The Lac La Biche Junior B Clippers are on their way to the league championship finals after beating the Cold Lake ice four games to one in the semifinal series.
The Clippers played their third and fourth games of the semi-finals against the Ice last Tuesday and Wednesday night. The first two semi-finals games went off without a hitch for the Clippers, winning both games against Cold Lake. But the idea of sweeping the Ice in four-straight in the best-of-seven playoff round wasn't going to happen. Cold Lake stepped up their game on Tuesday night and pulled off a 9-6 win. Clippers captain and the league's top scorer Isaac Barr pushed hard during the away game scoring four of Lac La Biche's six goals, but it wasn’t enough to beat Cold Lake, who came out swinging, scoring their first goal just 21 seconds into the first period — and scoring four more before the end of the opening frame.
It was the first loss for the Clippers in over 20 games.
Teams raise funds
At Tuesday's game in Cold Lake, the Clippers team donated $500 and team jackets to a fundraising effort for an 11 year old Cold Lake boy battling cancer. As of Sunday night, the GoFundMe page for Dominic Torgersen has raised $300 more than its $15,000 goal.
The Clippers rebounded from Tuesday's loss, skating to an 8-2 win the following night — again in Cold Lake. Dawson Boucher scored the game's first goal in the first two minutes of the opening period, and scored the Clippers' final goal, the only one of third period, securing the win and the 3-1 series lead. within the first three minutes of the first period, he also ended the game with the only goal in the third period.
The Clippers wrapped up the series on Friday with an 8-1 win over the ice in a Bold Center game that drew more than 100 fans.
Canadiens or Bisons in the final
Who they face in the finals won't be known until Tuesday or Wednesday, as the Wainwright Bisons have come back from being three games down to the St. Paul Canadiens in the other semifinal series. The Canadiens now lead the series three games to two, with game six taking place Tuesday night in St. Paul. If the Bisons win, forcing a final and deciding game seven, it will be held in Wainwright on Wednesday.
The Clippers lost to the Bisons in last year's North East Alberta Junior B league championships, and their team captain would like another shot at them.
“I’d definitely want to play against the Wainwright Bisons. Last year we made it all the way to the finals and ended up losing four games in a row to them,” says Barr. “That was almost like a dagger to our team. So I would definitely say they are our biggest rivals so far, so at the end of the day, if it were to be anyone I’d want it to be them because I kind of just want my revenge,”
