Notes From Under the Bleachers… where they keep the suds
The Ghostriders had a great run and battled their way into first place over the last couple of months but lost their last two games. 4-1 in Beaver Valley and 9-1 in Nelson… it’s not the dinosaur extinction or anything, the Riders are still in first place by 2 points…
Actually…from a fans perspective, this is great, Fernie and Kimberley’s last two games could be a hate filled home and home in Kimberley on the 16th and in Fernie on the 17th… this could very well determine first place… A couple of weeks ago Cole Fisher and Cole Fournier played their 100th regular season games…Well he won’t make 100 but Levi Hall has played 81 regular season games, that’s a lot for a goalie…more than any of the top ten KI goalies…his Grandfather Glenn did 60-70 a year in the NHL in the 1950’s60’s…Former Rider Jason Greenwell was from an era when 15 year old’s could play and number ones played all the games, Jason played an amazing 217 games over five years in Spokane and Fernie… After the Riders debacle in Nelson they got held up on the Salmo- Creston pass and didn’t get home until 9:30 the next morning…that’s just what happens sometimes in junior hockey…Would the players and coaches be in favour of more games with even more travel…Ty Valin, “Players want more games and they don’t care about the travel…Taylor Haggerty, “Yes we would be in favour of that. More games would be awesome and hours on the bus wouldn’t be the end of the world. It’s a good chance to hang out with teammates away from the rink”… From a management perspective, more games would mean more travel and a few more weekday games with less crowds… but the players think… hey… a few less practices…Players should know that the KIJHL gives out scholarship and bursary money, read about that here…
And finally… Playoff dates from the KIJHL June AGM, The Governors’ words, “After a successful trial run during the 2022/23 season, KIJHL members have opted for a playoff format that includes Friday start dates for each playoff series in all four rounds”…So with one more win or a Rockies loss the Ghostriders’ playoffs will start Friday February 23rd and 24th right here in Fernie.
The Riders are in Creston on Friday then come home to play the second place Grand Forks Border Bruins on Saturday. All Eddie Mountain teams have 4 games left and a possible 8 points on the table, no-one has secured first second or third place yet.
