THERINK SIDE NEWS
by Morley Muldoon
February 10, 2001
Cold Lake at Wainwright
Polar Kings action was fast and furious this weekend. Snot knocker hits, cannonadingshots and wide open play got things going in the new arena Saturday night. Cold Lake with their hair pulling style of play were stymied by the Polar Kingssquad. Tic, tack toe pacing plays providing the home town boys with a 4 to1 lead after 1 period of play. Seeing that they did so well in the firstthe Kings as usually took it a little easier in the second. Each teamscored a pair of goals for a 6 - 3 lead for the Kings heading into thethird. A tad frustrated, the Freeze did their darndest to catch the highflying Kings. It seemed the harder they tried the worst it got. Numerous penalties made it tuff sledding for Cold Lake. They did howevermanage to notch 1 for a final score of 6 to 4.
St.Paul VS Wainwright in Irma - February 11, 2001
It was off to Irma on Sunday morning for a make up game against theCanadiens. Irma's reputation for having fast ice was apparent as bothteams where just flying! The Polar Kings must have went to bed early andlaid off the beer that's about as close to playing a full 60 minutes of hockeythat I've seen this season. Only up by one after 20, the intense closechecking action continued on into the 2nd period. The Kings racked up acouple more to increase their lead to 3 zip after 40 minutes. TheCanadiens got going late in the third and closed the gap, as the Kings were onlyup by one for a final score of 4-2 in favor of the Kings, it was definitely aknock down, drag em out style of a game. Is it just me or does it seem asthough the style of players contact has gone from shoulder and hip checks togloves and sticks mainly aimed towards the head? Perhaps 1/2 face shieldswould be more appropriated. This might encourage more respect for followplayers and limit the amount of all out kowakozi style of hitting that we seemore and more of these days.
November 18, 2000 Polar KingsWin Against Lloydminster 4 - 2
It was off to Lloydminster for a match at high noon on Saturday. Bothteams had their game faces on, it was plan to see right from the get go. As expected lots of hard skating, checking and shooting filled the first twentyminutes of play, with the score tied at one a piece.
A pleasant surprise for a game against Lloyd, there wasn't all that muchchipiness going on. That all changed midway through the second when an unexpectedcross check from behind delivered by a Lloyd player, directly in front of theplayers box. The ref of course was looking the other way, however a sharpeyed linesman witnessed the infraction and notified the fella with the red armband. It is comforting to know the coaching staff of the Polar Kings wouldnot tolerate such unsportsman like conduct from their charges.
Our Kings kept their focus and went to the dressing room after 40 minutes ofplay tied at 2 a piece.
The third period action was no disappointment from Ryan Johnson's stellarperformance in net right on up through the defense and forwards. A solid60 minute effort was put forth. The Kings came away with a win against thealways tough Blazers final score ended by 4-2.
November 19, 2000 Polar Kings downSt. Paul 9-4
The Polar Kings were on the road again Sunday heading to St. Paul. Arough and tumble affair ensued with the Kings jumping out to a 3-0 lend aftertwenty minutes of play. Kyle Laron kept the Canadians at bay, turning awaya barrage of shots in the early going, backed up with a solid performance in thefollowing two periods.
There was tons of action in the second with 7 goals scored and Andrew Nelsonbeing ejected from the game for fighting. It struck me as being an oddcall, there was only one 5 minute major for fighting. From my experience,there is always two individuals involved in a fight.
The Polar Kings were ahead 7-3 after two periods of play. The rough andtumble action carriered on into the third period. The Polar Kings put twomore on the score board, St. Paul replied with one. The final score endedup 9-4 for the Kings.
The boys ought to be pleased with two wins on the road, sue to a full 60 minuteeffort in both games. Congratulations guys!
CAMROSE TOURNAMENT by Morley Muldoon
five star hotel in LyonThe Bantam Polar Kings attended a tournament held by the CamroseBulldogs this past weekend.
Action got underway Friday evening with the Polar Kings facing the hometownBulldogs. First period action could be described as sluggish, this wouldbe the result of the Kings not playing for two weeks. Things heated upduring the second and in the third, with our Kings coming out on top 5-2.
Leduc Storm were next upon Saturday morning. The Polar Kings get thingsgoing early, despite the 7:45 am start time, with a 5-1 lead after 20minutes. Our Polar Kings never looked back, the scored ended up 9-2, witha hat trick for Sather. The second game of the day saw the Wainwright boysgoing up against the Red Deer Steel Kings. Scoring was fairly steady withthree goals per period except for the third where they notched four. Endresults was a 10-0 thrashing.
hotel Ballerup flughafenSunday was another early start with the boys on the ice at 8 am. A bitsnoozy, with one Polar King goal in the first and a reply from Edmonton Brickmenthe only scoring in the first 40 minutes. The Polar Kings turned it up anotch in the third, with 4 unanswered goals, final score 5-1 in favor of theKings. Red Deer Steel Kings provided a opposition for the final. Itwas a neck and neck struggle up until the last period. Once again theKings turned it on and came away with a 7-2 win.
The 2000-2001 edition of the Bantam Polar Kings is sapping up to be animpressive squad. Undefeated winners of the tournament. Solidgoaltending complimented by strong support from the defense and forwards not tomention the fans will make for a strong contender in this years Bantam AAAHockey League. Congratulations on your win and good luck for the season.
RESCHEDULED GAME
November 11th, 2000, game # 18 against the Lloydminster Nelson Lumber Blazershas been rescheduled to November 10 at 8 pm.