It was a Week 3 of highs and lows for KIJHL Cariboo teams.
Kamloops, Golden, and Merritt were visiting, and one thing became apparent for any team stepping into a Cariboo rink — if they come into town, they’re going to leave battered and bruised.
Here’s how the games played out:
Quesnel River Rush:
The Quesnel River Rush welcomed the Golden Rockets with an explosive beatdown on Friday, October 3, winning 12-2 in one of the most dominant performances the Rush have had, putting up 49 shots on goal.
To say the game was a slugfest is an understatement. Each team had over 60 penalty minutes, mainly due to misconduct. Toren Fron got ejected after winning a fight in the second period. A full brawl happened when the Rush’s Jonathan Mackie was charged by Jackson Folliot of the Rockets.
Lynden Gorman picked up four goals during the contest, bringing him up to six on the season. Gavyn Schaufele and Toren Fron [before he fought] scored twice, and Max Kinnee and Cohan Kuncio scored their first goals of the season.
On Saturday, October 4, all the momentum the Rush had heading into their game against the Kamloops Storm seemed to shift. However, unlike the game against the Rockets, it was a complete slog to get through this game.
The Storm opened the scoring early — and then the game…stalled.
While on the ice it looked as though the Storm controlled most of the game; it was mainly due to Quesnel not able to get equal footing as they suffered from penalty after penalty, after penalty.
It was arguable some of the most uneven reffing witnessed in this league, as the Rush were dealt 79 penalty minutes, including Misconducts, compated to the Storm’s 47 minutes. Kamloops played as intense of a game as Quesnel, yet the referees would call some penalties on Quesnel that seemingly didn’y matter if it was the Storm.
Two scoring of the Rush’s scoring chances in the second had an obvious hooking, and interference, and the other was a clear tripping, and late boarding that were not called. Also in the second, a charging call was missed when a Storm defenseman boarded a Rush player into the Storm’s bench that broke open the door. Instead, the Ref gave the Storm a warning to keep the door latched.
It was much the same in the third period. Quesnel bogged down by penalties, small brawls after the whistles that prolonged the game, and Kamloops scored twice on power plays.
Ending the game 3-0.
When the Rush were able to play five-on-five, it was very even match up. The Rush still managed to keep a lot of pressure, tallying 44 shots of goal for the third game in a row.
The Rush finished the weekend sitting third in the Doug Birks Division at 3-4.
Williams Lake Mustangs:
The Mustangs came out as the only team that one both their games over the weekend.
Unlike Saturday night’s game against Quesnel, the Mustangs’ Friday night game against Kamloops was much cleaner, resulting in a fun sniping showdown.
The Mustangs went the distance with the Storm, scoring goal for goal and pushing the game into overtime. Madden Aubie scored the game winner in OT, his first of the season. The Mustangs’ JP Desabrais picked up a hat-trick. Dawson Rowse, Cash Sellars, Chaz Lucas, also scored their first goals of the season against Kamloops.
Saturday’s game against Golden was another slugfest, that ended with the Mustangs’ second dub of the weekend.
In a fairly more evenly officiated game compared to the one that took place north of the Lake City. Each team walked tallied up over 60 penalty minutes, and two fights in the third period that saw the Mustangs’ Rory Mumford, Linden Pinette, and their opponents on the Rockets ejected.
Kaelen Swanson and Logan Haulk scored twice in the contest.
The two wins bring the Mustangs to 3-2-0-1 on the season, and moved up to second in the Doug Birks Division.
100 Mile House Wranglers:
The Wranglers have had a slower start to the season compared to their Cariboo rivals, falling in both of their Week 3 games.
Against the Merritt Centennials on Friday, the Wranglers kept the game close. Matching score for score against Merritt and pushing overtime. Then Merritt’s Noah Lawless scored the game winner, ending the contest 4-3 for the Centennials.
100 Mile’s Ethan Davey scored twice in this game, bringing his total to three on the season.
On Saturday, October 4, the Wranglers fell 3-1 against the Golden Rockets.
An even game full of skating as each team did not surpass 30 penalty minutes. A scoreless first period, then Golden started the scoring in the second. Luke McFarlane for 100 Mile House answered back in the third, before Golden took the lead, and ended the game with an empty netter.
The Wranglers are now 1-3-1 on the season, and are in last place in the Doug Birks Division.
Up Next:
The River Rush and Mustangs continue their homestands this coming weekend, and 100 Mile has one home game and then on the road again.
On Friday, October 10, the Rush host the Revelstoke Grizzlies in the West Fraser Centre. The 100 Mile House Wranglers have the Columbia Valley Rockies visiting. Both games start at 7 p.m.
On Saturday, October 11, the Rush are at home against Columbia Valley, and the Williams Lake Mustangs are hosting Revelstoke. The Wranglers are on the road down south to face the Kamloops Storm. All three games start at 7 p.m.
To wrap up the Week 4, the Mustangs have the Sunday game against Revelstoke 2 p.m.
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