just to change the subject.....

Published: February 17, 2009 8:00 AM
Updated: February 17, 2009 8:45 AM
Comments The Williams Lake Stampeders battled back from a 3-1 deficit Saturday night in Smithers to knock off the Smithers Steelheads 6-4 and sweep the best-of-three Central Interior Hockey League’s East Division final 2-0.

The Stampeders now have until Saturday to prepare for the league champions, the Kitimat Ice Demons, in the CIHL Rio-Tinto Alcan Cup final.

Five unanswered goals with two each from Wilfred Robbins and Brent McIsaac, and additional tallies from Jason Wright and Robin Gilbert, propelled the Stampeders past a Steelheads club that went 14-4-0 on the regular season and finished first in the division.

“We had a good first period, and good third period again,” Stampeders coach Kelly Kohlen says of the two-game sweep. “Our second period was a little bit of a letdown, but we battled back and scored four goals in the third period.”

Steelheads’ netminder Jaime Deba says the loss was unexpected, and a devastating blow to the team, who dropped game one of the series 6-5 in Williams Lake on Saturday, Feb. 7.

“We had a bit of a third period collapse, which we haven’t really had this year,” Deba says. “Our third periods have always been our strongest.”

The Steelheads carried a 3-2 lead into the third period before a defensive meltdown lead to four third period Stampeders goals.

“It’s really, really disappointing,” Deba says. “We expected higher than this but unfortunately this is the way it happens.”

Kohlen adds he was impressed with the effort his team put forth, especially in the third period.

“In the third period it was a combined team effort,” he says. “Everybody played well.”

Kohlen says it will be a bit of an unknown heading into Saturday’s game at the Cariboo Memorial Complex in Williams Lake, but knows not to take the Demons lightly.

“It’s hard to say [how we’ll match up],” Kohlen says. “We haven’t seen them this year, but Smithers beat them twice and Houston beat them.

“I’m not really sure what to expect but I think we’ve got a good chance the way our guys are playing.”

After dropping game one 4-3, Kitimat would end the Hazelton Wolverines’ Cinderella playoff run with a 6-2 win Saturday and 9-1 blowout Sunday to win the best-of-three series and the West Division title.

Kitimat went 14-3-1 over the regular season to claim the league’s Lightning Cup title.

Game one of the CIHL final is Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. at the Cariboo Memorial Complex. Game two and, if necessary, game three will be played in Kitimat, who holds the home-ice advantage.

Steelhead season ends, Stamps sweep

Published: February 18, 2009 8:00 AM

The Steelhead run is done.

Five unanswered goals propelled the Williams Lake Stampeders to a 6-3 win Saturday at the Smithers Civic Centre to sweep the best-of-three CIHL Eastern Division Finals.

The high-powered Steelheads were the odds-on favourites coming into the playoffs. However, a late season softening could have been a harbinger of things to come.

The Steelheads lost to the third place Stampeders on home ice during the final weekend of the regular season. That loss cost the Steelheads the regular season title, which went to the Kitimat Ice Demons by a single point.

The Steelheads, who had lost only three games all season — all to the Houston Luckies — finished their final eight games of the regular season with four wins and four losses.

After sweeping the Omineca Ice in the first round, just edging the fourth place Ice 5-4 at the Civic Centre, the Steelheads were supposed to make quick work of the Stampeders and be ready for the CIHL finals and the Kitimat Ice Demons — a team they manhandled earlier in the season.

The Stampeders however dealt the Steelheads a devastating 6-5 loss in Williams Lake putting the Fish in a do-or-die situation on Saturday.

After two periods, the Steelheads looked well on their way to sending the series to a third and deciding game.

In the third, the run ended.

“We had a bit of a third period collapse, which we haven’t really had this year. Our third periods have always been our strongest,” Steelhead netminder Jamie Deba said.

“It’s really, really disappointing. We expected higher than this but unfortunately this is the way it happens.”

Tyler Pederson, who was not in the lineup on Saturday, was hoping for another shot to suit up for the team.

“It was a pretty bad upset. It was just too bad it had to end so soon and in that way,” he said.

The predominantly younger Steelhead squad is looking at taking away positives from the season.

“I think we were prepared. We just got to figure out a way to win the big games,” said second-year winger Darren McMillan.

The Stampeders will now take on the Kitimat Ice Demons who survived an early round scare at the hands of the CIHL Cinderella squad, the Hazelton Wolverines.

The embattled Kitimat Ice Demons needed two very decisive home ice wins, 6-2 Saturday and 9-1 Sunday to dispatch the pesky Hazelton Wolverines, win the West Division championship and advance to the CIHL playoff finals against East Division champions, the Williams Lake Stampeders.

The Stampeders, after winning their home ice opener by a one goal 6-5 margin last week, came into Smithers and shocked the home town fans with a come-from-behind 6-4 win to advance to the league finals two-straight, for the first time since 2007, when they lost to the Kitimat team after losing game one at home, winning game two in Tamitik and losing the decider in a thriller, also at Tamitik.

The injury-riddled and short-handed Ice Demons lost the opening game of the division finals in Hazelton last Saturday, but came back this weekend with two improved efforts that swept Hazelton aside.

On Saturday, the Ice Demons, with scoring centers Terry Whelan and Trent Bossence back in the lineup, had a tentative start to game two, but took a 2-1 lead into the second period, and didn’t really look back, ending the second with a 4-2 lead and adding two in the third for a solid 6-2 win behind the big goaltending of Jamie Moran. The Demons unleashed a total of 35 shots at Wolverines goalies Cody Smith and Cory Croft, while the Wolverines had only a total of 17 on Moran, including only three in the decisive third period.

Demons had Saturday goals from Terry Whelan (3), Andre Baldo and Jeff Baker, with a rocket top-corner shot that gave Croft no chance to make the score 5-2 and Gerard Baldo added the finishing touch with just under three minutes remaining in the game. Assist were earned by Derek Wakita (3), Trent Bossence (2), Greg Sabey, Jeff Mildenberger, Jeff Baker and Jeremy Baldo. Ken Johnson had a goal for Hazelton in the first to tie the game at 1-1 and by captain Stu Barnes, in the second to keep the Wolverines in the game at 4-2. Demons had two unanswered goals in the third as the tiring Wolverines couldn’t cope with the Demons speed.

On Sunday, knowing the shot at the championship was on the line, the Demons had a focused first period, scoring five times in the first 13 minutes on goals by Terry Whelan (Andre Baldo) inside the first minute. Terry Whelan (Derek Wakita, Jeff Mildenberger) got his second, with less than three minutes gone. Derek Wakita (Gerard Baldo, Jeff Mildenberger) had his first of three in the game three minutes later before Jeff Baker made it 4-0 unassisted, two minutes later.

The Demons were up 5-0 at the end of the period, on a goal by Blaine Markwart (Jeff Mildenberger, Jeremy Brady) and made it 7-0 in the second on goals by Ian Coleman (Jeremy Brady, Jeff Baker) and Derek Wakita (Steve Venman, Chris Vilness) before the Wolverines got a consolation power play goal by Mitch Marshall (unassisted).

But the Demons kept their foot on the accelerator and Ian Coleman (Blaine Markwart, Jeff Mildenberger) and Derek Wakita, (Ian Coleman, Chris Vilness), with his hat-trick goal, scored 22 second apart to finish the period at 9-1.

Cory Croft had replaced Cody Smith in goal again for the Wolverines, who could not handle the Demons control game or speed. They tried to slow them down with hitting, but took a number of penalties, including a slash followed by an exchange with referee Bill Konkin, from Burns Lake, that earned Wolverines’ Al Tolmie an early trip to the showers with a game misconduct.

Adam Buick, who fought Mitch Hobenscheild on Saturday took on Hazelton super-pest Phil Morrison in the third period Sunday and both were banished.

Trent Bossence was ejected from the game with a first period hit from behind on Morrison, and took a vicious cross-check from Colin Jack who took a double minor.

The Ice Demons will travel Friday for game one of the finals in Williams Lake, Saturday before the two teams will settle the best-of-three finals in Kitimat Feb. 28 and March 1.

Both teams will be starters in the Coy Cup which goes March 3-7 in Terrace, with the Terrace River Kings playing host. The Ice Demons are the defending CIHL champions and Coy Cup champions from the 2007-08 season.