The Weekly Roundup, 2 Games,big line, 50 posts,drinkin & an ice queen

Friday's Game

The Castlegar Rebels are in Fernie Friday for there one and only game of the season. The Ghostriders will return the favor and play in Castlegar January 31^st. The Rebels played two games last weekend losing 4-3 in OT in Spokane then they won 9-3 against Grand Forks last Saturday. After the weekend the Rebels had a 7-6-1-1 record. Their top scorer is Bryan Lubin with a 5 point game last Saturday he had 24 points, and leads the league in points.

 On Saturday

The North Okanagan Knights are here for their one and only game this season. Fernie played in North Okanagan September 20^th and won 3-2. The Knight’s lost both of their games last weekend, 3-1 to Kamloops and 5-3 in Princeton and had a 2-8-0-2 record after the weekend. 

The Ghostriders had 7 regulars out of the lineup last Friday due to the flu and a few injuries but still managed a 7-3 win over the Columbia Valley Rockies. The next night in Golden it wasn’t quite as easy and the Riders lost 8-4 despite outshooting them 36-25.

Ghostrider Notebook

Cole Keebler was playing fairly well after coming back from an injury he had suffered several months ago but he still seemed like he wasn’t quite at the top of his game. Then a couple of weeks ago Spencer Bender came back from an injury he had picked up in training camp and former Calgary Canuck Jason Yan showed up on Keebler’s other wing as well. In their first game they seemed to be learning how to play together but from then on the three of them took off. In the last three games Keebler had 7 pts. Bender had 7 and Yan had 5 points..

Josh McCulloch continues to score with 3 goals and an assist last weekend. He is leading the team in scoring with 12 goals, fifty posts and 19 points in 12 games. Sam Plaquin with 14 points has been in on many of McCulloch’s goals, here we are big fans of his.

Joel Burgess has had at least a point in each of his last 8 games and has 13 points so far. Matt Pronchuk had 3 assists last weekend and is starting to pickup points regularly now. Kinda thought it was just a matter of time with him.

Sixteen year olds Trevor Broad and Jacen Richards both played as affiliate players last weekend and didn’t look like they were that far away from being KIJHL ready. Richards even surprised himself as much as he did the 400 plus fans last Friday when he undressed a Rockies’ defenseman and went in all alone on a breakaway. He didn’t score but I think he may have realized he will be able to play in the KIJHL next year, a fact reiterated by Coach Craig Mohr. Richards, for the record, scored the fourth Rider goal the next night in Golden.

So here’s what Coach Craig Mohr had to say about the two players.

“Trevor Broad plays like a old school defensive  D-man, he’s  big and physical and Jacen Richards will be a heck of a player in this league for years to come”.

An interesting interview with Travis Thomsen on the radio last week where he was asked what the team did to help out the two 16 year old’s . He said the usual stuff like take em drinkin and meet some girls… pause for effect…oh stop it you bleeding hearts he didn’t really say that... the Coaches did....Ok what he really said was “ We include them into the group”.  I really like that thought and I’m not a fan of hazing. Answers like that and the big improvment in his play this year could get a guy a “C” next season

Kyle Haugo, Kale Johnston, Derek Georgopoulos, Zak Kuchler, Justin Peers, Cavin Tilsley and Evan Reid all missed last weekend with either the flu or injuries. Peers and Reid are expected to miss this weekend, the rest remain day to day.

The Columbia Valley Rockies with 2 wins are not blessed with a lot of talent but they do play a hard finish your check style of game. They were also targeting the smaller Cole Keebler for a few big hits as well. Looks like the Riders either need to card a meat stick enforcer or as a team they need to stop that before it gets outta hand.


Round' The League

Lineswoman Cydnie Rice is looking to move up and is going to get a chance to line a couple of games in the JR “A” BCHL in the next couple of weeks. She would also like to referee in the KIJHL. The questions, will she be the first to break the barrier, or will the BCHL steal her away ? Rice will also be on the ice in a woman's Team Canada game in the Okanagan as well.

 It was amusing a couple of weeks ago on an icing one of the Ghostriders was just gonna skate by the puck but when he realized it was Cydnie wearing the stripes he picked the puck up for her. Maybe she could open a penalty box door for him some day. Poor memory but I think our player had an “A”.

Chris Mottl is another linesman who wants to move up and is getting a chance to referee a couple of games in the KIJHL. Mottl is living in Creston but is actually from Fernie. The aforementioned Rice is from Invermere, her brother RT played two seasons in Fernie and is now in Estevan playing in the Jr A SJHL. Her younger sister plays hockey in Nelson.

The shorthanded Riders lost in Golden last Saturday but the news wasn’t all-bad for the boys, the Nitro’s lost at home to Creston that night as well. Kimbo also lost 16 yr old Jordan Roy to a broken collar, he had 8 pts in 10 games. We don't really like the Nitro's but as a fan I want to see all the best players. So I hope he has a speedy recovery.

It was a huge game for the Thunder Cats who also got Alec Wilkinson in their lineup Tuesday night. He had 62 pts in 46 games in Nelson last year but somehow ended up in Victoria then was traded to Creston . Creston lost to Invermere 5-4 in OT Tuesday and Wilkinson had a goal, Kyle Becker scored the GW in OT. He was sure flying around the ice when the Rockies were here last Friday.