The Fernie Ghostriders claimed two wins at home this past weekend, first against 100 Mile House and then against Golden.
The Ghostriders fought hard against both teams and walked away with a 5-2 win against the Wranglers and a 3-2 win against the Rockets.
This served as the Riders’ second and third home games of the season.
In Friday’s game against the 100 Mile House Wranglers, Fernie’s Ethan Jang was first to put one on the scoreboard, seven minutes into the game.
Nikolas Sombrowski scored an unassisted goal 30 seconds into the second period, followed closely by a goal against from 100 Mile House’s CJ Zimmerman.
Kyle Ford and Greg Susinski put two more on the board before the third period started. The away team scored 10 minutes into the last period but the home team retaliated, with Jordan Kromm making it 5-2 with four minutes left in the game.
Riders head coach Jeff Wagner said he believed the game had a slow start but caught up by the second period. He credited some fantastic saves by their newly recruited goalie, Riley Fonger, as the reason they didn’t fall behind in the first period. Fonger was voted player of the game.
“You saw him tonight, he made some unbelievable saves in the first period where it could have probably been 4-1 for 100 Mile after the first,” he said.
“He kept us in it, and we gained some momentum off of his play and we also were able to capitalize off of our chances, which created some momentum for us.”
Fonger, recruited from Calgary, played Midget Triple A for the Northwest Calgary Athletic Association. The year before, he played for Edge School, an athletic-focused private school out of Calgary.
This was the first time the Ghostriders had played the Wranglers in three years. Previously, teams from the Eddie Mountain Division played other teams such as 100 Mile House, but this way of playing was voted out to reduce travel costs.
This year, the extended boundaries were voted back in as teams found they were playing the same teams too often throughout the season. Now, teams from the Eddie Mountain Division play all other teams from the Neil Murdoch, Doug Birks and Okanagan divisions.
“We realized we were playing our division eight times a year and just got repetitive,” said Wagner. “We wanted to get that full 20-team league back.”
Saturday’s home game against the Golden Rockets was well executed by the home team and they were able to take another win at home, this time with a score of 3-2.
Kory Zinck and Keelan Saworski put two on the board in the first period, with Kyle Ford leading the scoring in the second period with a goal 10 minutes in. Golden returned with two goals in the second period and there was no scoring in the third.
After the Ghostriders gained their three-point lead in the second period, Wagner says he saw some complacency set in.
“When that happens, bad habits creep in, guys start thinking about points and not necessary playing as a team but playing as individuals,” said Wagner.
“The second half of the game, we were a little bit disappointing with our structure, but ultimately we did what we needed to do in the third period to get a win,” he added.
The Ghostriders are away this upcoming weekend, playing in Princeton then Osoyoos. They return home for two games October 12 and 13, against Revelstoke and Creston.