The severely undermanned Kitimat Ice Demons faced a tough Cariboo road trip, being outscored 20-2 in two games.
The Ice Demons only had a total of eight skaters and one goalie available.
“Regardless, we went to represent our community and the boys battled and competed hard with what we had,” said Donald Pacheco, Kitimat Ice Demons head coach.
According to Pacheco, some players were off as they were feeling sick, there were some injuries, there were some that could not get time off work and some had other reasons for missing the road trip. Pacheco said he was very proud of those that went on the trip.
The Demons began their road trip in Quesnel on Jan. 8 facing off against the Kangaroos and it was a tough start to their two-game weekend.
In the 13th minute, the Kangaroos’ Marshal Brown scored his first goal of the game, followed by his second under five minutes later. Jordan Draper rounded out the first period scoring with just over a minute left in the frame.
Quesnel’s Eric Galbraith began the second period scoring with a goal in the seventh minute before the Ice Demons finally answered back with one of their own. Ian Coleman scored at 8:50 into the second period and would be the only time in the game the Ice Demons would find the back of the net.
Ryan Keis, Eli Jarvis, Justin Fillion, Allessio Tomassetti and Brett Mero all recorded goals for Quesnel as the Kangaroos bested the Ice Demons 9-1. Kitimat was outshot 58-13.
On Jan. 09 the Ice Demons took on the Williams Lake Stampeders at the Cariboo Memorial Complex.
The early afternoon game meant a short rest for the already short-handed Ice Demons. Williams Lake dominated the first two periods, scoring eight unanswered before Kitimat managed to put one in the back of the net. It was another tough road game, with Kitimat ultimately losing by a total of 11-1. The Stampeders outshot the Ice Demons 44-31, a much closer margin than Kitimat’s previous game.
The Ice Demons are back home for the next three games beginning with a game against the Prince Rupert Rampage on Jan. 22. The Ice Demons currently have a record of 2-8 and are in last place in the standings.