Despite missing a few days of practice, the Fernie Ghostriders laced their skates and set out on the ice in Creston, winning a stunning 5-2 victory in what Coach Craig Mohr says was an “emotional game”.
The Junior B team was given back their hockey equipment on Tuesday of last week, and got to practicing in Sparwood right away. They were able to fit in two practices before playing against the Thunder Cats Friday.
“We had a little chat before the game, you know, it would be nice to maybe get a win here and get some smiles back home on some people’s faces, and give a little good cheer … it was pretty emotional after, the guys were pretty pumped up,” said Mohr.
Zak Larson was a brick wall against the Thunder Cats, and was named away star for saving 43 of 45 shots. In the second period, Coach Mohr recalls a stretch of approximately six minutes where Creston would not let up, and pressured the Fernie goal to no end.
In the second period, Fernie was up 2-1. Without Larson, many of the relentless shots by the Thunder Cats would have found a home.
“It almost calmed us down, and then bang, we scored to make it 3-1,” said Mohr, adding that diminished the other team’s spirit and allowed Fernie to take the upper hand.
The first goal of the game was scored by Keelan Saworski, with an assist from Tristan Downe and Jace Woodley. This tied up the game after Creston put one away on a power-play, six minutes into the second. There were no goals in the first period.
Fernie’s second goal was scored shortly after their first, by Grayson Neufeld with an assist from Mitch Titus and Ty Abbott.
After six minutes of pressure and resilience, Fernie Captain Mitch Titus took a breakaway and scored an unassisted goal with two minutes left in the period.
Going into the last period, Keelan Saworski scored his second goal of the game with an assist from Brendan Nemes and Devyn Stewart, with 11:42 left in the period. With 10 minutes left, Creston scored their second, but this was echoed with an unassisted goal by Fernie’s Devyn Stewart, one minute later.
“They came out ready to play, and from the top down, everyone played very well,” said Mohr. “It was a fun hockey game.”
In the first period, there were three penalties. In the second, there were six. In the third, there were no penalties whatsoever. Coach Mohr said he enjoyed watching a good, clean, skilled game of hockey.
“It was a great hockey game,” he said. “I know all the people there and those that watched on the webcast said, ‘whoa what a great hockey game.’”
The Fernie Ghostriders will take to the ice on Saturday, in an away game against Beaver Valley. After this, they will be coming back to play in Sparwood on the 7th and the 10th of November.
Until further notice, the Riders will be based out of Sparwood for both practices and home games.