Chris Clegg
South Peace News
The Falher Pirates continued their late-season roll with two home ice wins last week and clinched first place in the NPHL’s East Division standings in the process.
The Pirates clipped the undefeated Dawson Creek Canucks 6-5 in overtime Jan. 26 and the Manning Comets 4-1 Jan. 27. The 9-3-1-2 Pirates have 21 points, five ahead of the 8-8-0-0 Manning Comets, who have only two games left.
Cruz Cote’s goal at 3:46 of overtime sent the Canucks to the loser’s circle for the first time this season. The win marked a comeback which saw the Canucks leading 5-3 early in the third period.
But queue the comeback!
“We have experience from playoffs last season being down, but pulling it out against DC, so we had faith that we could do it again,” says coach Dan Aubin.
“There was a calmness and quiet confidence within the team and (goaltender Ryan) Noble gave us a chance with some key saves late in the game on the PK.”
With the score tied 5-5, Cale Fox was sent off for roughing and unsportsmanlike giving the Canucks a four-minute power play. However, the Pirates’ top-ranked penalty killing unit blanked the league’s top power play to send the game to overtime.
“I don’t think there was an actual turning point (in the game), we just have a resilient group of players that kept working at it,” says Aubin.
“It certainly was rewarding winning against a team that hasn’t lost yet this season and the team that we lost to in the finals (last year). I was happy for the group and if we find ourselves in a similar situation later in the post season, these are experiences we can draw from.”
Garick Gray gave the Canucks the lead in the first period but Darren Kramer and Kris Desjarlais scored and the Pirates led 2-1 after one period.
In the second, Braeden Allkins, Brandan Rowley and Kevin Swales all scored to give the Canucks a 4-3 lead with Fox replaying for the Pirates.
After league-leading scorer Wes Shipton gave the Canucks a 5-3 lead in the third period, the Pirates rallied. Dallas Brochu cut the gap to one before Eric Dentinger’s goal just past the midway point tied the game.
The next night, the Pirates knew they could clinch the East Division and they did just that. Cote and Desjarlais scored in the first period to make it 2-0.
In the second period, Desjarlais’ second of the night and Fox scored with Bo Asmussen replying for the Comets in-between.
The third period was scoreless.
“Manning was a game where we didn’t find our stride until maybe the 10-minute mark of the first,” says Aubin.
“Noble was great again, our power play found a way to score a key goal and our penalty killing was strong, in particular during the 5-on-3 late in the game. The team had a clear goal and knew that first place was on the line so I don’t think we were too worried about a letdown after an emotional win against DC the night before.”
The Pirates find themselves in an interesting situation. Despite clinching the East , there is potentially a lot to play for this week as the club ends the regular season. They go to Valleyview Jan. 30 and Manning Feb. 3 before closing out the regular season at home against Grande Prairie Feb. 4.
The Canucks have won the Lawrence Cup (first place overall) but the Pirates have 21 points compared to Grande Prairie’s 19 and Spirit River’s 18. Should either of those teams oust the Canucks in the playoffs and the Pirates breeze through the East, they would have home ice advantage in the NPHL final if they maintain their lead.
“Second place would be a huge advantage if DC gets upset in the playoffs and we make it to the finals,” says Aubin.