Huskies versus Slave Lake game 2

Game 2 was a heck of a lot of fun for us to broadcast.

The Wolves again came out flying in their home barn and they played out of the skins. The were hitting everything that moved and using some hometown reffing to their advantage. Tyson Price scored twice in the first and after 20 minutes the Huskies were down 2. The strong play in the Slave Lake goal continued and there was more to come. Travis Chartier does not look like your typical goalie but he was excellent all weekend. The Huskies were sparked by the second line with Steve Fast playing with Cam McKinnon and Cody Hildebrand after Jason Arnouse was kicked out early in the game after a charging call that he apparently questioned, he then got a 10 minute misconduct penalty (apparently he asked what the call was) and was tossed for losing it after that.

*Rant Alert* If that is truly what Arnouse said to the stripes then I can understand him losing it a little. It gets really old to watch the referees in this league not allow players to question calls. It smacks of a lack of confidence and these are young kids who will occasionally allow their emotions to get the best of them. Have some thicker skin. You only have to ask the Whitecourt Wolverines about this. They had a guy kicked out of the game when they were playing in FSJ that was suspect at best. Here is a quick memo for the stripes. No one cares about you, no one is there to see you play, no one is interested in you and no one wants to see you deciding games so figure it out. *Rant Over*

Anyway, Hildebrand scored a couple of goals going to the front of the net after joining that second line and the Huskies eventually took a lead when Wongstedt popped up at the front of the net and found a lose puck in a scramble to give the pups the 4 - 3 lead. Slave Lake tied the game though when Kyle Pichette scored his second of the game and we were headed to overtime.

How Cam McKinnon missed a basically empty net in OT is beyond me. The puck looked like it rolled on him and he kind of scooped it over but give him that chance another hundred times and he scores 99 of them. Then Chartier made a spectacular glove save stealing one from Dan Pappin. That was the turning point. The game should have been over. Linden Apsassin was on the ice and had maybe the best view of anyone not named Pappin and his expression said it all. I could read his lips. Here it is Linden Apsassin after Chartier robbed Pappin, "WOW." That says it all. Wow. Slave Lake had Tyson Price on a breakaway that he fired wide and the Huskies killed a PP late in the first overtime so we were off to double overtime. So much fun but when you are getting on a bus for a 4 hour ride back to FSJ after the game you start to notice how late it is getting. Only during the intermission though because the play on the ice was great. A great pace to play considering the boys had played the night before and the physical play continued in overtime.

Jon and I predicted who we thought would win the game so I went off the board and picked Lovelace and Spence a guy who doesn't score a ton and a D man. Zacks went Steve Fast and Tyson Price I believe. He went way out on a limb with those two. Turns out I was closer. The winner was scored by a fourth liner who had played no more than 5 or 6 shifts all game. Tyler Couch found the puck on his stick behind the ride line so he threw it towards the net. Never a bad play and it worked as Zack Blain was trying to get to his post but was a little late and the puck hit his skate and trickled into the net.

Series tied at one each and Slave Lake players celebrating like it was 1999. What a game.

Game 3 will be Friday we believe at the NPA. The Huskies will win this series. If they get Smith, Brinkworth and Norris back in the lineup it shouldn't be close but credit to the Wolves for giving it their all in game 2 and deserving the win. It was their first over the Huskies all year.