Fernie Ghostriders need win on Monday March 10, 2013
Posted by admin in : Fernie Ghostriders , add a commentThe Ghostriders lost 6-3 in Golden last night and find themselves down 3 games to 1 in the series. Connor Beauchemin with a goal and an assist was the first star, he and has been averaging a point a game. Michael Anderson was the second star with a goal and an assist, they were his first points in the series and were big ones helping the Rockets get a stranglehold on the series. Keith Wake was the third star. Wake also had a goal and an assist and had 5 points in the last two games and 6 in the 4 games. Meanwhile James Leonard has gone the distance in net for the Rockets.
Photo Andrew White- 3 assists Tuesday
For the Ghostriders Tyler Gonzales had a goal and an assist and 5 points in the series. Derek Chudyk chipped in with his second of the series and Braeden Monk scored the third goal, just his first point of the series. Chris Solecki has played all of the games in net for the Riders. Josh Kluck, Jeff Rayman, Dylan Rota, and Simon Horlick were all out with injuries. The radio said Gonzales hit a player from behind late in the game and got a game misconduct…. however the game summary says it was interference so he can play Monday.
The Ghostriders played very well at home and although they lost one of the games they were clearly the better team. That was not the case on the road with 7-3 and 6-3 losses, both game they were out shot as well but you have to win 4 so the Ghostriders get another kick at the cat on Monday here in Fernie… do or dive in game five..at the Memorial Area. Be there!!
Fernie Ghostriders enter round 2 of playoffs March 5, 2013
Posted by admin in : Fernie Ghostriders , add a commentThe Ghostriders defeated Invermere 4 games to 2 and will now face the Golden Rockets in another best of seven. The Rockets defeated the Nitros in 4 straight and haven’t played since Monday February 25. They have had lots of rest.The series starts Tuesday here in Fernie so the Riders get two days off before going at it again.
Between a Rockies and a hard Place
The Riders defeated Invermere 4-2 but in the first three games the Riders had trouble scoring and found them selves down 2 games to 1. However, by then they had started to realize that they had to really go after and cover Rockies top scorer Brendan Burge. Josh Kluck eventually got that assignment early in the series and when Burge was controlled a little bit the Riders won. Actually all the Riders went after him when Kluck wasn’t around and they had to because Burge can score like no one else in the league this year and I believe he was the Eddie Mountain MVP, but the idiot KIJHL is still hiding their Year End Awards. Anyway, Kluck was picked by the Coaches as one of their Unsung Hero’s of the series. The other Unsung Hero is next.
Santa’s Reindeer ?
If Santa Clause was in the movie Slapshot two of his Reindeer would have been named Slash and Spear, and Rudolph would be played by Rockies forward Mitchell Rosco who slashed Rider forward (and the other Ghostrider Unsung hero) Josh McKissock in the head area a couple of times when he was down on the ice early in the series then speared him in game five hard enough that he picked up a match penalty. Riders fans hate Rosco… but would welcome him with open arms, or keyboards in my case if he were ever traded to Fernie.
D is 4 dummies
When the aforementioned Burge was here in Fernie his linemate most of the time was Braeden Monk, for a while they were top scorers in the league. Monk cooled off a bit and Burge asked for and got a trade. His new team allowed him to really go for it and just concentrate on scoring (thus the title of this section) and he finished second in KIJHL scoring. In the playoffs Monk had to play both ends, and in the end, he outscored Burge by 2 points. Go figure.
MVP
The Ghostriders outshot Invermere in their series by a wide margin, but the Rockies had several outstanding scoring chances especially in the series clinching game, Goalie Chris Solecki, who was picked by the Coaches as the series MVP, stood tall when he had to and got the 4 wins.
Goals
Connor Lowe- Wylde scored both goals in a 2-1 overtime win in game two. The Riders were down 1-0 in the series and were on their way to Invermere down 2-0 if Lowe Wylde doesn’t get the winner in OT. It was a series changer and the Coaches picked his goal as the Goal of the series.
Notes
RT Rice went back on defense when Jeff Rayman and Simon Horlick went down with injuries… he has reach likes to hit and a big shot, he belongs there..Jake MacLachlan is a Red Deer draft pick and their GM Brent Sutter was in Invermere in game 4 to watch him…Ben Primeau scored what turned out to be the game winner in game 6 and had 6 points in the 5 games…Pat Webb had 2 assists in game 6 and had 7 points on the blue line..Tyler Gonzales had a goal in the final game and scored 4 in the series…Dylan Robertson, Aaron Neufeld and Josh McKissok and Matt Carr also scored in the final game.
Final Rider scoring click here in the Rockies series
Expecting Jeff Rayman and Derek Georgopoulos back in the lineup for the Golden series, Dylan Rota is doubtful and Simon Horlick is out almost for sure. It was pretty good of the Riders to win a tough playoff series without these players in the lineup.
Fernie Golden series game dates
Game 1: Golden @ Fernie Tuesday March 5 7:30 PM MST
Game 2: Golden @ Fernie Wednesday March 6 7:30 PM MST
Game 3: Fernie @ Golden Friday March 8 7:30 MST
Game 4: Fernie @ Golden Saturday March 9 7:30 MST
Game 5: Golden @ Fernie Monday March 11 7:30 MST
Game 6: Fernie @ Golden Tuesday March 12 7:30 MST
Game 7: Golden @Fernie Wednesday March 13 7:30 MST
Riders play two games this week December 13, 2012
Posted by admin in : Fernie Ghostriders , add a commentThe Ghostrider go to Golden Thursday night for what is turning out to be a battle for first place. See the standings here Fernie has a couple of games in hand but will want the win. So far the Riders are 4-1 vs Golden but the Rockets have been getting better and better and have taken over 2nd place from the Nitros. Golden won their last game on Tuesday at home vs Invermere, game summary here This will be a radio broadcast game on the Drive 99.1 Cranbrook
The Ghostriders play the Summerland steam on Friday, this is the second time these two teams have played. The Ghostriders won 6-2 September 16th in Summerland. Summerland won 4-2 at home against Pentiction last Friday, lost 4-3 in Kelowna on Saturday and lost 4-0 at home to the first place Princeton Posse last Tuesday night. The Steam are in fourth place in their division (8 points out of first) with a 15-14-1 record. Summerland has couple of players Rider fans may remember, Easton Bodeux played forward/ defense here in Fernie last year is now in Summerland with 20 points in 29 games as a defenseman and former Kimberley Dynamiter enforcer Oli Dickson has 17 points in 29 games and leads the team with 87 PIM.
Ghostrider Josh Kluck is out for the next two weeks with an injury….Matt Carr and Dylan Rota missed last Friday’s game in BV because they were playing in Trail with the Smokeaters…. Ben Primeau scored three vs BV on Saturday, Dylan Robertson scored three in the two BV games, good news for the Ghost if these guys can get some scoring touch… In the 7-1 win at home against the Hawks Coach Barry Wolff said “Finally some net presence”. Rider fans will have noticed as well that most of the goals were hard fought go to the net goals, when you lose a player like Burge this is what you have to do to win… We hear Evan Burgess who is 20 yrs old is going to play the last couple of months of the season. When he’s ready he will be a welcome addition, he can skate, hit and stick up for his team-mates. The 20 year old spot opened up when Burge left the team… After going several games without a point Derek Georgopoulos has 8 in his last 9 games and has been great on the PK… Jeff Rayman played one of his best games vs BV Saturday and was a game star, lotsa potential in this 6’3″ 200 pound 96.
The Brendan Burge era is officially over now in Fernie.
The Ghostriders have now officially lost top scorer Brendan Burge, he has signed with the Columbia Valley Rockies and already played a game. The perception here on the Blog is that something is fishy in the KIJHL. …Mathematicians from round the league say they have added up the Rockies cards and concluded that they had used up their quota and maybe even more than their quota of cards so they shouldn’t have been able to sign him. But somehow the Rockies managed to get the BC Amateur Hockey Association involved and they got a card back. We hear that chicken KIJHL President Bill Ohlhausen was afraid to make a ruling (read do his job as President) and deferred it to the BCAHA. Several teams were outraged at this ruling including Creston who has the most to lose as they are in a battle with the Rockies for the last playoff spot but BC Hockey says it’s final.
Anyway, Burge gets to play and the Riders get some cash.
So Rockies GM Ross Bidinger says he would have supported Creston if the situation was reversed. We will take him at his word and will retract the bad reputation part of the story but not the carding part that has infuriated so many teams.
And Finally… yes I am happy Brendan Burge gets to play hockey. As usual some readers get mixed up about exactly who were are going after.
Barry Wolff returns to Coach Ghosriders September 6, 2012
Posted by admin in : Fernie Ghostriders , add a commentThe Fernie Ghostriders have hired Barry Wolff to take on the role of Head Coach and General Manager for the 2012/13 season.
Wolff was a Ghostriders Coach and GM for three seasons when the Junior B hockey club was part of the North American Hockey League. After spending the last few years coaching at the Junior A level in the B.C. Hockey League and the Alberta Junior Hockey League, Wolff couldn’t be happier to return to the Ghostriders.
“It’s just one of the best organizations I’ve ever worked for. The town is awesome, the people and the support, from the corporate people to the fans, it’s unbelievable,” Wolff said. “I’ve worked with private ownership, community run teams, and this is obviously one of the best. That’s what brought me back.”
Involved in hockey for most of his life, this is Wolff’s nineteenth year coaching junior hockey. He’s worked with the Langley Chiefs, Langley Hornets, Quesnel Millionaires, Surrey Eagles, and the Columbia Valley Rockies.
While it’s his passion for hockey that got him started as a coach, Wolff said it’s the kids that keep him going. “I love the game obviously, but I love teaching the kids, and I love seeing them go out and be successful.”
Wolff went on to remark, “They come in as young kids and they pretty much leave as men. Their goal is to get to the next level, so that’s part of our job, to promote that and teach them that, not only as a hockey player but as a person.”
“It’s life lessons and what they learn as discipline and all that out on the ice, it means probably more off the ice for these guys.”
Wolff hasn’t named the official team lineup for the 2012/13 season yet, but said the players are looking promising. “So far so good. We’re happy with what we see. We may have a few wholes to fill still, but it’s coming.”
The Ghostriders have a few more exhibition games ahead of them before the regular season starts on September 14.
Source: The Free Press
Ghostriders lose to Beaver Valley Nitehawks March 24, 2012
Posted by admin in : Fernie Ghostriders , add a commentBy George Hurlbut
The Ghostriders lost to the first place overall Beaver Valley Nitehawks in five games. The Ghostriders actually outshot the Hawks in the four games that they lost but in the end it boiled down to the fact that they just couldn’t finish enough of the good, and sometimes great, scoring chances they fought for. The Riders only scored 12 goals in the series which is an average of 2.4 goals a game, well below their regular season average of 4.56. The Hawks on the other hand scored 20 and averaged 4 a game but even they were below their season average of 6.21. Proving one thing, it’s harder to score in the playoffs and you have to finish whatever good chances you get.
This year
It was a pretty good season overall for the Ghostriders who finished with 75 points, a 35-12-5 record, and a Eddie Mountain Division Championship for the seventh year in a row by defeating Golden and most importantly Kimberley in the first two playoff rounds.
The youngest team
Usually here in Fernie the Riders have a group of mostly 18-19 and 20 year old veteran players but this season GM Verner experimented by icing one of the youngest teams they have ever had and they had a pretty good season with only a couple of hiccups (short losing streaks).
Awards
We will find out exactly what the coaches thought of the younger players in the next day or so at the awards banquet. Some of the younger guys looked way out of place at the start of the season but they got better as the season progressed and in the end they all proved they belong in this league and some of them have shown that they deserve to move up next season.
It will be interesting to see who gets the Rookie of the Year and the Most Improved Awards… they may have to put more than two names on those trophies. Then there’s the Top defenseman, MVP, Most Exciting and Most Inspirational… I’m glad I don’t have to pick the winners. Anyway, we will have all the awards winners here in the next few days.
KIJHL Final
The Beaver Valley Nitehawks 87 points and first overall will now move on to play the Kelowna Chiefs 56 points and thirteenth overall in the KIJHL Final. The numbers say it’s 4 straight… but Kelowna may surprise, they have some pretty good players who didn’t seem to get it together until later in the season.
Fernie Ghostriders take Kimberley in 7 March 16, 2012
Posted by admin in : Fernie Ghostriders , add a commentBy George Hurlbut
The Ghostriders won their (always controversial- and thank god it was as we love the great emotion) series against the Kimberley Dynamiters with a 6-2 win at home in game seven. The Riders played an almost perfect game (at least by Jr. B standards) in the win and allowed few great scoring chances. When they did allow some hot shots Chris Solecki was there and made some great confidence shedding saves.
Adversity…certainly not University
The Ghostriders also fought off the adversity of losing the night before when they snatched a defeat out of the jaws of victory because of discipline and weak refereeing. Yes there is a big difference in the calls and non calls between referees. In game seven stripes Waugh allowed the players to determine the outcome and both teams got away with some things and were called for some. The Nitros went 0-7 Fernie was 2-6 on the PP. The Riders emotion level was on extreme after losing their Captain Ty Morton and the hardnosed Brendon Mangone to game misconducts at the end of game six and Cole Conway to injury but they contained it and used it to their advantage by playing at a fevered pitch in game seven against the Nitro’s, especially in the first period. There was also some adversity between the fans…thus the certainly not University.
The three stars of game 7
The three stars on the game sheet were players who had not had particularly great series’ but really showed what they could do under pressure. Josh McSkimming always has some moments in the games he plays but in 7 he was a force and was named as the first star, I was quite happy to see him get the empty netter after all of the effort he showed. Patrick Webb filled in nicely with Morton out and Burgess injured clearing the puck and getting in the faces of the Nitro’s once in a while. Alex Milhouse scored his second goal of the series and had an assist and was named as the third star. He came through when we needed him most. The Riders will need those same performances from these guys next week.
The Ghost would be a ghost
Brendan Burge is leading the team with 11 goals and 15 assists in 11 games while Connor McLaughlin is right behind with 12 goals and 9 assists. The Ghost would be a ghost right now without these two great players.
Coach Verner on the series
Verner “We felt it was going to be a longer series. We felt going in that it would be 6 or 7 games and that would mean we would lose at least 2 or 3 games if we were fortunate enough to win. Losing is never fun yet it forces you to make adjustments and answer questions. Game 3 and 4 were the changing point for our club in the series as we were either going to make some changes in the way we played as a group or we were going to be out in 6 games. Kimberley earned huge momentum at the end of game 2 when they fought back and almost tied the game and it took us until game 5 to get the momentum back. Game 6 was probably the best game of the series as both teams played well. Game 7 was an outstanding performance by our players. They really rallied around our guys who were out of the line up and played a complete 60 minutes”.
The Players of the Series
The coaches picked Austin Evans as the Player of the Series, can’t say enough about this guy. Evans came here as a fast skating forward but he also has toughened up as the season has progressed and will play Jr “A” next season.
Goal of the Series Ben Primeau (game five he gave the Riders 5-3 lead) and is an unheralded point a game player.
The coaches picked Carson Brown as the Unsung hero of the Series. Brown has the hardest body checks of all the players, honorable mention to Dylan Robertson who plays a rockem sockem style. He shoulda been here in the 1990’s when the Riders always had over 2000 PIM.
And Finally
It was great to hear the Golden Voice of Howie Ashmore making the announcements at the game the other night. Howie was the radio voice of the Ghostriders and the Elk Valley Blazers for years and years but we rarely hear him anymore. Won a couple of FMCHL rec hockey championships with Howie back in the 1980′s
Fernie Ghostriders Up Two on Kimberley March 9, 2012
Posted by admin in : Fernie Ghostriders , add a commentBy George Hurlbut
The Ghostriders won the first game here in Fernie by a 5-2 score then traveled to Kimberley on Wednesday where they won 8-7 and now lead the series 2-0. The winner of this series will play the winner of the Beaver Valley – Castlegar series. Beaver Valley currently leads the Rebels 2-0 . The winner of that series will have home ice advantage against either Fernie or Kimberley.
In the West Kootenay’s
The other two series’ are Princeton- Kelowna, where Princeton won the first two games despite being without 5 players and their coach Dale Hladun after their series win against Pentiction. There were several fights etc with 7 seconds left in the game that all started when a Pentiction played hit another player from behind. Pentiction coach Robert Dirk (the old Canuck) says they started it… cept it was his player who made the hit from behind when they were down 3 goals. The other series sees Kamloops and Sicamous tied up at 1 game apiece. Sicamous defeated Revelstoke in a game seven that never started until midnight in Revelstoke because they were held up on the highway by an avalanche. Revy coach Randy Quakenbush says “sometimes the best team doesn’t always win”… gotta love those hate to lose attitudes.
Game two
In Kimberley the Ghostriders and Nitros combined for 15 goals in a penalty filled game. The Nitros were ahead 1-0 at the end of the first but a penalty filled second period changed everything. When it was over the Riders had scored five goals. Three on the power play and one shorthanded.
In the third with the Riders up 8-5 and only 2:37 left in the game Dylan Robertson got 5 minutes for clipping and Kimberley scored two goals making it 8-7 and a little too close for comfort… but the Nitros ran out of time. All in all there were 11 special team’s goals.
Three Stars
Stefen Seel was a scratch in game one but scored three goals in game two and was the first star. Nitro Rylan Duley with 2 goals and 3 assists was the second star and Connor McLaughlin with 2 goals and an assist was the third star.
Injuries
Evan Burgess is out while RT Rice and Derek Georgopoulos who has been out for about 6 weeks and is now skating, are both listed as day to day. Dylan Robertson is suspended for Friday’s game due to a major penalty on Wednesday in Kimberley.
Points
Connor McLaughlin and Brendan Burge each have 15 points and are averaging 2.5 points a game while the apparently notorious Marty wicks leads the D men with 8 points in 6 games.
Nitro Rylan Duley had 5 points in the last game and Richard Hubscher and Senate Patten each had 4 points in the first two games and need to be watched, by the Riders and the fans as they can play the game.
Fernie Ghostriders play Kimberley in the second round March 6, 2012
Posted by admin in : Fernie Ghostriders , add a commentBy George Hurlbut
How they got here
The Ghostriders won four straight against Golden. Their first two games at home against Golden were 6-1 and 4-2 wins. In Golden in game three the Riders won 9-4, Brendan Burge and Connor McLaughlin each had 2 goals and 3 assists while Ben Primeau had a goal and 3 assists and both Fraser Abdallah and Chris Solecki split the duties in net. Game four was the closest game of all for the Riders and it took two overtime periods before Stefen Seel finally scored on the PP. Brendan Burge and Alex Milhouse scored the other goals and Chris Solecki was outstanding in the Rider net.
Kimberley got here by defeating the fourth place Creston Thunder Cats in six games. Two of the games went to OT. Kimberley’s wins were 2-1 OT, 6-3, 5-0 and they ended their series with an 8-1 win in Creston last Friday night. The Nitros finished in second place this season with 74 points just one point behind the Ghostriders. Nitro forward Richard Hubscher was the KIJHL’s top scorer this season and Braeden Osterpchuk was named as the KIJHL’s top goaltender.
Head to Head
The Ghostriders finished in first place in their division so will have home ice advantage in this series. The Riders averaged 4.56 goals a game this year and allowed an average of 2.85 goals against. Their goals against was second only to Castlegar who averaged 2.56. Kimberley was a little different, they like to score and play a bit of a high risk high reward game. They averaged 5.37 goals a game but their goals against average was 3.12 and they won 5 of eight games vs Fernie this season. Kimberley’ Senate Patten leads his team in the playoffs with 11 points and Richard Hubscher has 9 points.
Congratulations Will Verner and Ty Morton
Before game one of the Golden series Eddie Mountain Vice President Milton Crawford presented Ghostriders Coach Will Verner the Eddie Mountain Coach of the Year Award and then he gave Rider Captain Ty Morton the Eddie Mountain Top Defenseman award. Morton scored a lot of points while Captaining the team and Verner coached the youngest ever Ghostriders team to a first place finish.
After the first round.
Connor McLaughlin leads the Ghostriders with 10 points followed closely by Brendan Burge with 8 and Alex Milhouse and Ben Primeau with 7 each. Injuries, Derek Georgopoulos is the only player out of the line-up, and may miss another week.
Fernie Ghostriders win four straight – Off the Glass February 29, 2012
Posted by admin in : Fernie Ghostriders , add a commentBy George Hurlbut
The Ghostriders win four straight and will now go on to round two. The Golden Rockets continued their Dr Jeckell and Mr Hyde act at home in Golden. In Fernie they lost 6-1 in game one then in game two played great and were tied 2-2 late in the third before surrendering two quick goals. In Golden it was no different, they lost 9-4 in game three then decided to take the Ghostriders to double overtime before losing 3-2 in game four.
Four of the five goals in game four were PP goals and the Riders third goal was the worst of all as the Rockets were victimised by the stupidest rule ever in the KIJHL. Rocket defenseman Brad Orr shot the puck out of play twice, once in the first OT period then again in double OT and it cost the Rockets when Stefen Seel scored the PP game winner at 3:28 of the second OT. It’s tragic when the stupid dog rule finishes your season. Roll over, play dead, and let’s get rid of that rule.
Both goalies, Rocket’s Jarred Schamerhorn 55 shots and Rider goalie Chris Solecki 43 were the stars of game four as was Alex Milhouse and Rocket Keith Wake. Milhouse and Brendan Burge scored the other Rider goals.
After the first round.
Connor McLaughlin leads the team with 10 points followed closely by Brendan Burge with 8 and Alex Milhouse and Ben Primeau with 7 each. In the 9-4 game three win Brendan Burge and Connor McLaughlin each had 2 goals and 3 assists while Ben Primeau had a goal and 3 assists.
The coaches’ picks
Connor McLaughlin was named as the Player of the series.
Stefen Seel scored the goal of the series in OT
Evan Burgess and Marty Wicks were the defensive players of the series
Coach GM Will Verner
Here’s what Coach Will Verner had to say about his team’s play against the Golden Rockets.
Verner “It feels good to know that we can win close games when it counts. Game 2 and 4 were real good hockey games and we were able to dig deep and find away to win both those tight games. Connor McLaughlin was really strong in all 4 games and was the best player in the series. Many other forwards had strong performances in different games. In Game 3 Easton Bodeux had his best game as a Ghostrider while in Game 4 we saw Carson Brown return to form. Alex Milhouse was a factor in every game as well and once Ben Primeau figured out his role he was unstoppable. On the back end Evan Burgess and Marty Wicks were outstanding. The pair shut down Golden’s top 4 forwards to a combined 7 points over the 4 games. Burgess was outstanding in game 3 and had a 10/10 player rating. The goaltending was strong as both Fraser Abdallah went 3-0 splitting game 3 and Chris Solecki was a star in game 3 and received the game puck in game 4. This was a team effort as all 22 guys played a big role in the 4-0 series win.
Congratulations Will Verner and Ty Morton
Before game one Eddie Mountain Vice President Milton Crawford presented Ghostriders Coach Will Verner the Eddie Mountain Coach of the Year Award and then he gave Rider Captain Ty Morton the Eddie Mountain Top Defenseman award. Morton scored a lot of points while Captaining the team and Verner coached the youngest ever Ghostriders team to a first place finish.
Fernie Ghostriders – Off The Glass February 26, 2012
Posted by admin in : Fernie Ghostriders , comments closedBy George Hurlbut
The Ghostriders won their first two games against Golden 6-1 and 4-2. In the first game it was all Ghostriders but in the second game the Rockets played a pretty good road game and the 600 fans were starting to ring the alarm bells late in the third when it was still 2-2 . Connor McLaughlin ended the panic when he scored his first goal with 3:32 left in the third. It was a beauty where he beat half the Golden team before roofing it in for the 3-2 lead then he followed it up with a last minute insurance goal. McLaughlin has scored 4 goals in the first two playoff games. Defenseman Marty Wicks had 3 assists in the 4-2 win and has 5 points so far. McLaughlin had the goal of the game in game 2 but in game 1 it was Austin Evans who slipped around a few players before scoring my pick for goal of the game. Honorable mentions to Alex Milhouse and Stefan Seel who both also scored nice goals. Actually there has been no shortage of really nice goals scored so far. Fraser Abdallah had both wins in net, he had an easy night in game one but had to be particularly sharp at times in game two.
As it was all season the Rockets either play the Riders close or like in game one they don’t show all that well. In game #1 the shots were 41-16 but in game #2 the shots were 33-27 and until the last few minutes anyone could have won. It was a pretty good defensive effort by the Riders as they kept the good scoring chances down to a minimum.
Congratulations Will Verner and Ty Morton
Before the game one Eddie Mountain Vice President Milton Crawford presented Ghostriders Coach Will Verner the Eddie Mountain Coach of the Year Award and then he gave Rider Captain Ty Morton the Eddie Mountain Top Defenseman award. Morton scored a lot of points while Captaining the team and Verner coached the youngest ever Ghostriders team to a first place finish.
Blink 182 says …What’s my Age Again?On February 22 the US celebrated an anniversary, in 1980 the USA defeated the Soviets 4 -3 to win Olympic Gold at Lake Placid NY. The game will forever be remembered as the “Miracle On Ice” or in Russia as Friday the 13th . Oddly enough way back then I watched that game but I was also a regular at the Western International Hockey League games. The WIHL was a senior league that competed for the once prestigious (still is in my mind) Allen Cup. At that time the WIHL had teams in Trail, Spokane, Nelson, Cranbrook, Kimberley and here in Fernie. The Fernie team was named the Elk Valley Blazers and one of the players on that squad was a hardnosed defenseman named Dan Robertson. Dan was known for his UFC style of play and thirty two years later I’m watching the old Kootenay Cable guy’s son Dylan with the Ghostriders, and with 120 PIM in his rookie season the old saying “The fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree” seems to apply.
A top scorer traded out of Trail does good…
Matt Wilkins of the Brooks Bandits was the AJHL’s Top Scorer this year with 99 points. Wilkins who was also a former Kimberley Dynamiter Forward averaged 1.7 points per game and led the league with 99 points. Wilkins also averaged 1.7 points a game and had 15 PP goals, the most in the AJHL. Wilkins last played in the KIJHL with the Nitro’s in the 2008-09 season and had, 31 goals and 61 total points. Trail had Wilkins at 18 but traded him to Brooks where he has never looked back and this year his team finished first overall, Trail may finish last overall, nice trade.
Player of the Month
Fernie Ghostriders have nominated Evan Burgess as their player of the month for February. Evan was key to several of our victories in February and helped the club win 1st place for the 3rd consecutive year in the Eddie Mountain Division.
Kill the refs, really, really
On the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve south of Montreal a player was ejected from a game after he tugged on the referees sweater making the ref lose his balance. After the game the players entered the referees room and the player in question started assaulting the referee while the other players held the linesmen so their team mate could beat on him. The coaches finally made their way into the room and stopped it. The same team had been barred from the playoffs last season for attacking an official and a volunteer. Oh did I mention that they were a Midget A team? The league has cancelled all minor hockey home games for the rest of the season after the incident. So now they can play real wreck hockey or hire them for Goon two.