Weather short circuits CIHL schedule, but the Williams Lake Stampeders are still 100 per cent Northern interior weather took a bite out of the Central Interior Hockey League schedule for the first time in two years, causing two of four double header games to be cancelled. Three and as much as four feet of snow caused travel havoc on Highway 16 and games between Omenica Ice and the Houston Luckies in Houston, and between the Hazelton Wolverines and the Smithers Steelheads, were both cancelled because of the conditions. Three other scheduled events went ahead as schedules, with Williams Lake taking two in tight games fro the Mackenzie Moose in Mackenzie, wining 5-4 Saturday and 6-3 in the Sunday afternoon games. Meanwhile the Kitimat Ice Demons continued their mastery over the Terrace River Kings at Tamitik arena on Saturday night, winning 6-4. Williams Lake is now a perfect 6-0 in this short season, but has yet to play any western division teams, with four victories, home and away, against the Moose and two against the 100 Mile House Bears. Still, Stampeders management is encouraged by the fast start which sees the Stamps lead the league with 12 points. It’s hard to gather any real conclusions from the points status, with the irregular schedule and the wide spread in games played, with 100 Mile still pointless in the east and the Hazelton Wolverines, with only two points in the west. The missed games will have to be re-scheduled as soon as the home teams can organize ice time. On Saturday the Stampeders held on for a win after coming out flat in the first period, on a travel day, as Mackenzie carried the play. However it would be the visitors that opened the scoring on the night, as Dan Huska would give Williams Lake a 1-0 first intermission lead. Two more Williams Lake marksman would add singles in the second period to build the lead to 3-0 Stampeders. Mackenzie finally broke through the Stampeder goaltending wall of Willie Sellars to bring the score to 3-1 at the end of the second period. The third period proved to be the most exciting on the night as a total of five goals would be scored. Mackenzie continued to press the tiring visiting squad and their persistence paid off with two quick third period goals to equalize the score at 3-3. It would appear the tired Williams Lake legs would allow Mackenzie to record their first victory of the season. However, such would not be the case as the league leading scorer, Francis Johnson would snap the deadlock with a power play goal to give Williams Lake a 4-3 lead. Only a minute later, Stu Sasges would add an insurance goal that would prove to be the winner. Mackenzie would close the gap on a power play goal of their own late in the game to make the final score 5-4 Williams Lake. In Sunday’s game, it would be the Stampeder power play that would make the difference as Williams Lake notch 5 of their 6 goals with the man advantage. Williams Lake built a 2-0 first period lead on goals from Aaron Zurak and Francis Johnson. The momentum carried through to the second period as Zurak would score his second of the afternoon on a power play with Grant Johnson adding a single. Sporting the 4-0 lead, the Stamps would seem to be cruising to their sixth consecutive victory, but Mackenzie would fight back as Robert Potvin and Jerry Bessette closed the gap to make the second intermission score 4-2. In Kitimat, the visiting River Kings also had a flat first period, but with two penalties to Kitimat in the final minutes of the period, the Kings went to the dressing room with a 2-1 lead. The Ice Demons, while appearing to be in charge most of the game, took the hard route to their win, 6-4 over the River Kings, who showed they are capable of some very determined play – even minus several of their major contributors like Darcy Allison, Troy Butler, Davey Jones and Terry Zaporzan. It took a Blaine Markwart empty net goal, with 36 second left in the game to finally salt away two points for Kitimat. The Ice Demons generally outplayed the Kings throughout the game, but still allowed the Kings to hold leads at the end of the first two periods on goals, 2-1 and 4-3. In these two periods the Kings were out-shot 20-10 and 21-9 but big Terrace goaltender, Craig Walsh, stood tall in the Kings net, frequently frustrating the Demons attack. He was hard to beat down low, because of quick movement and good pad work, and it took the Demons until the second period to figure out going round him was easier than going through him. Blaine Markwart, who missed the Houston trip two weeks ago, led the attack for the Demons with a hat trick and an assist and his line, with Craig Hewitson and Ian Coleman, gave the Kings fits all night. With a little more finish around the net, the game could have been over in the first period. Demons took a first lead in the game on a power-play goal by Daniel Mayer, with 6.33 left in the first period, (with assists to Nick Markowski and Terry Whelan.) The Demons seemed to have the period well in hand when they took two back to back penalties, Kory Finn (holding) and Gerard Baldo (hook). This gave the Kings a five on three with less than two minutes to go. Steve Cullis made them pay wit two goals only 37 seconds apart, both on rebounds that gave Demons goalie Jamie Moran no chance. Ivan Laschenko and ex-Demon, Trevor Johnson, assisted on the first, and still on the power play, Laschenko set up Cullis for the second with 12 seconds left in the period. Demons, after showing mastery with speed and passing all period went to the dressing room a goal down. The two goals seemed to give Kings a lot more confidence and they played a better second period, never giving up – even after Ian Coleman (Blaine Markwart, Craig Hewitson) and Blaine Markwart (Craig Hewitson and Geoff Morgan,) a Midget player in his first Demons’ game – gave Kitimat the lead back. That lead didn’t last very long. As the Markwart goal was being announced, Trevor Johnson, a former Demon d-man, moved in from the Terrace point and put a Fred Mattersdorfer pass behind Moran, to again tie the game at 3-3. Persistent Terrace again recaptured the lead going into the third period on another Steve Cullis goal, assisted by Derek Jurista and Ryan Watson, but that was it for the Kings. Demons shortened its bench and skated hard for the win in the third, bombarding Walsh, who faced 18 shots in the first 15 minutes of the period alone, and letting in two goals. The first, at the 10 minute mark saw Scott McGregor, a hard-working Kitimat winger, get the tip of his stick on defenseman Mike Fisk’s blast from the point that found the net behind Walsh, to tie the game. Blaine Markwart took things into his own hands when he checked a Terrace forward hard off a puck that went to Ian Coleman who relayed to Brad Owen, who found Markwart again on his own in front of Walsh, who had no chance on the shot. That happened with just over seven minutes left in the final period. Kitimat then played a very workmanlike game to defend the lead with their speedy offense but there was no more scoring until the final minute, when, after a time out, Coach Doug Richey pulled Walsh from the goal for an extra attacker in the last minute. Kitimat coach Mike Steponavicius used the time out well and put out his strongest performing line of the night, in the outmanned situation in their own end. Off the first draw, Craig Hewitson missed a rink-long shot at the empty net, but made up for the icing by winning the draw in his own end to Gerard Baldo who relayed to Geoff Morgan, who put the puck up the middle ice for a streaking Blaine Markwart, who directed it gently into the empty net for the 6-4 win, with just 36 second left. It was a convincing win for the Demons, but they should take warning that with so many big players missing off the Kings’ lineup, it may not be so easy when the two teams meet for a home and home year end set, Dec. 28 (in Kitimat) and Dec. 30 (in Terrace). Demons used two new players in the Saturday game, Midget Geoff Morgan, who skated well and earned two assists and Chris Rinquinha, who didn’t fare as well, suffering a dislocated should in a hit on big Troy Farkvam and missed the remainder of the game. Demons’ next two games will be next weekend in Vanderhoof, where the event is being well advertised as the new Omenica Ice’s home debut against the Coy Cup champions. The Ice, with just two wins, saw their trip to the Houston Luckies, snowed out this weekend, has been bulking up and signing experienced players from all over the region. It should be quite a weekend pair of games and Demons will need their best players to be their best players.