The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Curtis Bazylinski's goal at 5:25 of overtime gave the Kindersley Klippers a 5-4 win over the Selkirk Steelers in game two of the Anavet Cup. The best of seven series is now tied 1-1 with the Steelers getting home games in each of the next three contests. Bazylinski scored on a rebound off of Troy Schwab's shot that Justin Harris made a nice save on. It was his second of the game, third point of the night, and third goal of the series. Immediately after Bazylinski's goal, Selkirk Head Coach Doug Stokes was given a game misconduct after expressing his displeasure with the officiating. It should be noted, Kindersley was 3-for-6 on the powerplay. The Steelers were 1-for-8. Kindersley led 2-0 after one as Jesse Fischer connected on the powerplay at 1:39 and then Schwab lit the lamp at 7:56. In a wild and whacky second period, the Klippers went up by three as Schwab netted his second of the game. Steve Lajoie and Matt Johnson scored twice in a three and a half minute span near the midway point to get Selkirk to within one. Bazylinski made it 4-2 at 11:39 of the middle frame; but Hans Benson drew the Steelers even by picking up a deuce in a span of 21-seconds late in the period. There was no scoring in the third, and the shots were 9-9. For the night, the Klippers held a 39-32 edge with Nathan Deobald getting the win and Harris suffering the loss. The Klippers played most of the night without Casey Lee, who was ejected for fighting Selkirk's Steven Sleep late in the first period. Both players received game misconducts. Eric Schwabe was injured after taking a hit along the boards. He left the game with obvious facial cuts. Jordy Johnson was taken out in the overtime period with an undisclosed upper body injury after taking a hit from Schwab. Klipper bench boss Dave Hunchak says the win was huge for his team. "We needed to win tonight. We were still a little inconsistent, but we found a way to win after losing two very key guys. We scored more on our opportunities tonight and shot the puck a lot more." The Klippers managed to keep their wits despite blowing a 3-0 lead in the second period. "We got a little complacent in our end and they got a couple of quick ones. They were bang bang type plays that caught us off guard. One was a long shift and they did a good job at hanging us on our net in the second period. Again, you have to give them credit. They are very good," said Hunchak, who says both teams showed a lot of character as the Steelers didn't quit after getting behind and the Klippers continued to battle after Selkirk clawed back in. "That's why both teams are here. The ability to stay within the system and bail the water when the ship starts to sink. But, they have got some weapons over there." "They are like Humboldt. That's probably the best team to compare them to with their skill and speed. They do have grit and have a combination of everything. Their back end with Dowhayko and Berman is excellent," said Hunchak when asked to compare the Steelers to an SJHL foe. Selkirk General Manager Ken Petrash is happy to see his club manage a split in the two games on SJHL turf. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but think what might have been. "We should have won tonight. We got off to a slow start and they came at us hard." "Our guys kept their heads about them and crawled their way back. I thought we had more scoring chances in the third to put it away, but their goaltending was real good." Petrash was quick to say the Klippers resemble the MJHL's Winnipeg Saints. "I would definitely compare them to the Saints with Bazylinski and Schwab. It's the same as (Jordan) Pietrus and (Mark) Magnowski. After that, they have a bunch of hard working players who are very well coached. I have a lot of respect for the way he (Dave Hunchak) does things." A couple of former SJHLers excelled over the weekend as Petrash said Skyler Berman was his team's best player in the two games. But, Benson's two goals late in the second put the Steelers in a position to reach overtime. Both Berman and Benson played for the Nipawin Hawks a couple of seasons ago.4/27/2004
