WSHL WEEKLY NOTES 11.16.18 – PROVINCIAL DIVISION

COLD LAKE WINGS (2-8-1-0, 8 pts)

www.coldlakewings.com

@ColdLakeWings

 The Cold Lake Wings losing streak has reached six games, but they get right back at it Thursday when they host the Seattle Totems.  West Sound is in on Friday, the Seattle comes back through on Saturday before they head back to the States.

Nigel Cardinal put the Wings up, 1-0, Monday against Bellingham.  It was his seventh goal of the season.  He scored in four straight games from October 20 to November 2, scoring six goals in that span.

Ty Deleeuw has matched Cardinal’s seven goals, tying them for the team lead.

Ironically, neither of Cold Lake’s leading goal-scorers have lit the lamp on the power play.  Conor Firth, Ilias Okemow and Dorian Hall have all scored two power play goals for the Wings.

Pavel Simak is the only European import on the Cold Lake roster.  The 19-year-old defenseman split the 2016-17 season between the U18 and U20 levels in his native Czech Republic before playing for the Kalkaska Rhinos in the USPHL Premier last season.

 EDSON AEROS (9-0-1-1, 30 pts)

www.aeroshockey.ca

@AerosEdson

Teams from the Northwest Division didn’t have any more luck pinning a regulation loss on the Edson Aeros than the Provincial Division teams have.

The Aeros defeated the Seattle Totems twice last week—although the ‘Totes took them to overtime om Monday. Edson also defeated the West Sound Admirals.

Liam Austin turned aside 44 of 45 shots and Kevin Lundin scored twice to lead the Aeros to a 6-1 win over the Totems on Saturday.

On Saturday, Emil Johansson scored three goals and Brayden Gyurkovits stopped 19 of 21 shots to lead Edson to a 7-2 win over the Admirals.  Lundin and Sebastian Heden had a goal and three assists each in that game.

The Totems took the Aeros to overtime on Monday, but Quentin Stempfel’s second goal of the game won it for the home team in sudden-death.  Austin was back between the pipes and kicked out 30 shots for his seventh win of the season—that ties him for third in the entire 23-team WSHL.

Aeros head coach Bernie Lynch was glad to see his team have success outside the division.

“They are good teams and work hard,” Lynch said of the inter-division competition. “It's always enjoyable meeting new competition and challenging our team to new goals.”

Lynch and the Aeros are looking forward to seeing two more teams this week as they are visited by Southern Oregon and Bellingham.  The coach says his players are chomping at the bit to get more exposure at the Western States Shootout in December, but are still focused on the games in front of them.

“Our boys are excited about going to Vegas,” he said.  “But our focus is very much on our current games and then we'll cross that threshold when we catch our breath.”

 HINTON WILDCATS (6-3-1-1, 21 pts)

www.hintonwildcats.ca

@HintonWildcats

The Hinton Wildcats welcome another pair of the Western States Hockey League’s U. S.-based teams this week as the Bellingham Blazers and Southern Oregon Spartans come to town representing the WSHL’s Northwest Division.

The Wildcats won two of three games last week in their first experience with inter-divisional play here in their inaugural season.

Brendan Auger scored three goals, including the game-winner, as the Wildcats topped the West Sound Admirals, 5-3, at Hinton’s Murray Rec Center Saturday night.  Dawson Basnett and Jacob Delorme scored for the Wildcats 34 seconds apart late in the first period and the West Sound Warriors never recovered.  Samuel Gendron made 12 saves for the Wildcats.

The Seattle Totems won in Hinton Sunday night by a 10-5 score over the Wildcats.  The first period ended with Seattle up, 3-1, and all three Totems goals coming off the stick of Linus Eriksson.

Ryoto Inukai scored at the 6:22 mark of the second period to get the Wildcats within a goal again at 4-3, but the Totems rattled off four goals before the end of the period.

Hintons five goals came from five different players, including Auger, who also collected a pair of assists.

The Wildcats finished off the week with an 8-1 win over the Admirals when they came back through town on Monday.  Inukai registered a hat trick and Dmitri Buttazzoni notched a goal and four assists while Justin Dupuis turned aside 22 of 23 shots.

Buttazzoni (13) and Auger (12) are the leading goal-scorers for the Wildcats while Ryland Strauss—a 2002 birthyear defenseman—has collected 22 assists.  That’s good for fifth overall in the WSHL and first among defensemen.

MEADOW LAKE MUSTANGS (1-10-0, 3 pts)

www.meadowlakemustangs.com

@ML_Mustangs

 The Meadow Lake Mustangs will try to get back into the win column this week, hosting the West Sound Admirals and Seattle Totems.  The ‘Stangs have not won since their 4-3 win over Cold Lake on October 19.

The search for a #1 goalie continues in Meadow Lake.  Five different netminders have inhabited the crease for the Mustangs already this season and none of them has played more than 112 minutes.

On of those goaltenders is Trevor Buckmeier, who was acquired from the defending Thorne Cup champion El Paso Rhinos earlier this month.

Buckmeier played in only two games with the Rhinos last season, but the 20-year-old Eagle River, Alaska native has additional junior hockey experience in the USP3HL with Richmond (VA) Generals and Alpena (MI) Flyers.

Justyn Noltcho-Clarke has scored the Mustangs’ only shorthanded goal this season

--- Compiled by Scott Harrington for Harrington Sports Media