Skip to content

Ice sweep away Wheat Kings

The Cold Lake Ice are heading to the finals in the NEAJBHL playoffs after sweeping the series against the Killam Wheat Kings. The Ice headed to Killam's barn with a 2-0 lead, for what would be the final two games of the series.
Cold Lake Ice defenseman Holden Daley carries the puck up the ice during second round action against Killam.
Cold Lake Ice defenseman Holden Daley carries the puck up the ice during second round action against Killam.

The Cold Lake Ice are heading to the finals in the NEAJBHL playoffs after sweeping the series against the Killam Wheat Kings.

The Ice headed to Killam's barn with a 2-0 lead, for what would be the final two games of the series. The first of those came on Wednesday, Mar. 4. It was a slow start to game three of the series but on their second power play of the first period, Ice forward Mike Harbich finally found the back of the net at the 18:53 mark.

Cold Lake kept their momentum going into the second frame. Four minutes into the period, Ice's Taylor Anshelm set up Connor Fynn to get the puck past Killam's starting goaltender Luke Grassl, bringing the score to 2-0. The Wheat Kings closed up the gap four minutes later when forward Craig Lynes sneaked the puck past Ice net minder Cody Janzen. A penalty-free period didn't last long when a dispute just under 13 minutes in landed Ice captain Chad Schultheiss with four penalty minutes for cross checking and unsportsmanlike conduct, and Brett Bujold two minute for unsportsmanlike conduct. Wheat Kings players Drew Bish and Jordan Sand also walked away from that scrap with a combined four minutes in penalties. With just a little over three minutes left in the second, the Ice brought back a two goal lead thanks to forward Tanner Corbeil firing the puck in the net.

The game headed into the third period with a score of 3-1 for Cold Lake. A penalty to Ice forward Jamie Miller for charging 16 minutes into the final frame gave Killam the advantage they were looking for. Less than a minute later, Wheat Kings Dean Brodie managed the power play goal bringing the score to 3-2. With a close game, the home team made one final attempt to tie things up, pulling their goalie in favour of the extra attacker. Ice forward Christian Nypower took advantage of the empty net for the last goal of the game, bringing Cold Lake up 4-2.

The Cold Lake Ice headed into game four against Killiam Wheat Kings on Friday, Mar. 6 with a 3-0 lead in the series. Knowing it was their chance to sweep the series, the Ice started the scoring early on. At the 3:07 mark in the first, Nypower found the back of the net for a power play goal. With Cold Lake on a power play five minutes left in the period, an assist from defenceman Zach Zarowny set up Nypower for his second power play goal of the night. The visiting Ice were up 2-0 at the end of the first.

Killam started the second on a power play as the result of a tripping penalty to Ice defence Holden Daley with less than a minute left in the first. Only 40 seconds into the period, Wheat Kings forward Craig Lynes sneaked the puck past Ice goalie David Rupp for a power play goal. The score stayed at 2-1 for the remainder of the second.

The score stayed unchanged for most of the third period.With a little over two minutes left in the final frame, Wheat Kings Drew Bish tied up the game with a power play goal. The Ice were unable to answer that goal, sending the game into overtime.

Just 2:41 into overtime of game 4, the series was decided thanks to an unassisted goal by Nypower for his third of the night and twelfth of the playoffs. Cold Lake finished the game 3-2 over Killam, sweeping the series 4-0.

The Ice will now take on the Wainwright Bisons in the final series of the playoffs. The Bisons will have home ice advantage for the first two games of the series, after finishing the regular season first in the standings. Wainwright has yet to lose a game in the playoffs after sweeping their first series against the Onion Lake Border Chiefs, and their second series against the Lloydminster Bandits.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks