Submitted by:
Craig Zamzow |
The Swan Valley Atom Broncos faced Dauphin in the Parkissimo League North Division Finals.
Game one was held in Swan River on February 23, 2016.
The Stampeders came out charging and six minutes in Brady Burghart converted a Kash Henkelman pass to open the scoring.
In the final minute of the opening period centre Eli Betcher buried a wrist shot with assists to Noah Kopecky and Bailey Hunt, to give the Broncos a 2-0 lead after one period.
Three minutes into the second period, with the Broncos on the powerplay, Henkelman extended the lead after some nice puck movement and assists to Kopecky and Kaden Ferland.
However, just as the Broncos were feeling comfortable, Dauphin bounced back and scored with just over two minutes remaining in the second period to cut the lead to 3-1.
The Stampeders would start the third period on the power play hoping another goal would provide a lead that would be sufficient for their stifling defensive play and rock solid goaltending to bring home. However, 9 seconds into the third period a Dauphin forward dangled around three Broncos and scored cutting the lead to 3-2.
It was game on, with Dauphin grabbing momentum and control of the play that the Broncos had carried through most of the first two periods. With 10 minutes remaining, Landon Stevens fed Burghart, who made a move on the last defender before burying a shot to extend the lead to 4-2.
The Broncos’ tight checking (up and down the lineup), and solid netminding from Nate Immerkar, stymied and frustrated the Dauphin forwards leading the Broncos to a 4-2 victory in game one.
Game two would be played the following night in Dauphin at the expansive Credit Union Place.
Five minutes into the first period, Liam McArthur created a turnover and fed Kash Henkelman at the point for a shot. Henkelman’s shot was stopped but Noah Kopecky was “Johnny on the spot” at the top of the crease. He outmuscled a Dauphin defender and deftly scored high on the short side to open the scoring.
With five minutes left in period one, Eli Betcher drove hard to the net on his off-wing as a Dauphin defenceman used the angle to limit the quality of the scoring chance. Kopecky battled with a defender for the loose puck behind the net before emerging from the other side with a defender draped all over him. From his office in the blue paint, Kopecky somehow managed to get a shot off that was perfectly placed in the corner to extend the lead to 2-0.
The second period saw the Broncos defensive effort frustrate Dauphin as they routinely would pull up at the blue line and settle for long wrist shots due to the impregnable Broncos defence combined with a tireless backcheck. There was no scoring in period two.
In the third period, Dauphin came out flying, knowing their season was on the line. They did start to penetrate the Broncos defence occasionally. With five minutes remaining, Dauphin’s big scorer had two great chances. On a point blank chance Immerkar snared a wrist shot with his glove that was labeled for the top corner. A moment later on a breakaway, Immerkar cut down the angle, and his best friend (glove side post) rang loudly and deflected the shot safely into the corner.
In the closing moments, Dauphin pulled their goalie and applied the pressure. They hit the top of the crossbar in the last minute, and just over the crossbar in the last five seconds. In the post-game interview, Immerkar shared that the crossbar was all that he was giving them to shoot at and he was never worried. The coaching staff wasn’t quite as calm, but Immerkar’s calmness likely reflects in his volume of hair when compared to the coaches!
A great effort by all 13 players. You don’t often get to witness 40 minutes of scoreless hockey (particularly at the Atom house league level).
The Broncos move on to the Parkissimo League final vs Russell. Game one will be held at the Swan River Centennial Arena on Tuesday, March 15th with a 6:15PM start time.