The Ghostriders took the lead in their playoff series against the Columbia Valley Rockies on Friday (Feb. 25) with a 4-3 victory after a high energy third period.
The Memorial Arena stands were packed with enthusiastic fans, and the Griz even made an appearance, doing two laps around the ice during the national anthem, flying the Canadian flag.
The game began on the wrong foot for Fernie, with a Columbia Valley goal at 1:51 into the first period with Dylan Lacroix (#31) in net.
The teams went back and forth through the rest of the period without any scoring success.
The second period kicked off with a 1-0 scoreboard for the Rockies. The visiting team took their second goal 1:50 into the period, building up a small lead against the Ghostriders.
Kort Kisinger (#21) scored the first goal for Fernie late in the second, putting the puck past the Rockies’ goalie in a front-of-net scramble at 18:42 minutes. He was assisted by Cole Fournier (#14) and Dayton Nelson (#15).
The action and energy really picked up in the third period, with Fournier taking a powerplay goal at 3:27 minutes with assists from Jake Oviatt (#8) and Sean Jacobs (#5), tying the game 2-2.
Fournier kept on his roll, and scored again only 29 seconds later, kicking the Rockies into a defensive position as the Ghostriders took the lead.
Columbia Valley’s Jonah Fournier (#26) answered the Fernie Fournier’s back-to-back with a powerplay goal at 7:34 into the third, tying the game 3-3 to make an intense final 12.5 minutes of the game.
The Ghostriders kept the heat turned up high against the Rockies, and the crowd was there to back them up with morale, chanting taunts at the Rockies’ goalie Scott Thompson (#30), and singing ‘Hey Baby’ in unison.
At 14:51 into the final period, Cole Fisher (#20) took the game-winning goal for Fernie, with no assists.
A penalty against Fernie’s Sean Jacobs (#5) at 18:23 kept the game intense until the end, but the Rockies could not secure a game-tying goal despite their powerplay and a pulled goalie.
After the clock struck zero, the Ghostriders took a victory lap around the ice to a roaring crowd.
The two teams will meet again at the Fernie Memorial Arena on Saturday, Feb. 26.
@fishynewswatch
josh.fischlin@thefreepress.ca
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.