Day two of the Coy Cup tournament saw a couple of unexpected turns as the Williams Lake Stampeders led much of the way against the CIHL champions, the Smithers Steelheads.
A late tally by Ryan Devries was needed for the Steelheads to eke out a tie at 3-3.
In the second game the Kitimat Ice Demons began to look a bit more like their usual selves as Jamie Moran recorded his second shutout, Nick Markowsky scored a natural hat trick and the team blanked the rugged Quesnel Kangaroos 4-0, to take the tournament lead with four points. The tie kept Smithers in second place with three points, Williams Lake Stampeders with one and the scoreless Quesnel still blank and looking for some redemption in tonight's game against the short-handed Stampeders, as their rivalry grows.
Just a tie tonight against Smithers will give Kitimat a bye into final on Sunday.
The Ice Demons won their second game of the Coy Cup with a rough, but impressive 4-0 win over the Quesnel Kangaroos -- highlighted by Jamie Moran's second shut out in a row, and a three-goal performance by Nick Markowsky. The first hat-trick of the Coy Cup 2012, was accompanied by a second goal for Blaine Markwart in the third period, again to cement the win.
This was Demons best game since January and showed that the defending champions will remain a force in the Coy Cup despite a less than glittering season.
Markowski scored twice in the second period, at 3.55 (Jeremy Brady, Jeff Baker) and at 10.28 from Jeff Mildenberger, who dangled in the Quesnel defensive zone, while the remainder of the line changed. Markowsky, coming on ice blasted a low shot past Quesnel starter Ryan Manderson.
Markowski hit the sheet again at 4.58 of the third, assisted by Ian Coleman and Dave Venman and Markwart finished the scoring three minutes later, blasting home a side pass from Terry Whelan, after Brent Mailloux, who earned an assist also, had put the puck off the post.
For the remainder of the game, as it had been throughout, Quesnel showed their 600 plus minutes in penalties in the regular CIHL season were well-earned...looking tired and out-skated as they took eight minors in the game and then distinguished themselves by taking a major for charging the goaltender and two other game misconducts which will shorten their bench as they face Williams Lake in the final round robin game tonight.
Their starting goaltender, Ryan Manderson was escorted off the ice by paramedics after Dave Dollak accidentally flattened him in his own net trying to stop a cross goal Demons shot by Terry Whelan.
Waylon L'Heureux tried to make up for it at the other end by smashing into Jamie Moran, but was quickly ejected. Captain Dan Kirkham got a misconduct as well as Nick Patchett. It was hard to tell what for as refs and linesmen moved in quickly conferred and got the game over before more mayhem. Sorry, Kangaroos, that stuff won't get the "roos name on a Coy Cup this year. Just total frustration after two games, strong efforts and no goals to show for it.
Demons took four minors and Kyle Boudreault a two and a game ejection for a hit from behind about half-way through the game, that was dominated by the Demons and good puck control.
Shots in the game were Ice Demons 44 - Kangaroos 26.
In the early game, Wednesday, Smithers survived a scare as the Wall (goaltender Mike Wall) gave one up early in the first period on a nice goal by Brandon Cox, firing home a rebound on captain, Aaron Zurak's shot, just 1.42 into the game. An assist went to Stu Sasges.
Williams Lake came out with some passion, with Francis Johnson back in the lineup and set a blistering tone in the early going before the two teams settled down to a more dour defensive battle.
Shots in the first period, however, were still nine apiece as Williams Lake showed they were not quite ready to go home early.
This score indeed, held up through the first and until the 6.13 mark of the second period when Darryl Young snapped an unstoppable goal behind Justin Foote (Russ Blanchard, Matt Arnold).
With nine minutes remaining Smithers appeared to have scored again, on a shot on a loose puck slid into the net by Ian Smith -- but the referee had blown the whistle after Foote covered up. But just 31 second after that relief for the Stampeders, a shot from the half boards by Darryl Young found its way through a jungle of legs behind the Williams Lake goaltender.
Up 2-1, Smithers picked up the pace -- but against the run of play, Williams Lake just two minutes later equalized on a fortunate score by Matt Lees, which rolled over the line off a broken stick with Wall going in the wrong direction.
Assists were awarded to Rory McDade and Nathan Zurak.
Tied going into the third, Williams Lake showed more mettle by taking the lead for a second time, on a goal at 3.41 of the period by Wilfred Robbins who hammered a cross Ice pass from Stu Sasges, low past Wall.
Williams Lake then adopted a strategy of holding the lead by sending two fore checkers in to stifle the Smithers breakout patterns and it was working well until Smithers finally got in deep with just 2.53 left in the game and with the 15-player Stamps visibly tiring. That was when Ryan Devries finally got a break tapping home a slider in a goalmouth scramble. Assists went to Adam Devries and Spencer Brooks.
The game went to a five minute overtime (as agreed by all coaches earlier) but Williams Lake held the offensive upper hand getting four shots on Wall, while Foote stopped just one.
Each team gets a point - so Smithers has three and Williams Lake 1. Penalties were four minors assessed against the Stampeders and three minors to Steelheads as refs kept a tight lid on the play.
Today's schedule -
5.00 p.m. -- Williams Lake Stampeders v Quesnel Kangaroos
8.00 p.m. -- Kitimat Ice Demons v Smithers Steelheads