Fernie Beats Hated Kimberley November 7, 2011
Posted by admin in : Fernie Ghostriders , comments closedThe Ghostriders had an important 4-3 double overtime win over the hated Kimberley Dynamiters. Marty Wicks scored the O/T winner and Brendon Mangone and Alex Pronchuk (2) had the other goals. Chris Solecki got his eighth win of the season and after the weekend was in second place in KIJHL goaltending.
Fernie is now 2-1 vs Kimberley but the teams are just two points apart in the standings and seem destined to fight it out for first place in the division this year. It’s the first time since 2008/09 that the Riders have had any competition at all for first place, especially from Kimberley. The Riders finished a hilarious 47 points ahead of the Nitro’s last year and 30 points ahead of Creston (second), but this year we may see a photo finish and only one team get to be Secretariat. The other will be imitating 60’s TVs talking horse, Mr. Ed.
With four points in three games last week Connor McLaughlin is leading the team in scoring with 20 points. McLaughlin is easily the Ghostriders best all round forward, he competes hard every night, is good defensively and usually gets in on the scoring. Actually he is in on almost 30 per cent of the Riders scoring. McLaughlin came to Fernie late last season in a trade with Nelson and the Scottsdale Arizona native has been an on ice leader since game one. Another former Leaf now in Fernie is defenseman Ty Morton. Coach Verner traded with Nelson for Morton’s KIJHL rights last season when he returned from a year with the junior “A” Nanaimo Clippers. Ty is second in team scoring with 16 points, he played with Nelson in 2008/09. Expect both Morton and McLaughlin to be wired up next Thursday.
They are always one of the top teams in the league and on November 10 the Nelson Leafs (25pts) are here for a rare Thursday night game. Their coach this season is Frank Maida and he says he wants his team to be like the KIJHL championship team that he and Simon Wheeldon coached in 2009. They were all offence that year and defence was just something a player would jump over behind the local establishment when the coach showed up late at night. Could be a fun game for the Rider fans to watch.
With George Hurlbut
Fernie Ghostriders defeat Chase October 8, 2011
Posted by admin in : Fernie Ghostriders , comments closedThe Ghostriders defeated the Chase Heat by a 6-1 score on Friday night here in Fernie. The Riders led 3-1 after one and 6-1 at the end of the second. The shots were 37-15 and the game was never in question.
Alex Milhouse scored a pair, one was a beauty stick handling around goaltender Jordan Vallance. Marty Wicks scored 2, one from the center line. Brendon Mangone and Andrew White chipped in singles. Chris Solecki got the win in net and is now 6-1 with a 1.13 GAA and a 955 save %. Tops in the KIJHL. Dylan Robertson(seen above) was named as the first star.
Stay tuned for more exciting hockey!
Fernie Ghostriders Outplay Invermere October 6, 2011
Posted by admin in : Fernie Ghostriders , comments closedThe Ghostriders went into Invermere on Tuesday night for a leisurely skate and usual 7-1 win over the undermanned Rockies. The shots were a ridiculous 61-19 for the Ghostriders. Ty Morton, and Andrew White had 3 points each while Brendon Mangone chipped in with 2 goals. The other scorers were Zach Traverse Austin Evans, Derek Georgopoulos and Connor McLaughlin. Chris Solecki got the win in net. Very few penalties in this game and 200 watched.
Photo Andrew White- 3 assists Tuesday
Ty Morton and Connor McLaughlin are now tied with 10 points each for the Riders scoring lead. With the win the Ghostriders will not be part of the answer to the KIJHL’s trivia question on their site. Who will be the first team to win a game, Invermere, Chase or Grand Forks.
For Ghostrider home games click here.
Fernie Ghostriders won a 9-5 battle September 14, 2011
Posted by admin in : Fernie Ghostriders , comments closedThe rookie laden Ghostriders won a 9-5 battle on Tuesday night here in Fernie. Fernie local Josh McSkimming had three goals and after being shutout last year looks poised to make some noise this season. The other scorers were Connor Haney, Connor MCluckie (2), RT Rice, Dane Carlson and Matt MacArthur. Richard Hubscher (3) Mitch Gallagher and Jordan MCluckie scored for the Nitros.
The best player on the ice was Alex Pronchuk for the Riders. He did it all with at least 3 assists (stats not so good in ex play) PK,PP and five on five. He will be a delight to watch this year.
Ghostrider’s Ready for Start of New Season September 3, 2011
Posted by admin in : Fernie Ghostriders , comments closedChange is in the cards for Coach Will Verner and his Fernie Ghostriders.
Younger players, coaching adjustments, and a new focus on discipline and patience are some of the key factors in making sure this upcoming season is a successful one.
“We are going to try and get some more skill development this year,” said Verner. “Because we have a younger team and only six or seven players are returning from last year, there has to be an emphasis on skills. We have to be stronger on the puck.”
Last season there were only two 17-year-old players, but now there are going to be seven, with a few 16-year-olds thrown in the mix as well. Given the fresh faces, it’s going to be difficult to build on the momentum of the previous season.
“We were a goal short,” said Verner, referring to last year’s run against Castlegar in the playoffs. “We have had some success in the past, but it’s going to be interesting to see how we perform with basically a brand new team.
Aide from a more youthful presence on the ice, there is also a potentially advantageous comraderie between the players that, according to Verner, was missing last year.
“It’s more of a Kootenay based-team. There are a bunch of guys from Fernie and Cranbrook and Nelson so hopefully it will be a little bit of a tighter group.”
Verner, admits that in spite of the successful run the Ghostriders had a year ago, there were a few things he could have done to help the team, and himself.
“There were a lot of top guys playing on our team,” said Verner. “We had guys playing on the third or fourth line that would have been first line anywhere else. They had a lot of grander ideas individually, and it was my job to identify who the leaders were and I don’t think I did what I could have done. This year, with such a young team, there has to be a few guys that will be willing to step up and assume a leadership role, and a few guys that can understand their own role in terms of a team dynamic.”
That team dynamic started to form on August 22 with a conditioning and development camp in Fernie, and the first Ghostrider game is an exhibition against Beaver Valley on September 9. The first regular season game is on September 16 in Kamloops.
Ghostriders announce new players July 7, 2011
Posted by admin in : Fernie Ghostriders , comments closedThe coaches and management of the Ghostriders are starting to announce what their line up for next year is going to look like.
Head coach Will Verner announced late last week that they had traded all-star goaltender Andrew Walton to the Nelson Leafs for defenceman Braeden Hikichi.
“We thank Andrew for his time in Fernie and wish him well with his new team, the Nelson Leafs,” said Verner. “Braeden is six foot and 190 pounds. He is an all-star defenceman and will excite fans with his offensive play.”
The Riders have also acquired 19-year-old goalie Chris Solecki, from the North Okanagan Knights.
“We watched Chris several times last year, and really liked the way he handled himself in the net,” said Verner.” Chris is very composed, has good rebound control and he can play the puck well.”
He said that with two solid goalies, the Riders will be a team that can re-load and push to win a championship.
The Riders also added an Elk Valley player to their line-up.
Sparwood forward, 17-year-old Dylan Robertson will enter his first season as a full-time player with the Ghostriders.
“Over the past two seasons Dylan has seen action with the Ghostriders as an affiliate player. Dylan spent the last two seasons playing midget hockey with the Elk Valley Wild,” said Verner.
“We are excited to have a forward that can play in all three zones. Welcome to the Ghostriders.”
Fernie Ghostriders 1-1 with Castlegar March 10, 2011
Posted by admin in : Fernie Ghostriders , comments closedWith a 5-2 win this Tuesday the Ghostriders evened their series with the Castlegar Rebels at one game apiece.
Rider forward Connor McLaughlin from Connor Morgan and Michael Anderson scored the first goal just 48 seconds into the game then a couple of minutes later Cale Wright from Scott Morisseau and Luke Richardson scored on the power play and the Riders never looked back. Alex Milhouse from Jordan Hirano and Jeff Zmurchyk ended the period with another goal for a 3-0 lead.
At the start of the second Rebel penalty killers Spencer Brodt and Ryan Aynsley teamed up for a short handed goal but the Riders who learned a thing or two from playing Creston scored their fourth goal with just :32 left on the clock. Scott Morisseau from Jeff Zmurchyk and Luke Richardson scored the PP goal.
In the third Tyler Robinson from Anthony Delong scored yet another Rebel short handed goal but a few minutes later Scott Morisseau picked up a rebound from a Mark Strachan shot to make it 5-2.
The Ghostriders are in Castlegar for 2 games and them home Monday March 14th at 7:30pm for Game 5. Come out and support your team!
Ghostriders Coach Verner Talks March 7, 2011
Posted by ghostriders in : Fernie Ghostriders , comments closedCoach Why do you think that Creston, who finished 30 points behind and scored almost 100 less goals in the regular season ,was able to put up such a battle with your team in round 2.– Thomas Abenante was named as the player of the Creston series.
Verner – “Creston’s team was built for the playoffs and probably in their mind they underachieved during the regular season. When Creston played tough meaningful games they played well. Dropping games to teams below them in the standings early in the year hurt their regular season stats. We played them 8 games during the season and they beat us 3 games in a row. 3 of the 5 games we won were by 1 goal and the two lopsided games saw them play without several of their key players.
Rider News – Scott Morisseau lost his stick but still made some heroic shot blocks in the second period on a penalty kill in game seven. What did that do for your bench when a top scorer sacrifices like that.?
Verner – “Scott came to play. It was very difficult for him this series as he had to play against one of the top “D” men in the league most shifts. He scored some big goals and made some great passes. The two shots he blocked in the PK in my mind changed the game and won the series for us. When his teammates saw him sacrifice the way he did to block a shot with his teeth and not miss a shift I think it had a great effect on our club”.
Rider News – You named Thomas Abenante as the player of the series and he was outstanding up front but on “D” Jeff Zmurchyk was a rock game in and game out.
Verner – Thomas had a great series. Pursued the puck very well and competed everywhere. Thomas and Jeff were the hardest working guys on the ice each and every shift Zmurchyk is our anchor on the back and played his best game in game 7.”
Rider News - How do you think you match up vs Castlegar ?
Should be a great series. They work extremely hard and have some real high end skill players. I think if we can compete the way we competed in game 7 against Creston we will be a hard team to beat.
Riders win Game Seven 3-1 March 6, 2011
Posted by admin in : Fernie Ghostriders , comments closedThe Ghostriders won game seven at home vs the Creston Thunder Cats by a 3-1 score. The third goal was into an empty net. Scott Morisseau from Luke Richardson and Cale Wright scored the first goal 8:44 into the first period and Johnny Park from Jeff Zmurchyk scored the second goal at the 14:52 mark of the second period. Creston put a scare into the Riders and their 1047 fans when Colton Meaden from Trevor LeBlanc and Ryan Hewitt finally beat Andrew Walton with 2:40 left on the clock but couldn’t beat him again and Josh Garneau from Thomas Abenante fired one into the empty net with 2 seconds remaining.
The teams were evenly matched for most of this game and Creston forced Rider goalie Andrew Walton to play the best game I’ve seen him play. Walton stopped a few almost certain Creston goals… The Riders won this game with out using their deadly power play, Creston never took even one penalty…. On the other side of it Fernie at 3-0 was perfect on the penalty kill… That’s good news going ahead… The Riders also blocked several shots… Scott Morisseau made a memorable effort in the second with out his stick on a penalty kill… It was like a 5 on 3 W/O the stick but Morisseau’s heroic effort was a difference maker.
Creston
If Creston played like they did in this series all year, they may have challenged the Riders for first place…and had game seven in Creston….I don’t know if the Riders would have won in Creston…. But it’s extremely hard, actually it’s impossible, to go like that for 50 games…. In a local newspaper interview Cat Coach Joe Martin said “Every day this year, they’re getting up at 6 a.m. and going for a run,” “They’re definitely hungry for it.”… Fitness was certainly not a problem… Creston was going as hard at the end of game seven as they were in game one. … The difference all year in the standings and in the series was that Fernie has the top scoring game breakers that Creston doesn’t have… Weston Joseph didn’t hurt Creston either….You could argue that this was such a close hard fought series that both teams wanted badly to win was because the players and their coaches hate each other after their February 4th almost 400 PIM and suspension filled game…
This was the hardest Fernie had had to work in an Eddie Mountain series in years…. Last year the Riders won 8 in a row to win the Eddie Mountain Division… including 4 straight over Creston.
Ghostriders take a 3-2 series lead March 5, 2011
Posted by ghostriders in : Fernie Ghostriders , comments closedThe Ghostriders won game five by a 3-1 score. This was another very close game with a limited amount great scoring chances. Limited meaning compared to most of the games in the regular season when the Riders get an armful of them. In the first period Fernie out shot Creston 12-7 and forced Weston Joseph to make a couple of great saves but is was Creston’s Robbie Stuckey from Brock Ward who scored the only goal.
In the second Creston took a couple of penalties and February’s KIJHL Player of the Month, Scott Morisseau scored two goals. Luke Richardson was in on both of them and Cale Wright had an assist on the second. In the third Jeff Zmurchyk from Thomas Abenante and Luke Richardson scored the only goal to make it 3-1.
The difference the Rider power play was 2-5 … and the Rider penalty kill was perfect and really kept Creston away, Creston went 0-3 on the PP… No pretty goals in this one, no nice on the rush passing plays that end up in the net …but the Riders did get a couple of deflected point shots…On Fernie’s last goal there was a scrum in front of Creston’s net that saw Creston D men literally tackle and throw down Ghostriders …. But they forgot about the puck and Jeff Zmurchuk found it and himself alone for the third goal.. Best part of the game was the last five minutes or so when Creston opened it up a bit to try and score… lots of back and forth scoring chances by both teams… Andrew Walton let in a weak goal in the first, but after that he was as good as anyone and made a few really great saves to preserve the win. Robbie Stuckey was hit in the face with a puck around the Fernie net and probably needed several stitches.
Scott Morisseau with 2 goals was the first star, Luke Richardson had an assist on every goal and Cody Antos was the third star.
The teams play in Creston tonight. If the Rider’s win the series is finished, if not, they will return to Fernie for the 7th game. The winner of this series plays Castlegar. Stay tunes for more great hockey!