Howe Sound Men's Hockey League players returned to the ice hungrier than ever Wednesday, Sept. 28.
The Chiefs and the Flyers, who fought their way to the finals last year, faced off again at Brennan Park Recreation Centre, and it seemed a summer off did nothing to cool the rivalry.
Just a few minutes into the first period, the 2005 champion Flyers were first on the board with Scott Jensen putting the puck past Rob McNutt assisted by Ryan Carrat. The goal went unanswered, but the Chiefs soon made their presence felt.
With 13 minutes left in the first, the Chief's Brent Morrison got the ref's attention and a two-minute penalty for hooking. Just a few seconds later, The Chief's Mike Kleso earned his first two-minute penalty for high sticking, but it wouldn't be his last.
Just one minute later the Flyers' Dan Sargent responded with a two-minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct and while he was in the box, the Chiefs' Keith Chaisson and Matt Cook closed off the period with two minutes each for tripping.The second period got even more heated with Kleso and Renfro dropping their sticks to take each other on. The fight earned each player an ejection from the game.
The ref's call sobered the teams, and the players got back into the game with a goal by the Flyers' Myles Rosser, again assisted by Carrat, to make it 2-0. With 34 seconds left in the game the Chiefs' Scott Baldry avoided a shutout with an unassisted goal past goaltender Mike Hewitt for a final score of 2-1 for the Flyers.
Last season's runners up then took the ice but with far fewer penalties and far more scoring. The Predators were on fire and first on the board with Brian Lefebvre slapping the puck past Red Wings goaltender Dave Evans with the help of teammate Drae Glover. One minute later the Predators' Shane Mackay scored two back-to-back goals to make it 3-0. The scoring then pendulumed back and forth to finish the period at 6-4 Predators.
Players showed no sign of slowing down in the second period. Within a few seconds, Jeff Karran scored for the Red Wings and the Predators quickly followed, scoring every two minutes until the board read 10-6. The Red Wings answered with one goal by Craig Halladay, and the Predators took no chances. With two minutes left in game, the Predators fit four more goals into the net, two of them by Irvine for a game total of five. At the final buzzer, the board read 14-7. [email protected]
