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.
The Kindersley Klippers began the SJHL season projected to be a 'middle of the pack' squad with an abundance of young talent; but very little in the veteran department. Competing all season in a division that featured the defending Royal Bank Cup champion Humboldt Broncos and the defensively strong Battlefords' North Stars; the Klippers were expected to settle nicely into third place in the Dodge Conferece. True to form, the Broncos battled for first and won the war in the end. The Stars used a fourteen game unbeaten streak to sew up second; but not before the Klippers posted another 35-win season and forced the Stars down to the final week in the race for home ice advantage in the first round. Some keys to success for Kindersley in the regular season was the play of forwards Curtis Bazylinski and Troy Schwab. Both players averaged over a point per game. Jesse Fischer, labelled by Head Coach Dave Hunchak as the toughest player in the league on a pound-for-pound basis, emerged to score 16-goals and provided solid two-way play. The Western Hockey League was kind to the Klippers as well. 18-year-old Casey Lee returned and potted 14-goals and 42-points in 34-games. Defenseman Josh Pokol came back from the major junior ranks and fought through serious injury to contribute in 24-games. Up front, Hunchak acquired Eric Schwabe from the Estevan Bruins on the December 1st roster cutdown date and he registered 27-points in 23-games. Another December 1st acquisition paid huge dividends in the form of Taylor Emmerson from the OCN Blizzard of the MJHL. Emmerson lended his blend of toughness and steady stay-at-home play to help patrol an underrated blueline that is void of a major superstar. A January 10th 2003 pick-up battled injury to become a major force in the second half as Thomas Huling scored three of his four goals on the powerplay and also had 154-penalty minutes in a season that was limited to 38-games. Chris O'Connor (57-9-24-33) and Mark Kelts (57-8-24-32) gave the Klippers enough offense from the back end; while Jade Boklaschuk (47-12-28-40) and Jason Fleck (58-18-20-38) were excellent depth players up front. Off season pick-up Nathan Deobald delivered a solid year between the pipes; although he did go through a rough phase of adapting to playing for a club that did not count on his heroics on a nightly basis in order to win. In previous years, Deobald played for teams that determined success almost directly around the play of the goalie. Back-up Steve Houghton made it into 22-games and was dynamite with a 2.88-GAA and .911-SPCT. In the playoffs, the Klippers avenged last year's four game sweep at the hands of the Stars by beating Battlefords' in four straight this time around. Deobald was outstanding in yielding just four goals in the series and going one stretch of 179-minutes without allowing a goal. The Dodge Conference final saw the Klippers take advantage of a banged up group of Humboldt Broncos to win the series in six games. With most of their players healthy for the MemberCare Cup final, the Klippers then won the league title with a six game series victory over the Sherwood Conference champion Weyburn Red Wings. As predicted, Bazylinski (16-6-15-21) and Schwab (16-11-9-20) led the way offensively. Deobald went 12-and-4 with a 2.29-GAA and .930-SPCT. Fleck was one of the top penalty killers in the league during the playoffs; while the team was rated first in the league while shorthanded as they allowed just ten goals in sixteen games (90.5%). The powerplay was led by Schwab's six goals on the man advantage.
