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Local Content -
Local Sports
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Written by Monique Massiah
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Monday, 24 October 2011 21:41 |
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An incredible night of hockey took place on Friday during the Cypress Cyclones home opener. A record number of fans lined the stands and even as the Cyclones and the Assiniboia Southern Rebels took to the ice, patrons were still lined up out the door at the Maple Creek Community Arena.
At 7:30 p.m. after a brief introduction of each of the players, sponsors and staff Grade 6 student Spencer Rowley sang O'Canada. Once the official puck was dropped by Dayna Winzer and Morgan Reznechenko the Cyclones came out strong. The ice surface in Maple Creek was in and shining for the home game as the first blades sliced the ice. The first period was marked by on-ice scuffles and checks as each team tried to get control of the puck. No scoring was made by either team. The Southern Rebels came up with the first goal of the night at the beginning of the second period. Travis Marit scored assisted by Cody Hall and Josh Schwindt. In the second period the Cyclones began to chip away at their competition. Charlie Leibrecht assisted by Mason Sabo scored the Cyclones first goal. The second was notched on a quick turnaround by Dallas McIntosh who was assisted by Lane Sanderson and Craig Fournier. The Cyclones third goal came with about a minute left in the second period by Fournier who was assisted by Sanderson and McIntosh. By the end of the second period the score had reached 3-1 Cyclones. "In the second we came out storming and I thought we took it to them and got a lead," said Cyclones head coach Al Fournier. Not to be defeated, the Southern Rebels struck back in the third period. Things were going in the Cyclones’ favour for the first 10 minutes of the third period, before the Southern Rebels scored their second goal of the night. There was confusion between the Cyclones bench and referees over a perceived icing call. There was no call and play resumed. The Southern Rebels second goal by David Gilli assisted by Logan Skinner and Layton Ludwar brought the score to 3-2. Then the crowd made a collective gasp when with only 22 seconds on the clock the Southern Rebels tied the game. Assiniboia’s last goal was made by Scott Morrison assisted Colton Lethbridge and Ryan Curzon. The game was forced into overtime. With no scoring win the five-minute overtime period, the game came down to a shoot out. In the shootout phase of the game three attempts were made by the Southern Rebels and two by the Cyclones. Leibrecht and Sanderson both stepped up for the home team during the shootout. Sanderson's goal against Southern Rebels goalie Nate Ferris sealed the 4-3 win. According to Fournier, the team had confidence in their goalie to get through the shootout portion of the game. During their last away game, the Cyclones were forced into a shootout as well. In the 5-4 game against the Prince Albert Ice Hawks, Rylan McKinnon scored the winning overtime goal. "Shootouts are exciting for everybody, but it's really nice to pull out a couple extra points in the last couple of games with that, so I'm pretty happy with the guys," Fournier said. Cyclones goalie Donald Schmaltz should be credited with impressive goal-tending during the game as he played all three periods, overtime and the shootout, only allowing one goal in the first two periods. Schmaltz also stopped 57 pucks on Friday night. "He's been really good in the dressing room, not only on the ice which has been great. He's providing a great leadership for the team," said Fournier. "If we could put a letter on him we would. Goalies don't wear letters, but he definitely is one of our leaders." Many fans at the Cyclones home opener were adorned in green beneath their winter jackets in support of the team. Green balloons for kids and Cypress Cyclones T-shirts were available for sale upon entry to the arena. When asked about the huge crowd turnout, Fournier said, "That was really nice to see, we had really good support to get the year going, for the first game, and first ice time in Maple Creek." The energy of the fans definitely played a part in the game. "The players are happy to play at home here and it's nice to see the fans. I hope they come and support us," said Fournier. “I think we can assure that our guys will be a hard-working bunch." On Monday night, the hockey team had their first full-squad practice at the Maple Creek arena. According to Fournier, the team will be focusing on improving defensive play before their next game. "I think if we've got enough scoring punch to be a good team offensively we just need to make sure we stop pucks first from getting to our goalie," he said. The Cyclones will again face the Southern Rebels in Assiniboia tomorrow night before returning home to take on the Traveland RV Storm on Friday in Maple Creek. Go Cyclones Go!
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