoyoos Coyotes losing at home 5-3 and 6-1 to the fourth place North Okanagan Knights in front of their 275 fans and now they have to go to Armstrong for two games.

Princeton leads Summerland 2-0 with 5-4 and 7-2 wins in front of 615 fans.

Revelstoke leads 100 Mile 2-0 with 6-0 and 4-0 wins in front of 900 fans.

Kamloops and Sicamous are tied 1-1 the games were 6-3 Kamloops and 6-2 Sicamous. 715 fans Friday in Kamloops.

The Ghostriders will play Columbia Valley and a few other things

The Ghostriders lost their chance at third place in the standings and a date with Kimberley in the first round of the playoffs when they lost 5-2 in Columbia Valley last Friday night.

That means the Ghostriders will play the first place Rockies this Friday and Saturday in Invermere. The Riders first home games will be Monday and Tuesday February 20-21st. 

 After January 10th when all the cuts and trades were made and the teams were at their strongest the Ghostriders had a 2-1 record against the Rockies. In other words, they have a reasonable chance against the first place Rockies. But the numbers say something else.

The Rockies are the top scoring team in the league with 218 goals and they have +92 goal differential. The Ghostriders scored 163 and have a +25 differential. 

The Rockies power play scores on 22.2 % of their chances and have a kill rate of 86.3%. The Riders power play is 16.2% and they murder 78.6% of their penalties.

The one stat the Riders are ahead in is shorthanded goals. Fernie has 7 and the Rockies have 6, but allowed 3 against.

Keenan Ingram is the Rockies top scorer with 43 goals and 74 points, he was second in league scoring and should easily win the Rookie of the Year Award.

Fernie’s Ethan MacDuff finished seventh in league scoring with 65 points and finished his regular season KIJHL career with 103 points. MacDuff also had 7 game winning goals, good for third overall. Kort Kisinger had 47 points and 95 career points.

With 13 goals and 35 points D-man Scott Sinclair finished fourth overall among KIJHL defensemen and first with the Riders. And was a KIJHL POM

Around the League

Grand Forks-Nelson and Golden- Fernie each finished with 53 points. But Grand Forks and Golden had more wins so finished ahead. Grand Forks gets to pick either Creston or Beaver Valley and Golden plays Kimberley.

I bet the Bruins pick Creston.

Fernie’s division, the Eddie Mountain, is the only division where every team had at least 40 points.

With an amusing 1350 penalty minutes the Kelowna Chiefs won the coveted KIJHL colouring books, they also finished dead last with 16 points. Clearly in a large city where there are almost as many players as protesters recruiting should be easy, there might even be a “convoy" of players to choose from... but the owner, Jason Tansem, made himself the GM…what does that tell you.

Tansem joins a long list of owners who have dabbled in the occult or whatever it is coaches do.  Friend of the blog Lee Stone who coached the Campbell River Storm to Cyclone Taylor and Keystone Cups along with three VIJHL Championships lost his coaching job recently when a new owner came in and meddled as GM  

And finally Sicamous Eagle Coach Nick Deschenes cost his team home ice against Kamloops because he used an ineligible player a few weeks ago and his team lost two points that would have given them second place. Under Deschenes the Eagles had a 24 point increase in points over last season, are one of the best defensive teams in the league and were a +47. I think he will be coaching the Eagles next season if he want’s too. 

Rider News Feb 6/23

Ghostriders Spring Camp March 31- April 2 Details here

Ok so here’s where we are after two impressive weekend wins in Creston and at home to the Rockies. 

Fernie has 51 points and Golden has 53 but they have played all their games. The Ghostriders have two games left, in Invermere and at home to Creston but they need 3 points to get third place and play second place Kimberley. 

The first tie breaker is wins, Golden has 25 wins Fernie 22 so winning just one game won’t get you third place. 

The Chokers... Golden could have clinched third but they lost to Chase, a non playoff team with just 10 wins Saturday. They redeemed themselves Sunday with a 3-2 win against another choker, Kimberley, who had a real chance at first place, but lost and finished second.

So who do you want, Fernie hasn’t won a game against Kimberley but have won a few against the suddenly sputtering Rockies. 

Fernie in the last ten games has one of the best records in the league at 8-2.  The Riders' seem to be gelling as a team. 

Coach TY Valin “They are coming together at the right time because this time of year is important as we move forward when the games are so meaningful". 

Looking from the outside I’m thinking maybe they don’t even want Kimberley, let them and the penalty leading Rockets knock themselves out, literally, in the first round. 

Anyway the Rockies are in first place for a reason and would be a formidable opponent. 

The Ghostriders played two games last weekend, the first one was on the road in Creston with Colton Hanson in net and the Riders won it 6-4. 

On Sunday against the Rockies the Riders won 6-4.  Aiden Kruhlak was in net and got his 8th win and Lockhart’s goal was his first as a Rider.

Round the League

The Sicamous Eagles lost two points when their head coach Nick Deschenes used an ineligible player January 20th. Someone didn’t check the Hockey Canada website and the Eagles who were in a fight with Kamloops for second could end up in third place. 

That just can’t happen, it makes the league look bad and hurts the players who through no fault of their own lost two points and maybe even home ice against Kamloops. Deschenes was suspended one game for his neglect and the team may lose a home gate or two $$$