Claps and victorious cheers could be heard from the Fernie Ghostriders changing room following their defeat of the Creston Valley Thunder Cats on home ice Saturday (Nov. 27).
The Ghostriders shutout the first-in-division Columbia Valley Rockies the night before 3-0, starting their come-back strong after losing four games in a row and dropping to the bottom of their division the weekend before.
The final score on Saturday was 4-3 for Fernie, giving them two victories in a row on the bounce-back.
“Obviously, any time you go on a bit of a slide, it’s nice to respond the way they did this weekend, especially against the two top teams in our division, or in the league, even,” said head coach Ty Valin after the game.
READ MORE: Ghostriders drop in their division after weekend losses
The first period finished with a 1-1 scoreboard after offensive pressure mounted from both sides.
The opening goal came from Ghostriders’ Presley Gordon (#22) with a behind-the-net assist pass from Kolby Hennessy (#24) to give the home team an early lead.
The Thunder Cats answered about 10 minutes later while Fernie’s Kort Kisinger (#21) was in the box for charging.
Fernie’s Dayton Nelson (#15) took the first goal of the second period at 6:39 with assists from Tanner Chapman (#26) and Scott Sinclair (#4).
The net was crowded, but a well-placed pass led to the successful shot from Nelson, followed by chants of “Let’s Go Riders” from the mostly-filled stands.
It wasn’t long until the Ghostriders were defending against a Thunder Cat powerplay, with Ethan MacDuff (#18) in the box for slashing. Sinclair found himself in the box beside MacDuff after cross checking an opponent. MacDuff returned to the ice at 9:17, but a goal against came anyway at 10:16 with Sinclair still under penalty, tying the game 2-2.
Fernie came in strong in the third with an immediate goal off the face-off from MacDuff at eight seconds into the period. MacDuff scored a second goal on a powerplay about four minutes later, giving his team some insurance for the last 15 minutes of the game.
Creston came back with one response, scoring against the home team with the clock at 5:19.
Despite some powerplay opportunities for the Ghostriders, the scoreboard remained the same and finished off with a Fernie victory of 4-3.
“It was a bit of a sloppy game. But at the end of the day, our guys came out in the third and competed, and got the job done,” Valin said.
The Ghostriders will be meeting the Castlegar Rebels on their ice on Dec. 3, and facing off against the Columbia Valley Rockies on Fernie ice Dec. 4.
“We just have to keep pushing forward. It’s a long year. We just have to keep doing our thing.”
READ MORE: ‘It’s been a good run’: Ghostriders second in division following weekend games
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