Two wins and a Teddy Bear Toss for the Ghostriders over the weekend

The Fernie Ghostriders had a Teddy Bear Toss and two wins over the weekend, putting them at third place in their division.

The first game was played against the Creston Valley Thunder Cats on Friday, Dec. 10, and saw a major victory for Fernie, 4-1.

Presley Gordon (#22) took the first goal of the game at 12:43 minutes into the first period, with assists from Scott Sinclair (#4) and Cole Fournier (#14).

Ethan MacDuff (#18) scored the second goal at 15:51 into the second period with an assist from Dayton Nelson (#15). Creston responded with their first goal not long after at 18:06, setting the scoreboard at 2-1 for Fernie heading into the third.

The Ghostriders’ opponents were unable to score another goal, but Fernie put two more in the net in the last five minutes of the third period. Fernie’s third goal came in from Nelson at 16:06, and their last from Kort Kisinger (#21) at 19:09, tilting the scoreboard heavily in the Ghostriders’ favour by the time the third period clock ticked down to its end.

The second game of the weekend was played on Saturday, Dec. 11 at the Fernie Memorial Arena against the out-of-division Beaver Valley Nitehawks. It was the second home game in Fernie where full crowd capacity was allowed in the stands.

READ MORE: ‘Nice to start getting back to normal’: Fernie arena back to full spectator capacity

The Nitehawks took the first goal of the game and the only goal in the first period at 13:53.

The second goal was made by Fernie’s Nelson at 14:18 into the second period.

Nelson’s goal kicked off the Teddy Bear Toss, and people in the mostly-filled stands began to throw stuffed animals and winter-wear onto the ice for the Ghostriders to scoop up and put in a yellow car, to be donated to the Salvation Army.

Fernie took the lead about four minutes later with a goal from Matthew Schulmeister (#27).

The Ghostriders built heavily on that momentum early in the third period, with a goal from Cole Fisher (#20) at 1:26, and another from MacDuff at 5:10 into the third, making the score 4-1 for Fernie with about 15 minutes left on the clock.

The Nitehawks tried to catch up, with a goal scored at 11:35 and another at 18:23, but they ultimately could not squeeze past the Ghostriders. The game ended with a Fernie victory of 4-3.

The Ghostriders will be facing off against top-in-division team, the Columbia Valley Rockies at the Fernie Memorial Arena on Thursday, Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, Dec. 18, they will be playing the Kimberley Dynamiters on their ice.

Both teams are ahead of Fernie in the Eddie Mountain Division. The Ghostriders have 28 points, the Dynamiters are at 30 points, and the Rockies are at 33 points.

READ MORE: Ghostriders get new goalie, among other roster shifts