FTLComm - Kinistino - December 18, 1999

It was time for the Ramblers to play another visit to the home of the Kinistino Tigers Friday night. These two teams have had some great games this year with Tisdale having lost in overtime once and the last meeting in Tisdale, the Ramblers had solid control of the game. With a good home town crowd on hand the first period saw two goals mid way through with Neil Elmslie getting the first at 14:05 assisted by Scott Homstol and Chad Olson.

At 9:23 left in the first period Jordan Spagrud put one in from a pass from Chad Olson. I was on hand as the second period began and clearly the Tigers were confused. The Ramblers are the number one team in the Pasquia league and the main reason they are is that they skate. Sounding a bit like Howie Meeker, hockey is a face moving game played on a smooth ice surface and to play that game well a team has to master the art of skating and keep possession of that moving puck. That is precisely what the Ramblers were doing, they were skating hard and making the passes while the Tigers were lost in a jungle some where.

The experienced players on the Ramblers team are among the best skaters in the league and every moment they are on the ice they are at full speed. Neil Elmslie (on the right) had the puck in the net thirty-two seconds after it was dropped to start the second period when for the second time in the game he had capitalised on passes from Scott Homstol and Chad Olson. A minute later Olson standing if front of the net accepted a pass from Jordan Spagrud and Ryan Turcott who had worked the puck down the ice and the Tigers were down 4 - 0. Meanwhile the sleeping Tigers discovered that it was time to wake up and for the next three minutes of play we

had some end to end action. When you play a team like the Ramblers where the young fast skating rookies have to bust themselves to keep up to the veterans you have two choices, skate as hard as them or check them. The Tigers decided to go with the checking and slowed down the Ramblers for almost five minutes. It really worked and Jon Hamlin was hard pressed for the middle of the second period by the Tigers turning away 34 shots for a shut out. At the other end of the rink Dionne Bacon was releaved mid way through the second and TJ Lasiuk was able to hold the Ramblers

to a single goal in the third making the score 5 to 0. Below are the Ramblers third and fourth goals.

The only fight of the game occured mid way through the second when Jim Fufonoff brought Sean Beaulieau down behind the net and both came up off the ice swinging ending their game prematurely. Pasquia League Senior hockey is exciting stuff with good fast action and all the teams in the league are evenly matched. Tonight Nipawin is at Mistatim and tomorrow night Kinistino is in Birch Hills, and Hudson Bay will be here in Tisdale. But no hockey game is complete without a stop at the counter and this is the concession in Kinistino where you can come away with coffee and "Zesty Nachos". Mexican food at a hockey game seems like a natural. For more information on the Pasquia league check out their web site where score sheets from all games are posted.