Toren Fron had a game of a KIJHL player’s life on Saturday, Oct. 11.
Scoring five goals through the contest against the Columbia Valley Rockies, Fron led his team to a 9-6 win.
All three Cariboo teams were in action over the weekend. Quesnel and Williams Lake split their matchups with a win and a loss each, but 100 Mile had picked up two dubs for the first time in their season.
Here’s how it all went down:
Quesnel River Rush:
Before getting into the Night of Fron, the Rush played the Revelstoke Grizzlies on Friday, Oct. 10. Although coming up with a 5 to 4 loss, the Rush did push the distance with the Grizzlies.
Revelstoke has been a team on the verge of a deep playoff run, but is in one of the toughest divisions across the K with Princeton, Merritt, and Kelowna duking it out in every postseason. For the Rush to first open the scoring with two back-to-back goals, and a 3 to 2 lead at the end of the first period, and outshooting 39 to 27 at the end of the game, against a team that’s been in the Top 5 teams over the last five seasons, should be a good indicator of the Rush’s potential.
However, as it seems to be the case in River Rush games, there is a 10 to 12-minute period of time, where the team goes into a lull and stops playing to their potential, for whatever reason, and the other team takes over. That period of time was in the second period of Friday’s game.
The Grizzlies took over in the second, scoring two goals, to Quesnel’s one, and controlling much of the flow and pace on the ice. Though Quesnel was able to manage through their 10-minute dive and tied the game in the second, the Rush even took control for a spell, forcing Revelstoke to get the go-ahead goal in the third period. That period of time was costly for the Rush. Quesnel fought hard and always seemed on the verge of tying the game, right up to the very end.
For the Rush, Ian George scored his sixth of the season to open the scoring. Followed by Gavyn Schaufele scoring his fourth, and Quesnellian Kade Lawlor scoring his first of the season, all in the first period. Deegan Bret would score his first of the season in the third.
Saturday’s game against Columbia Valley was more of the River Rush’s real show and tell.
With a dominant performance to start the game, scoring four times in the first period, before Fron scored the rest of the Rush’s goals. Gage Parrell scored his second of the season to open the scoring. Followed by Dawson Ernst scoring his third of the year. Ernst would later get in a fight (and win it) in the third period to finish his night. Brenden Kindlein and Isaiah Bagri would each score in the first.
In the second, Fron came alive. Scoring three back-to-back-to-back goals. One off a Kade Lawlor and Isaiah Bagri assists, the second off passes from Jimmy Proulx to Simon Hamilton, then to Fron, and his hat-trick off a feed from Hamilton.
The ‘Rush 10’, the lull where the River Rush seems to take a bit of a break and not play to their potential as mentioned earlier, hit in between the second the third periods. The Rush, with a clean 7 to 2 lead over Columbia Valley at the end of the second, seemed to let off its gas. The Rockies scored four unanswered goals to bring the score to 7 to 6, making the game closer than it really should ever have gotten.
Fron then scored back-to-back goals to drive the nails in the coffin. The first, his fourth on the night, off a feed from Bagri and Hamilton, giving them both their fourth assists of the year. Fron’s fifth and final goal would be in on an empty netter, and Fron would perform the coldest move of skating past the Rockie’s bench, counting his five goals on his fingers.
While it was a decisive 9 to 6 win over the Rockies, the ‘Rush 10’ allowed four unanswered goals that made the game between Columbia Valley, currently 17th overall in the league, a closer contest than it should have been. Not playing a full 60 could catch the River Rush off guard and spell out concerns when going up against the tougher teams and heading into the latter half of the season.
The River Rush are 4-5 with 8 points so far this season.
Williams Lake Mustangs:
To put it simply, the Mustangs have taken a good step forward this year, and it shows in how they skate.
In their Saturday game against the Revelstoke Grizzlies, the Mustangs grabbed an earlier lead and continued to prance around the ice without a misstep. They showed good puck management, good awareness on defense when the Grizzlies had a rush, and when deep in their zone, the defensemen always had a winger on the boards they could outlet to to get across the blue line.
The game was very much the Mustang’s game from start to finish, ending with a 7 to 2 win over a strong KIJHL contender team in Revelstoke.
Williams Lake’s JP Desabrais continued with his scoring prowess, picking up his seventh of the year to open the game’s scoring, and Nolan Phare scored his first goal in the opening period. Then Desabrais scored his eighth of the season midway through the third period. Logan Haulk scored his sixth goal, which started a three-goal run. Kaelen Swanson scored his third goal of the season, and Chase Gaucher his second. Tsyon Carter would finish it with his second goal of the year in the third period’s last minutes.
The Mustangs’ second game was upset by a Columbia Valley team that seemed to play a different game than they did against Quesnel the night before. The Rockies and Mustangs went the distance, with a 7 to 6 overtime win for the Rockies.
Though Williams Lake did shoot themselves in the foot, racking up 31 penalty minutes, all in the first period. There were no other penalties for the rest of the game.
Other than the penalty minutes, it was a fairly even game, with the Mustangs still able to show their ability to skate.
Logan Haulk opened the scoring, then Sam Bogle scored his first goal of the year in the first period. Columbia Valley scored their first goal in the dying seconds of the first, then scored two back-to-back in the second period. Haulk would get his eighth of the season to tie the game, and the game pretty much followed that formula.
Columbia Valley would get the go-ahead goals, and Williams Lake would answer back. JP Desabrais scored his ninth goal to send the game to overtime and gave the Mustangs their single point.
Despite the loss to the Rockies, the Mustangs have had a visual turnaround at the start of their campaign. With a 4-2-1-1 record, Williams Lake is second in the Doug Birks Division with 10 points, just behind Kamloops.
100 Mile House Wranglers:
The Wranglers have been struggling this season, to say the least. Heading into this weekend, 100 Mile had lost three in a row; this week saw a bit of a turn for the team, getting two out of two wins.
Friday’s game against Columbia Valley was a tight-checking skating fest. Columbia Valley outshot 100 miles 41 to 37, but it was Jaden Rusznak for the Wranglers who scored the sole goal of the game, and his first of the season, in the second period. With the Wranglers taking a 1 to nothing dub at home.
The Wranglers played like their last year’s selves in their Saturday game. Taking a commanding lead early over the Kamloops Storm, and never letting up to end the contest 4 to 1.
Wranglers Ethan Davey and Landen Janz both scored twice in the game. Davey, picking up his fourth and fifth goals, and Janz, his second and third.
Up Next:
The Quesnel River Rush are on a tough three-game road trip next weekend. First to Kelowna on Friday, Oct. 17. Then to Osoyoos on Oct. 18, and wrapping up in Kamloops on Oct. 19.
Williams Lake and 100 Mile House have one game each. Both on Friday, Oct. 17. The Mustangs are on the road to Chase, and 100 Mile is back at home against Kimberley on the
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