KIJHL Playoffs Day 8 recap

March 3, 2022

The opening round of the KIJHL Teck Cup Championships are now complete after the Beaver Valley Nitehawks defeated the Creston Valley Thunder Cats in the seventh, and deciding game, 3-2. Trail product Nathan Dominici scored the winner with 6:11 remaining in the third period, his second goal of the playoffs. The Thunder Cats opened the scoring on a goal by Campbell McLean in the first. Then the Nitehawks answered back with goals from Gavin Tritt and Austin McKenzie. Luke Chakrabarti evened the score at two with this sixth of the playoffs midway through the second. Owen Albers finished with 28 saves for the Thunder Cats, while Carlos Siso made 38 saves.

March 2, 2022

Large crowd pushes Leafs past Rebels

The Nelson Leafs defeated the Castlegar Rebels 3-1 to win their series in seven games and advance to the second round of the Teck Cup Championship. Presley Gordon opened the scoring for the home team, playing in front of a crowd of 1,089, in the first period. Justin Duguay’s fourth goal of the playoffs tied it for the Rebels, but Ryan Quast netted the eventual winner short-handed. Rebels goalie Ethan Lawczynski made 21 saves, while Leafs goalie Tenzin Mint finished with 26 saves.

Storm pull off triple overtime heroics to win series

It took a third overtime, but the Kamloops Storm defeated the Chase Heat 2-1 to win their series in seven games. Ryan Larsen was the OT hero with his second goal of the playoffs, assisted by Hudson Cameron. Cole Senum opened the scoring for the Storm, while Lucas Ouellette tied the game on the power-play with his first of the playoffs. Jack Osmond finished with an incredible 58 saves for the Heat, while Colton Phillips-Watts made 36 for the Storm.

 

March 1, 2022

Kinaschuk clinches series for Rockies in OT

Kayde Kinaschuk’s fourth goal of the playoffs in overtime won the game for the Columbia Valley Rockies in overtime 3-2 against the Fernie Ghostriders, and clinched the series in six games. Kinaschuk opened the scoring in the first period and Reed Sparrow gave the Rockies a 2-0 lead before the Ghostriders got back into the game with goals from Kort Kisinger and Ethan MacDuff. Grady Nicholas made 34 saves for the win, while Casey Thomson also stopped 34 shots.

 

McLean nets winner for Thunder Cats who force Game 7

Campbell McLean’s sixth goal of the playoffs won it for the Creston Valley Thunder Cats against the Beaver Valley Nitehawks to force Game 7. The Thunder Cats had a four-goal third period to earn a 5-3 win. The Nitehawks led 2-1 after the first on goals by Cooper Ross and Jesse Ihas, while the Thunder Cats benefited from a balanced attack. Luke Chakrabarti had two assists for the Thunder Cats, including contributing to the game-winning goal. Carlos Siso made 33 saves for the win.

 

Pisiak nets OT winner as Leafs force Game 7

The Nelson Leafs avoided elimination for the second straight game as they defeated the Castlegar Rebels 4-3 in double overtime to force Game 7. Captain Tyler Pisiak enjoyed a three-point night, which included scoring the winning goal. Lane Goodwin led the Leafs with a goal and three assists, while Griffen Ryden popped a hat-trick for the Rebels. Tenzin Mint made 39 saves for the Leafs.

 

Osmond shutout helps Heat force Game 7

Garrett Martin’s first goal of the playoffs, and Jack Osmond’s 29-save performance helped the Chase Heat defeat the Kamloops Storm 3-0 and force Game 7. Jarod Sigouin, who led the Heat with two assists, set up Martin’s opening goal and Justin Vinterlik, who made it 2-0. Jacob Biensch made it 3-0 with his third of the playoffs. Colton Phillips-Watts made 25 saves.

 

 

Feb. 28, 2022

Rockies take series lead with big win

Bret Gerrits scored a hat-trick, while Grady Nicholas made 23 saves in a 7-0 win for the Columbia Valley Rockies against the Fernie Ghostriders. The Rockies now lead the series 3-2. Vaughn Strutt opened the scoring in the first period with his first of the playoffs. Ty Coady collected three assists, while Colby Phillips and Reed Sparrow had two assists each.

 

Leafs double up Rebels to stay alive

The Nelson Leafs avoided elimination against the Castlegar Rebels with a 6-3 victory at home. Lane Goodwin’s third goal of the playoffs proved to be the eventual winner when he made it 4-1. Rhett Hamilton led the Leafs with two goals (both on the power-play) and an assist, while Seamus Boyd had two assists. The Leafs scored three of their six goals on the power-play, the third by Liam Noble. Tenzin Mint made 28 saves for the win. Scoring for the Rebels was Mitch Daines with two and Justin Duguay. Ethan Lawczynski finished with 25 saves.

 

Osmond stellar in goal for Heat

The Chase Heat avoided elimination as they defeated the Kamloops Storm 3-2. Trevor Kennedy’s 3-0 goal on the power-play would be the eventual winner as the Storm fought back with goals from Jayden Russell and Zakery Anderson, both on the power-play. Jack Osmond made 49 saves for the Heat, who gave up 20 shots in the first and third period.

 

Macaulay helps lead Steam to series clinching win

The Summerland Steam clinched their series against the Kelowna Chiefs with a 6-4 road victory. The Steam had built a 4-0 lead before the Chiefs clawed back on goals by Levi Lamotte and Nick Morin with two making it 4-3. Michael Greenwood scored the eventual winner after Morin’s second goal to make it 5-3. Jack Lynes and Cole Waldbillig led the Steam with a goal and assist each. Colton Macaulay made 43 saves, while Chiefs goalie Frederick Larochelle turned aside 13 of 19 shots.

 

McLean pots hat-trick for Thunder Cats

The Creston Valley Thunder Cats avoided elimination with a 5-3 win over the Beaver Valley Nitehawks. Campbell McLean scored the winner in the third period to make it 4-3 with his second of three goals. He also added an assist for a four-point performance. Brennan Wilson had a goal and an assist for the Nitehawks, while Kaleb Percival collected two assists. Carlos Siso had 32 saves in the win.

 

Ochitwa nets winner as Coyotes take series

The President’s Trophy-winning Osoyoos Coyotes clinched their series against the Princeton Posse with a 4-2 win. The Coyotes erased a 2-0 deficit on goals from Kaleb Kremp, Jack Henderson, Alex Ochitwa and Ethan McKinley, whose goal came on the power-play. Peyton Trzaska finished with 43 saves in the loss, while Kenny Gerow made 22 saves. Curtis Gould and Sean Mitchell scored for the Posse.

 

Feb. 26, 2022

Three-goal first period leads Rockies to victory

Led by the two-goal performances of Reed Sparrow and Jakob McLean, the Columbia Valley Rockies defeated the Fernie Ghostriders 6-2, to even their series at two games. Grady Nicholas made 34 saves in the victory. The Rockies built a 3-0 lead after the first period and took advantage of their power-play, going 3-for-9. Both Ghostrider goals came on the power-play were scored by Scott Sinclair and Ethan MacDuff.

 

Dynamiters sweep Rockets

Christian Mealey scored twice, including the game-winning goal as the Kimberley Dynamiters defeated the Golden Rockets 7-2 to sweep their series. The Dynamiters sealed their victory with two power-play goals from Justin Sommer and Connor Klassen and a short-handed marker by Josh Prebushewski. Trystan Self made 24 saves, while Levi Hall turned aside 48 for the Rockets, who got goals from Gavin Kennedy and Jordan Lario short-handed.

 

Stocks nets winner for Nitehawks

The Beaver Valley Nitehawks have taken a 3-1 series lead over the Creston Valley Thunder Cats with a 4-3 win. Hayden Stocks fired home the winner on the power-play, which went 2-for-4. Stocks, Brennan Wilson and Cooper Ross each had two points. Owen Albers made 34 saves for the Nitehawks. Scoring for the Thunder Cats was Hassen Himour with two and Ben Narowski.

 

Lawczysnki leads Rebels to third victory

The Castlegar Rebels defeated the Nelson Leafs 3-1 to take a 3-1 series lead. Rebels goalie Ethan Lawczynski had another solid performance turning aside 44 shots. After Leaf Lane Goodwine opened the scoring in the first period, the Rebels netted three straight starting with Nathan Dann’s shorthanded goal in the second period. Jacob Moldenhauer netted the winner and Griffen Ryden sealed the victory with a power-play goal midway through the third period. 

 

Larsen nets winner for Storm

Ryan Larsen potted the winner for the Kamloops Storm in a 2-1 victory against the Chase Heat to give them a 3-1 series lead. Harrison Ewert opened the scoring for the Storm with his third goal coming on the power-play. Larsen’s winner came in the second period. The Heat’s lone goal was scored by Aiden Brown short-handed. Colton Phillips-Watts made 27 saves for the Storm.

 

McKinley nets winner for Coyotes

Ethan McKinley scored the winner for the Osoyoos Coyotes against the Princeton Posse in a 4-1 final. Jack Henderson opened the scoring for the Coyotes and finished with a three-point night, while Kenny Gerow made 30 saves, 13 in the second period. Sean Mitchell scored the Posse’s lone goal late in the third period on the power-play.

 

Reinson nets winner for Grizzlies

On the strength of three power-play goals, the Revelstoke Grizzlies defeated the Sicamous Eagles 7-3 and swept their series. Carson Reinson scored the winner on the power-play late in the second period. Carter Bettenson and Luke Aston led the Grizzlies with two points each and Jozef Kuchaslo made 15 saves. Scoring for the Eagles was Hayden Fast, on the power-play, Tayce Miller and Jace Ticknor, all in the third period on five shots.

 

Steam rewards large crowd with win

Ben Lewis makes a big save for the Summerland Steam. Tami Quan Photo

In front of a record crowd of 514, the Summerland Steam defeated the Kelowna Chiefs 3-2 to take a 3-1 series lead. Tristan Weill, Haiden Parks and Parker Konneke scored for the Steam. Konneke’s third goal on the power-play was the eventual winner. Ben Lewis made 38 saves, allowing goals to Patrick Reynolds and Spencer Horning, as the Chiefs fired 17 shots on goal.

Canadian Tire Penticton, Tim Hortons and Summerland IGA teamed up to pay for fans to attend the game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feb. 25, 2022

Fisher nets winner, Fournier has three points in Ghostriders win

Cole Fisher’s first of the playoffs gave the Fernie Ghostriders a 4-3 win over the Columbia Valley Rockies to take a 2-1 series lead. Ghostriders goalie Dylan Lacroix turned aside 29 of 32 shots. The Rockies led 2-0, scoring in the opening two minutes of the first and second period on goals by Bret Gerrits and Colby Phillips. The Ghostriders then responded with three straight goals from Kort Kisinger, with his second of the playoffs, and Cole Fournier with two goals.

Daniels OT hero for Dynamiters  

Austin Daniels’ fourth goal of the playoffs in overtime gave the Kimberley Dynamiters a commanding 3-0 series lead on the Golden Rockets. After Kade Leskosky opened the scoring with his fourth goal, the Rockets answered back with two straight from Austin Angus and Jordan Lario. Matt Fleet made 21 saves for the Dynamiters, while Levi Hall finished with 42.

Joel Smyth nets OT winner for Nitehawks

Joel Smyth scored twice, including the overtime winner as the Beaver Valley Nitehawks defeated the Creston Valley Thunder Cats 5-4 to take a 2-1 series lead. Also scoring for the Nitehawks was Hayden Stocks, Austin McKenzie and Ollie Clement. Luke Chakrabarti had two goals and four points for the Thunder Cats. Owen Albers made 33 saves for the win.

Lawczynski strong in net for Rebels

Ethan Lawczynski made 38 saves to help the Castlegar Rebels defeat the Nelson Leafs 4-2 at home to take a 2-1 series lead. Cody Quinton scored the winner for the Rebels in the third period on the power-play setup by Griffen Ryden and Tymon Sanikopoulos. Ryden, the Neil Murdoch Division MVP, led the Rebels with two goals and three points. Tyler Pisiak led the Leafs with two goals.

Anderson nets two as Storm contain the Heat

The Kamloops Storm have won two straight over the Chase Heat as Zakery Anderson scored twice, including the winner, while Colton Phillips-Watts made 36 saves in a 3-2 win. After the Heat opened the scoring on a goal by Brayden Haskell, the Storm went to work scoring three straight, starting with Kyle Sanford’s goal to tie the game at one. Jacob Biensch scored the other Heat goal.

Trzaska shuts out Coyotes

The Princeton Posse got a much needed win at home, 4-0 over the Osoyoos Coyotes to cut their series lead to 2-1. Peytron Trzaska made 41 saves, including 17 in the second period, for his first career KIJHL playoff shutout. He had two during the regular season. Also scoring for the Posse was Will Stewart, Andrew Karam, with a short-handed empty-netter and Curtis Gould into an empty net. Kenny Gerow made 36 saves on 38 shots.

Kuhnlein nets winner for Grizzlies

Bennett Kuhnlein scored twice, including the winning goal for the Revelstoke Grizzlies in a 6-1 victory over the Sicamous Eagles to take a 3-0 series lead. Also scoring for the Grizzlies was Luke Aston, who opened the scoring, Tyden McWillis, Carson Reinson and Brandon Kasdorf. Alex Smith scored his second goal of the playoffs for the Eagles who managed just 13 shots on Brandon Weare.

Horning gets Chiefs back in series

Spencer Horning’s first of the playoffs was the winner for the Kelowna Chiefs over the Summerland Steam in a 4-3 final. The Chiefs built a 2-0 lead in the first period on a short-handed goal by Alex Edwards and Levi Lamotte’s first of the playoffs. The Steam replied back on goals from Cole Waldbillig and Prezton Stewart. Frederick Larochelle made 32 saves for the win, while Ben Lewis turned aside 48 for the Steam. Waldbillig led the Steam with two points, while Patrick Reynolds three points for the Chiefs, all assists including setting up the winning goal.

 

 

Feb. 23, 2022

Leskosky nets hat-trick, GWG for Dynamiters

Kade Leskosky scored a hat-trick and the eventual winner as the Kimberley Dynamiters defeated the Golden Rockets 9-2, taking a 2-0 series lead. It was the first playoff goals for Leskosky, who had 35 points in 31 regular season games. Austin Daniels led the Dynamiters with two goals and four points, while Tyler Russell added two goals and Cam Reid had three assists. Trystan Self turned aside 13 of 15 shots as Gavin Kennedy scored both Rockets goals.

 

Lacroix solid in goal for Ghostriders win

Dylan Lacroix turned aside 41 of 43 shots for the Fernie Ghostriders in a 5-2 win over the Columbia Valley Rockies, while Rylan Cardinal scored twice, including the winner. Matthew Schulmeister collected three assists, two on Cardinal goals and the other he and Jake Oviatt set up Scott Sinclair short-handed. Kyran Grominsky and Jonah Fournier scored for the Rockies. The series is tied at one.

 

Nemethy leads Leafs with two points

The Nelson Leafs erased a 2-0 deficit en route to a 3-2 win over the Castlegar Rebels to even their series at one. After the Rebels got goals from Nathan Dann, Leafs captain Tyler Pisiak got the Leafs going with a goal with seven minutes remaining in the second period. The Leafs struck early in the third with a power-play tally by Lane Goodwin and then Simon Nemethy struck just over a minute later with the winner. The Leafs outshot the Rebels 25-11, including 11 shots in the final period.

 

Ethan Smyth scores twice in Nitehawks win

Ethan Smyth had two goals, while Hayden Stocks potted the winner for the Beaver Valley Nitehawks, who evened their series with the Creston Valley Thunder Cats with a 7-1 win. Joel Smyth, Brennan Wilson and Stocks each had two points. Owen Albers made 33 saves on 34 shots as Thunder Cat Luke Chakrabarti beat him in the second period. Albers recently played in goal for the Trail Smoke Eaters making 20 saves on 25 shots and was backed up by Grand Forks Border Bruin Ethan Shebansky.

 

Smith OT hero for Grizzlies

For the second straight game, the Revelstoke Grizzlies defeated the Sicamous Eagles in overtime, this time they only needed the first extra period to do it. Adam Lemieux set up Jacob Smith to give the Grizzlies a 2-0 series lead. The Eagles opened the scoring on a goal by Sante Canderan. That lead lasted until the third period when Ronin Pusch scored. Brandon Weare turned aside 40 shots, while Jordan Lott made 36 saves.

 

Storm strike back

Hudson Cameron’s 3-0 goal for the Kamloops Storm was the eventual winner against the Chase Heat in a 5-2 final to equal the series. Zakery Anderson was the Storm’s star of the game with a two-point performance. Colton Phillips-Watts, who was named a second star on Feb. 19 playing for the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials making 48 saves to defeat the Trail Smoke Eaters, had a 32-save performance in this game.

 

Macaulay earns 41-save shutout for Steam

The Summerland Steam took both games in Kelowna, the second a 5-0 victory with Colton Macaulay making 41 saves. Parker Konneke’s second goal of the playoffs to open the scoring was the winner. Jackson MacDonald scored his first of the post-season to give the Steam a 2-0 lead after one. Cole Waldbillig had a two-point performance, while Austin Cameron Austin scored a shorthanded goal to make it 4-0. 

 

Power-play pushes Coyotes to victory

A 4-1 victory over the Princeton Posse has given the Osoyoos Coyotes a 2-0 series lead. The Posse opened the scoring on Daniel Thiessen’s first of the post-season five minutes into the match. The Coyotes used their power-play, 2-for-6 to help them win this matchup as Jonny Jenkinson and Ethan McKinley each scored. McKinley’s goal was the winner. Jack Henderson had two assists and goalie Kenny Gerow made 23 saves for the Coyotes. Peyton Trzaska faced 41 shots for the Posse.