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.

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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 $$$

Rider games and Round’ the League 01/29/23

The Ghostriders played two home games last weekend, they lost 5-3 to Kimberley then won 5-1 against Creston.

The Kimberley game was tied 3-3  but with just 1:43 left in the game Kimberley’s Christian Mealey broke the tie and then they scored an empty net goal for the win. 

Both goalies made great saves especially Aiden Kruhlak who made some terrific saves in the third to keep the Riders in the game and give them a chance to win.

On Saturday against Creston Colton Hanson had the win in the Rider net. 

A few Game Notes

With their win against Creston the Riders could finish in either third or fourth place and Creston will finish fifth. That means Fernie will have to play either Columbia Valley or Kimberley in the playoffs and Creston will be the “Crossover Team”. 

I asked a Creston player what he thought of having to play either Grand Forks, Beaver Valley or Nelson in the playoffs and he said they would rather play them than Columbia Valley.  He has a good point, the Rockies have a legitimate chance of winning the league if you ask me. 

Ethan MacDuff had a 5 point weekend Kort Kisinger 4 and Taylor Haggerty 3. MacDuff is in 6th place in league scoring. 

Scott Sinclair’s goal was his 12th and 29th point putting him in 4th place among KIJHL defensemen. Kimberley’s Cam Reid is in first with 40 .

Round’ the League

The Kamloops Storm made the headlines twice on the weekend. First their goalie Cody Creasy scored a goal on Summerland, the last time a goalie scored was in 2012 when Coyote goalie Darren Hogg, who’s older brother Tim is the play by play guy for the Summerland Steam, scored one.

Then the next night in Princeton Storm Coach and former NHLer Jan Ludvig was tossed and grossed for waving a white flag at the referee. He is a long way from the pros and will probably get a million games here in the Jules Vern league, 2000 Leagues below the NHL.

Ghostrider News January 23/23

The Ghostriders played two games last weekend, they won 2-1 in overtime in Castlegar on Saturday then won 3-1 in Beaver Valley on Sunday afternoon.

A few notes

 

Home ice is important,  in Fernie a few weeks ago the Riders defeated Castlegar 9-3 and out shot them 59-26. In Castlegar the shots were 29-25 for the Rebels and it took Kort Kisinger’s overtime goal  to get the win.  Colton Hanson was in net.

Against the Nitehawks the Rider’s Scott Sinclair  and Taylor Haggerty with the game winner scored power play goals. Gaege Johnson scored the insurance goal with Aiden Kruhlak stopping 45 shots in net.

The Riders played a playoff style of game Sunday, the BV broadcast crew said “One thing about the Ghostriders, they sure block a lot of shots” 

Kort Kisinger’s OT goal was his 19th and 5th in his last six games. With a goal and an assist last week Taylor Haggerty now has 12 goals  35 points and is third in team scoring. He’s having a nice rookie season. 

The Riders are  7-3 in the last 10 games and are starting to score more goals than they allow, their differential is +16. Nice to be positive, even better to be real positive like the Rockies at +79 a league best.  Kelowna is -95 and with just 5 wins have the worst record and the most penalty minutes with 1123, go figure.

Round the League

The Rockies and Kimberley are fighting for first place and Fernie and Golden are battling for third. Math teachers say that Creston could catch Fernie but they are 11 points back with just 7 games left, so they will fail their math test. 

Kimberley will be here in Fernie Friday night and Creston plays here Saturday. Both will be heated divisional games with playoff implications for everybody.

The Playoff Seeding Saga I mean Story 

Right now Castlegar with 22 points is the team that will miss the playoffs. Creston is next with 34. The odds are overwhelming that Creston will be the crossover team.

• The top three teams from the Neil Murdoch Division and the top four teams from the Eddie Mountain Division will automatically qualify for the 2023 KIJHL Playoffs.
• The fourth seed in the Neil Murdoch Division playoff bracket will be occupied by the team that finishes with the superior record of the fourth place team in the Neil Murdoch Division and the fifth place team in the Eddie Mountain Division. If the Eddie Mountain Division's fifth place team earns this playoff berth, they will be referred to as the "crossover team".
• The team that finishes the season with the inferior record of the Neil Murdoch Division's fourth place team and the Eddie Mountain Division's fifth place team will not qualify for the 2023 KIJHL Playoffs.
• In the event that the "crossover team" occupies the fourth seed in the Neil Murdoch Division playoff bracket, the Neil Murdoch Division's top seeded team will then determine whether they wish to play the Neil Murdoch Division's third seeded team or the "crossover team".
• In the event that the Neil Murdoch Division's top seeded team opts to play the third seeded team, the other Neil Murdoch playoff series will take place between the second and fourth seeded teams.
• In the event that the Neil Murdoch Division's top seeded team opts to play the "crossover team", the other Neil Murdoch playoff series will take place between the second and third seeded teams.

Ghostrider News January 15/23

The Ghostriders won both of their home games last weekend, 12-1 against Chase and 3-0 over the spiteful Golden Rockets.

Friday’s game turned out to be pad your stats night and with 12 goals the Riders did just that. Scott Sinclair, Jack Karpyshyn, Andrew Karam, Gaege Johnson, Jack Lambert, Eli Neilsen, Jarod Sigouin, and Malachai Peigan had singles and Ethan MacDuff and Kort Kisinger had two each. Scott Sinclair, Kaden Slobodian MacDuff and Liam Fitzgerald each had 3 assists and Colton Hanson got his 5th win in net.

Against Golden the Riders goals were off the sticks of Ethan MacDuff and Kort Kisinger (2). Aiden Kruhlak had the shutout in net.

Game Notes

Ethan MacDuff had 3 goals and 5 assists last weekend and 8 goals and 8 assists in his last 6 games. He is 6th in KIJHL scoring with 52 points.

Nice to see the hot and cold Kort Kisinger pick up 4 goals. He could be a make or break part of the offence in a few weeks.

The most celebrated of the 12 goals Friday was last one, it was Malachai Peigan’s first goal and the players both on and off the ice were cheering for him, he is a much loved teammate. 

Despite some real head shaking defensive blunders in the third against Golden the Riders managed to keep Kruhlak’s shutout bid alive, but the coaches will need chiropractors.

Golden quit trying to score in the third and decided to exact a pound of flesh with a series of cheap shots. There is a reason why they are number two in penalty minutes with 1041. With a little discipline they could be battling for first place instead of a colouring book or something.

Cole Fisher inherited Vin Jackson’s “A”. The naive Fisher thinks it means assistant captain but Jackson knew the A meant Ask for a trade to pick apples in Creston, but he ended up on a fishin boat in Campbell River.

Taylor Haggerty with 8 points in 2 games vs the Rockies and Castlegar was named as the one of the KIJHL’s Players of the Week, he’s definitely a Rookie of the Year candidate.

In case you were wondering Creston beat Chase 7-1 Saturday, a depleted Nelson Leaf team lost 3-2 to Castlegar despite outshooting them 46-22, and Kimberley eeked out a 1-0 win in Kelowna.

The Ghostrider's broadcast crew

John,Scottie, Budgie and the voice of the Riders Dan. Dan’s KIJHL interview is Here

Rider News Jan 8/23

The Ghostriders just finished off a great weekend with a 5-3 win over the first place Columbia Valley Rockies  and a 9-3 home ice  win over the  Castlegar Rebels .

In Invermere the Rockies were cruising along with a 3-1 lead in the second period thinking well, it’s just another win, until the Riders surprised them and probably most of the KIJHL hockeyverse  when they scored 4 in a row and handed the Rockies just their sixth regulation loss this season. 

The goal scorers were Ethan MacDuff  with two including the game winner, Taylor Haggerty (2) and Gaege Johnson. Kort Kisinger, Jack Lambert and Liam Fitzgerald each had two assists.

In the Rebel game  Kort Kisinger, Taylor Haggerty (2) Scott Sinclair, Jack Lambert, Lucas Desjarlais, Ethan MacDuff, Liam Fitzgerald, and Andrew Karam  scored the goals.

Game Notes 

Colton Hanson who hadn’t played since November 19th played both games and got two huge wins for his teammates... and his confidence. 

Clearly, playing with 15 skaters suited Haggerty, MacDuff and Kisinger who racked up 8 goals and 18 points along with some much needed secondary scoring like say Rylan Cardinal getting 3 assists Saturday. 

The coaches may not like being shorthanded but I’d bet anything the players love being in the game all night. 

Vin Jackson left the team and want’s to play in Creston. The odds are overwhelming that someone from Creston has been talking to him... Just sayin. 

Jack Karpyshyn, Cole Fournier and Liam Samycia are all out with injuries. Meanwhile the unhappy Josh Prebushewski and Michael Romeo were traded  to the PIJHL

Eli Neilsen  is a former team mate of Andrew Kennedy. The 18 year old D-man  was in Fort Francis Ontario (SIJHL) but is from Edmonton.

Eli, 6’3” 190 was in amongst the 715 Rider faithful Saturday. Only carding issues kept him from playing.

Round’ the League

The Nelson Leafs started a line brawl on New Year’s Eve and got 35 games worth of suspensions handed to them and their Coach Adam DiBella ended up stepping down. A BV player hit Nelson’s goalie in the first period and that was the reasoning for the sort of fights... even though the goalie played the entire game.

Anyway the Beaver Valley players got 8 games for defending themselves. BC Hockey thinks they should have just laid down, taken the beating, and let the refs sort it out...  I shall fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy face shield they comfort me... What? 

Well it  looks like maybe someone squealed on the Nelson coach as the league has determined that he sent them out to fight. For those who witnessed all the brawls from a few years ago, you will be surprised to know that when it was over almost all the players still had their gloves on. You can see the whatever  it was here  The funniest part is the Nelson players in the penalty box simulating their wrestling matches. But seriously now folks.