Kevin’s Recap on the Recent Klipper Games
Klippers vs Melfort Game 2
Wow!
It has seemed in this series that whoever scores first , also scores often. Technically this wasn’t the case on Wednesday night at the WCEC. Melfort wanted to close out the series against the Klippers ans we wanted to extend it to at least another game.
The Mustangs scored the first 2 goals and then Klippers netminder, Cody “Noodles” Jaman played his heart out the rest of the game and allowed no more goals. He made big save after big save, much to the delight of the hometown fans. The team seemed to gather strength and confidence from his play and scored 2 goals in the 3rd period to tied the game. Ethan Sautner and Will Christian found the back of the Melfort net and moved the game to overtime. In the play-offs, overtime is not a 5 minute affair. It is played as a regular period of hockey except that the first goal wins. AND THE KLIPPERS WON!
Shayne Tibbles put the puck under the pads of Mustang goalie Kristian Coombs and the place went nuts (except of course for the Melfort fans who made the trip expecting their team to dominate and win). This game unfortunately also had officiating inconsistencies. It is too bad that players are being subjected to poor refereeing. I mean, the game hasn’t changed. Maybe more intensity but the calls should remain the same for both teams and not seeming to favour either one. Let’s face it, when you have 2 referees and 2 linesmen, technically nothing should be missed. But it is.
Now of course, the Klippers make their way to Melfort with the intent to win that game and play here again next week Monday for game 6. It’s a tall order as Melfort fans have proven to be a challenge to deal with. We can do it. We can persevere and most of all, we have proven that we can WIN! Confidence is everything in sports and this team does support each other tremendously. GO KLIPPERS GO!
Klippers vs. Melfort Game 1
Well, let’s put it this way; the Kindersley Klippers needed to win this game to give them some semblance of confidence, especially after the games went up in Melfort. The Mustangs were the number one team overall this 2024-2025 SJHL season and they proved it in the first two games at the Northern Lights Palace in Melfort. They are the reigning league champions and they played like it. However, being back in the friendly confines of the WCEC on Tuesday, should give the hometown heroes an edge, wouldn’t you think?
54 seconds into the game, Cam Perlinger put the Klips on the board. Great start right? Unfortunately Melfort answered back with 1 goal in the first and 3 more in the 2nd period. Kindersley got one back with a goal from Zack Anderson. Shayne Tibbles brought the Klippers to within 1 and made the score 4 to 3, which also happened to be the final score. Not the game they wanted but at least they proved that are not giving up to anyone. What this author found most disturbing was the officiating. There were too many non calls and missed calls. Is play-off hockey called different? Sure seemed like it. I mean, how can a goalie punch a player twice right in front of a referee and not be called? I mean, really?! There were too many incidents to list but I found the referees extremely inconsistent and almost looked like they were biased. But that’s just my opinion as I’m sure they saw if differently.
That being said, the Klippers are literally backed up against the wall as they are trailing 3 games to 0. Wednesday’s game 4 should prove to be entertaining. Melfort wants to close them out and we want to keep playing. The U.S Olympic hockey team in the 80’s proved that the underdog can win. Can the Kindersley Klippers win? Of course they can. Will they win? That remains for game 4 to decide. I for one am excited to see how this game unfolds. Wednesday night at the InterPipeline Arena is the place and 7:30 is time of the puck drop. Come on out and cheer on our guys!!!
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