Well, the last home game of 2023 did NOT turn out the way the Kindersley Jr. Klippers wanted. Battlefords North Stars provided the opposition and they had a big say in the outcome. The Klipper fell 5 to 1 on Friday night at the WCEC and Battleford seemed to have complete control of the game.
They kept harassing the Klips and drawing them into retaliatory penalties all night and it seemed to work, although there is no love lost between these rivals. It was a penalty and misconduct kind of night and Battleford seemed to weather the storm better. Kindersley didn’t play bad, but Battleford played better. Better scoring, better passing, better skating and better at instigating.
Starting goalie Logan Falk was pulled after the 5th Battlefords goal for “Noodles” Jaman, who had had 2 shutouts in his previous 2 starts. He didn’t let any goals in on Friday either but the damage was already done. Tylin Hilbig scored a beauty of a goal and that was the only one that got by the Battleford goaltender, Logan Cunningham, who played well and kept his team in the game.
The North Stars are a formidable team who play a very disciplined game and are fast skating and play the transition from defence to offence to defence extremely well. No wonder they are in 2nd place in the SJHL. It was also the televised game of the week and many cameras and media types haunted the “the Hangar”. They were treated to quite a battle!
Saturday night in Battleford was the night of the rematch and the Klippers fell again, this time by a score of 5 to 2. It was another night of hard playing but not quite as many penalties and misconducts.
Maybe a Christmas break is what the players need now to get ready for the half of the season. The team is playing far and above the level they played at last year. These 2 games won’t deter them in the new year. Both coaches have done an outstanding job this year and are continually tweaking the line up to ice the best team possible.
The first home game of 2024 will see the Humboldt Broncos make a return visit. Puck drops at 7:30 pm. Come on out and make some noise for the Kindersley Jr. Klippers!
By Kevin Martin
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