Omenica Ice extend lead in CIHL with convincing wins over west division Hazelton Wolverines

The Omenica Ice took a solid hold on first place in the eastern division of the CIHL on the Dec. 1-2 weekend, with two home ice victories over the last place team in the western division, the Hazelton Wolverines. Scores in the game were 5-0 Saturday and 8-2 on Sunday. Nathan Vandelaar continued his winning ways in net for the ice, recording the shutout on Saturday, while Travis Mitchell did all that was needed in net for the Ice, Sunday. The Wolverines brought in Amadee Marshall, last year’s team leading scorer, to replace injured and unavailable players, but Marshall was not enough to give the Wolverines any edge. McIsaac led the way Saturday with two goals and an assist in his first game back from a suspension. On Sunday sniper David Boon, had two quick goals in the first setting the pace, while Shane Walsh had three points. The two wins placed the Ice on top of the league, with 19 points from 13 games. After nearly a month off, it was time for the Williams Lake Stampeders to brush off the dust and get ready for the visiting 100 Mile House Bears. They did so in expected fashion, winning by a 9-3 margin, taking over sole possession of second place in the CIHL, trailing division leaders, the Ice, by six points. However, Stampeders have four games in hand. The out of town Bears were the first on the scoreboard and in fact had held leads of 1-0, 2-1, & 3-2 during the first 26 minutes of play. Kyle Plotnikoff with 2 goals and Wayne Pincott with the single, were the only Bear marksmen to find the net behind Stampeder keeper, Willie Sellars. The Stampeder special teams were the story of the night as the Stamps scored seven goals with the man advantage, while also adding a shorthanded goal as well. Wilfred Robbins led the way for the Stampeder marksmen as he tallied the hat-trick. Six Williams Lake players all added singles, including Grant Johnson, Francis Johnson, Aaron Zurak, Nathan Zurak, Anthony Robbins and Gilbert Robbins. Francis Johnson also added 5 assists to go along with his goal in making a 6 point evening for himself. Williams Lake out-shot the Bears by a margin of 40 to 24, while the Bears took the majority of penalty minutes, which proved to be very costly on the night for the visitors. The now 6-3 Stampeders head north this coming weekend to take on division rivals, the Houston Luckies in a pair of road games. The Stamps will then return home for a weekend set against the very same Luckies December 15 and 16 at the Cariboo Memorial Complex. A split of the 4 game series will clinch a playoff spot for the Stampeders, with league playoffs to begin in January. In Terrace, there was a good turnout for the long-awaited return match with the visiting Smithers Steelheads, but the River Kings were not on top form as the fell 4-1, as Steelies’ new goaltender Jamie Holden, continued his high level of play. Smithers, still smarting from a shootout loss to the Wolverines, in Hazelton played a solid road game while Terrace was having trouble finishing. Terrace will host the division leading Kitimat Ice Demons, who have been idle for the past two weekends, in a one game weekend. The game will be important for both teams as the leaders in the eastern division added points. Demons stayed on top of the division over the weekend, while Smithers closed the points gap to two. But Smithers has now played two games more than the Ice Demons, Terrace has still played only eight games, but now trail the Demons by four points. The two local rivals also meet in Kitimat on Dec. 27 for what is turning out to be an annual Christmas week tilt. In two other games this coming weekend, the 100 Mile House Bear and the Hazelton Wolverines will likely establish who will be cellar-dwellers in the league when they meet in Hazelton.