Mac Olsen
Express Staff
@SmokyRiverExprs
It was Dec. 22, the final game of 2016, and the Falher Pirates gave their fans a 4-3 victory after an intensive 60 minutes of play.
“Everybody was skating hard tonight and we had a lot of pressure on the Huskies,” says coach Mathieu Maisonneuve. “Our goaltending was unbelievable tonight.”
Kyle Smith of the Huskies opened the scoring at 1:19 in the first period, a power play goal, and Ty Wiebe collected the assist.
The Pirates also had a power play opportunity, and Jeremie Perron fired the puck into the net at 4:45, with Jeff Martens and Pat Rowan collecting the assists.
The scored remained 1-1 at the end of the first period.
The Huskies edged ahead again at 3:04 in the second period, when Kevin Monfette delivered the puck to the living room. Chris Houlder and Bond Hawryluk collected the assists on this power play opportunity.
However, the Pirates stepped up their game with several intense plays in the Huskies’ end. It paid off for them at 18:32, when Jason Bouchard scored on a wide open net from the side, and Jeff Chalifoux and Jeff Martens collected the assists. Check the Express’ Facebook page for a video of the goal, and another for the action intensity of the second period.
The score was tied 2-2 at the end of the second period.
It was crunch time for both teams in the third period and the Pirates made the most of it. Jason Bouchard scored the team’s third goal at 6:34, putting the puck in the basement. Jeff Martens and Craig Anderson received the assists.
Dave Lawrence increased the Pirates’ lead by two at 13:50 with his own goal, and Rowan received the assist.
However, the Huskies were still in the game as Wiebe scored the team’s third goal at 17:27. Bond Hawryluk and Brenden Hawryluk received the assists.
The Huskies tried desperately to even the game as the end of the period drew near. With less than two minutes remaining, they pulled their goalie and put an extra attacker on the ice.
The Huskies tried several attacks against the Pirates’ net, but to no avail, as the Pirates held on to win 4-3. But the game ended with several fights breaking out and penalties being issued.
Jeff Martens received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for fighting, while Lloyd Ah-Kim-Natchie received a penalty for roughing.
As for the Huskies, Kyle Smith received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for slashing, while Bond Hawryluk received a penalty for roughing.
Shots on goal for the game were 39-29 in favour of the Pirates.
There are no other games for the rest of the year. The Pirates’ next game is in Valleyview on Jan. 3, then they travel to Grimshaw on Jan. 5.
