By Sara Moulton
The Ghostriders returned to the Fernie Memorial Arena on Friday September 20, putting up a great effort against the Sicamous Eagles during their first home game of the season.
Despite ultimately being defeated 3 goals to 1, the Ghostriders worked hard to give the crowd a taste of what to expect for this season. Head coach, Dale Hladun, was keen to focus on the positives after the game, which was his first home match with his new club after 8 seasons with the Princeton Posse.
“We lost, but we played well. We did everything but win, and we got some nice plays”, said Hladun.
The first period was particularly explosive, with several close attempts at goal by players such as #3 Dylan Robertson and #25 Cole Keebler. With Sicamous hungry for a win after their 6-point thrashing at the hands of the Ghostriders last weekend, the start of the game was full of tension and resulted in both #27 Colby Burns and #4 Josh Teves earning penalties.
By the end of the second period, Coach Hladun looked somewhat concerned but was still optimistic.
“We’re just going to make it really exciting for the fans at the end, that’s what we’re doing”, he said.
Goalie Phoenix Logan-Hill worked hard at holding Sicamous back, but couldn’t stop them from sneaking through to a 2-point lead. With #28 Justin Mitchell receiving a penalty with less than four minutes left in the game and a tough opposition goalie, the Ghostriders were unable to make a late charge to level the score.
Nevertheless, Coach Hladun is particularly impressed with new recruit, #12 Aidan Geiger, who scored the Ghostrider’s only goal for the night and is currently leading the points board after a great opening weekend during their two away games. Joining the team as a rookie from Calgary, Geiger has been enjoying his time with Fernie so far.
“I’m having so much fun and I’m playing with a great group of guys”, says 17-year-old Geiger. “Everyone’s on the same page, everyone wants to win. It’s great to play here… I was pretty excited to score in our first home game.”
Geiger is also keen for the game tonight at Kimberley, where he has a family link to the arena that dates back to the 1930s.
“My great-grandpa played there, back when they were in the Allan Cup. I’ve actually got a lot of family in Kimberley who are going to come and watch, so I’m excited”.
His attitude on their loss is positive: “We won’t dwell on it. We had so many chances tonight, we just hope we’re going to get the same in Kimberley and put more in the net this time”.
The Fernie Ghostriders will play the Kimberley Dynamiters at the Kimberley Civic Centre tonight at 7.00 pm. Full stats on all players can be found at the Ghostrider’s website www.fernieghostriders.com