Muskeg Press

The crowd at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre arena was definitely on the side of the Williams Lake Stampeders, as they watched the team win against the Powell River Regals 6-4 Friday night. With every Stampeders goal, the crowd of about 220 people sounded like double that as they cheered for Williams Lake; when Powell River scored, however, you could’ve heard a kernel of popcorn hit the ground.

With the win, the Stampeders will face off tonight against the Kitimat Ice Demons; the two teams played for CIHL supremacy in the playoffs only a few weeks ago — Williams Lake won the title after the series went the distance.

In last night’s game, only one goal was scored in the first period, as the Stampeders’ Justin Foote scored on a setup from Curtis Gassoff and Brent McIsaac.

The second period was all Williams Lake, as they potted two more with goals from Jeff Gagnon and Gilbert Robbins. Even the Stampeders’ penalty kill was a well-oiled machine: Powell River was on a power-play halfway through the second frame, but the puck seemed to be in the Regals’ end for most of the penalty. Frustrated, the Regals took a penalty with 22 seconds left in their powerplay. A few minutes later, the Regals’ Rich Kellington cross-checked Stampeder Gilbert Robbins into the boards, and Williams Lake was on a two-man advantage. The Stampeders scored on the penalty, but it was called back due to a high-stick. At the end of two periods, it was 3-0 Williams Lake.

The Stampeders would score another as Aaron Zurak fired a slapshot from the blue line about three minutes into the final frame. From then until the mid-point of the third period, it looked like Williams Lake would cruise to the finals.

Then, eight-and-a-half minutes into the third period, Powell River started scoring. They netted three unanswered goals, and with about four-and-a-half minutes left in the game, the Stampeders’ lead had shrunk to 4-3 — Andy Welsh, Joe Caldarone and John Murgatroyd were the goal-scorers for the Regals.

With the shutout now transformed into just a one-goal lead, the crowd seemed to get a bit nervous as play went on. The tension was somewhat relieved by Paul Girodat scoring with about four minutes left, deking one past the goalie after a 3-on-0 rush, but Powell River’s Caldarone scored his second of the night with just over a minute left (a shorthanded goal), shrinking Williams Lake’s lead to one.

The score 5-4, with a face-off in the Stampeders’ end, the Regals pulled their goalie and sent an extra attacker into Williams Lake’s end. But the Stampeders battled out of their zone and to the Regals’ blue line and, with about 30 seconds remaining, Wilf Robbins sent the puck into the net from Powell River’s blueline, a welcome insurance goal to most of the people in the building. The game ended 6-4, Williams Lake going onto the finals, and Powell River going home.

Now, the stage is set for a re-match of the Central Interior Hockey League (CIHL) playoffs, as Williams Lake will take on Kitimat tonight at 7 p.m. at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre arena. Williams Lake won the CIHL playoffs, 2 games to 1, but Kitimat won over the Stampeders 3-0 in their first meeting of the Coy Cup tournament. Tonight, then, will be a rubber match of sorts.

~Written by Chris Armstrong

Even the return of Rob Millar couldn’t stop the Rampage season from ending Thursday night.

Instead, Williams Lake’s offence caught fire in a wild third period en route to the 8-6 victory at the Jim Ciccone Arena, eliminating the Coy Cup hosts from the tournament. Rupert wound up 0-3, while Williams Lake finished the round robin with a 2-1 record.

“They score goals,” said Rupert’s Brett Stava. “Going into that third period, we knew they score goals, but at the same time, we felt pretty good that we were going to go out and get the job done. But they got that quick one, and drove through a couple of our checks there,  and they scored on all of their chances.”

The key moment of the game came with just over five minutes remaining in the third period. Robin Gomez had just rung the puck off the cross-bar moments earlier, and Williams Lake went down the other way, with Paul Girodat sneaking his way behind the Rupert defensemen. Just as he prepared to deke around Movold, Brett Stava managed to get the hook on him, foiling the shot.

To the surprise of nearly everyone in the building, instead of Stava heading to the box for a two-minute minor, the referee in his best Mick McGeough impression pointed to centre ice. Penalty shot.

“At that point in the game, I did not expect a penalty shot,” said Girodat. “I was looking for a penalty, but hey, I’ll take what he’s going to give me.”

Stava added: “I think if I had taken another stride maybe, he was one-on-two and I was kind of back for support, but I think he was going to get through, and when he did, he was almost standing still. So maybe I could have made a play on the puck.

“But I didn’t think it was going to be a penalty shot.”

And Girodat, one of the Stampeders’ veterans, made no mistake, beating Movold cleanly on the backhand.

“I just wanted him to make the first move, and he made a mistake coming out too far, and I put it by him,” said Girodat.

But the back-breaker came 15 seconds later, as Wilfred Robbins banged home another shot to give Williams Lake their first lead of the contest.

To their credit, the Rampage refused to give up, and Gomez fired home a rebound with 2:38 remaining on the clock to even the score at 6-6 and giving fans one last glimmer of hope. That glimmer was nothing more than a crack in the sunlight, however, as 17 seconds later, Francis Johnson connected on a perfect pass to make the score 7-6. Rupert pulled its goalie in the final minute, and had several great chances to equalize, including two hard shots by Gomez, but no more pucks could get past Justin Foote. Williams Lake scored into the empty-net at the buzzer to make the final score 8-6.

“That team just does not give up,” said Girodat. “They won’t stop no matter what. They’re down a goal, they come right back, they’re down two minutes left, and they’re all over us. We were lucky to get by them.”

The game itself may have been the best Rampage fans have witnessed in the team’s three-year history, as the teams put on an offensive, high-speed hockey game, including a third period that left everyone breathless. Rupert actually led 4-2 after two periods of play, but it was fairly obvious that the Stampeders meant business as they began to hit their stride.

Girodat got things going barely two minutes into the period when he danced into the slot and fired a shot past Rupert’s Keith Movold. But the Stampeders love to play an open game, where they give up scoring chances in exchange for some of their own, and the Rampage had several glorious chances to put the game out of reach, including a clear-cut breakaway by Millar, who was robbed by Foote.

“It is a game of inches,” said Stava. “It doesn’t go in, the puck goes the other way, and you’re fishing it out.”

Gomez then managed to put his team up 5-3 before the wheels truly came off. “It’s really frustrating when you have a two-goal lead,” he said. “You really have to close out those games, but that’s hockey. A bounce here, a bounce there, and maybe it turns over for us.”

Rupert opened the game on fire, obviously inspired by the surprising return of Millar to the line-up. He was back on the top line with the two Stava brothers, and his presence was quickly noticed on the power play, as the Rampage opened the game with two power-play goals by John Hunt and Chris Brlecic.

“Any time you have the best player in the league added to your line-up it gets the guys going, and it spreads the lines out too,” said Stava.

However, the Stamps managed to get a goal with 18 seconds left in the period to narrow the gap to 2-1.

In the second period, Brett Stava finished off a perfect two-on-one set-up from his brother, and then Rupert successfully killed off a 5-on-3 disadvantage, which should have provided more momentum. Instead, the Stamps would then tally on a short-handed marker when Phil Simoles jumped on a crazy bounce off the back boards to beat Movold. Brett Stava added a late marker to make the score 4-2 heading into the final frame.

For Gomez, the homecoming was definitely memorable, even though the Rampage wasn’t able to survive the round robin. He carried his team in that final frame, doing all he could to try to will Rupert to the victory over the Stamps, but the Rampage just came up short.

“It was pretty enjoyable,” he said. “My parents are here, there were a ton of friends I haven’t played in front of before, and a lot of the guys on the team I went to high school with, so it was a great experience.”

Meanwhile, with the three-way tie for first between Kitimat, Powell River, and Williams Lake, the outcome means that Kitimat gets the bye into Saturday’s final, despite losing earlier in the day to Powell River 5-3. Because of the three-way tie, goals-differential becomes the tiebreak, and Kitimat had the best mark at nine goals for, and seven against.

Strangely enough, the Ice Demons, who barely 10 days ago lost the CIHL championship to Williams Lake, made it rather obvious who they were cheering for in the third stanza, and in fact some players offered the Stamps congratulatory hand-shakes as they came off the ice.

And yet, these two teams easily could meet again in Saturday’s final. Girodat smiled, when asked if he would like the irony of beating the team in the Coy Cup final that cheered for them on Thursday.

“I can’t wait,” he said.

First off though, the Stamps will take on Powell River at 7 p.m. tonight, with the winner moving on to face Kitimat Saturday, also at 7 p.m.

~Written by Patrick Witwicki

The Prince Rupert Rampage must win when they play the Williams Lake Stampeders tonight if they hope to advance to the Coy Cup semi-finals.

In last night’s action, the Rampage lost 3-2 to the Kitimat Ice Demons, putting Kitimat at the top of the round-robin standings and Rupert at the bottom – Kitimat has won both their games, and Rupert has gone winless in the tournament.

With four teams in the tournament, only the top three will advance to the finals. Second and third place will play in the semi-finals Friday night, and the winner of that game will face the first-place team.

With the win, Kitimat is guaranteed a spot in at least the semi-finals; if they win against Powell River tonight, they will get a bye to the finals on Saturday.

Rupert plays Williams Lake tonight at 8:15 p.m. The Stampeders go into the game with a 1-1 record in the tournament, so, if Rupert wins, the two teams will have the same record and it will be up to the goal-differential gods to decide who goes into the semi-finals Friday night. In the other game, Kitimat and Powell River play – if the Regals beat the Ice Demons, then they will each have a 2-1 record.

In the end, there are too many possible outcomes to really figure out who will be in the finals over the weekend. The only thing that seems certain is that Kitimat will be advancing.

Last night’s game was a tight game, but Kitimat always seemed to have the edge. The two teams split a goal apiece in the first five minutes of the game, with Daniel Mayer scoring for Kitimat, and Brett Stava finding the net for the Rampage.

Rupert slowed in the second frame, managing only four shots on goal against Kitimat’s 13. A wrister from the hash marks by Blaine Markwart made it 2-1 Kitimat after the second period, and, aside from a few penalties on either side, the game slowed down towards the end of the period.

Just over six minutes into the third period, Travis Helland took a questionable interference penalty, and Kitimat’s Jeff Mildenberger capitalized, scoring 37 seconds later in a scramble at the net, putting the Ice Demons up 3-1. With about seven minutes left, Robin Gomez scored a one-timer from the doorstep to put the Rampage within one (that goal is pictured above).

The intensity level rose after Gomez’s goal, and the Rampage pressed hard against the Ice Demons for the remainder of the period. They also got the gift of a power play with three minutes left in the game, and although they had some good chances in Kitimat’s end, they also faced a bit of bad luck: play was stopped and brought outside the zone on a puck brought down by a high stick, and again a few minutes later on an icing call, the puck chipped into the Kitimat zone just behind the centre-line.

In the end, Kitimat beat the Rampage 3-2, outshooting their opponents 34-15.

In the earlier game, a sparse crowd watched the Williams Lake Stampeders defeat the Powell River Regals 4-1 in a game that was tighter than it appeared on the score sheet. Powell River struck first, as Jordy Smith scored on a set-up from Keegan Young and Tyson Boucher. Just over a minute later, the Stampeders’ Jeff Gagnon scored with an assist from Curtis Gassoff.

There wouldn’t be another goal until 13 minutes into the second period, when Wilf Robbins scored with help from Francis Johnson and Robin Gilbert.

While that goal ended up being the game-winner, Glen Camille and Gilbert scored one each in the third period as insurance. Final score, 4-1 Stampeders, who also out-shot the Regals 29-23.

The stage is now set for a Rampage vs. Stampeders game tonight at 8:15 p.m., where Prince Rupert will be fighting for survival. Powell River and Kitimat face off in the early game, which starts at 5 p.m.

~Written by Chris Armstrong

Rupertites could be excused for thinking they were actually at Oliver Lake, getting ready to watch some pond hockey Tuesday night.

After all, players, volunteers, and coaches alike were out on the Jim Ciccone Arena ice surface with shovels, clearing the snow, just like people have been doing the past week out at Oliver Lake during the latest cold snap on the North Coast. The Zamboni had broken down, the game had already been delayed 30 minutes, and both Powell River and Prince Rupert were preparing for what looked like would be a rugged, sluggish third period.

But just as the two teams were about to take the ice, the Zamboni came on to the ice, and the home faithful gave the hulking piece of machinery a standing ovation. For Rupert, that would be the last loud cheer of the night, as the Rampage went on to fall 5-3 in their opening game of the 2011 Coy Cup.

“We’re pretty easy-going,” said Powell River coach Tod English. “We could’ve played on that bad ice, or if they wanted to call the game, we’re okay.”

Rupert’s captain Colt Stava added: “It was a long break. I just wanted to get going, and said let’s go play. So it was a bit of a wait, but we actually took it to them in the third period.”

That said, Powell River was probably worshipping the Zamboni gods, as the clean ice surface played a huge role in the game-winning goal. After Powell River’s Keegan Young had tallied to make it 3-2, and Rupert carrying the play, the Regals were able to send a stretch pass out of their own end to a streaking Andy Welsh who had slipped in behind the Rupert defence. He beat Keith Movold with a cheeky deke, and gave his team the huge advantage.

“That was a big goal,” said English. “That’s one of our key lines, and they know where to be in the breakaway situations.”

The Rampage did respond when Brett Stava tapped home a perfect set-up from Colt on a two-man advantage with under five minutes to play, but when Rupert pulled their goalie, Powell River managed to bang the puck home from their own end to clinch the victory.

The Rampage had several great scoring chances throughout the third period, including one where Tom Jackson’s shot nearly squeaked through, and Robin Gomez ringing a shot off the crossbar – a howitzer that some fans at that end of the arena thought went into the net.

“We had a few bad breaks,” said Colt Stava. “And I think we hit five posts tonight.”

All night long, Powell River had been trying the stretch pass, but Rupert did a good job sealing off the lanes, keeping the Regals from getting their speed game on-track. That is, until the game-winning goal.

“That was a tough one to swallow,” said Stava. “But we knew we had to watch for that.”

There was a buzz in the air when the game began. Not only was the Coy Cup tournament underway, Prince Rupert’s Robin Gomez had returned home to play for his town for the first time in 15 years. And his presence was instantly felt, as he threw a bodycheck, took a penalty, and then scored a Rob Millar-like goal, sniping it top shelf to give his team a 1-0 lead just six minutes into the game. Then, Dylan Lawrence made it to 2-0 for Rupert, and the home team led 2-0 after one stanza.

“Bus legs,” said English. “We travelled all day, with three planes, a ferry and a bus, so we had quite the jaunt, so the first period was a bit of a dog’s breakfast.”

But the second period was a different story. Powell River began to get chances, and four seconds into a power play, Tyson Boucher scored on a slap shot. Just 46 seconds later, John Murgatroyd banged home a loose rebound to tie the game at 2-2 heading into the third period.

“I thought we had a good ending to the second period,” said English.

Rupert actually out-shot Powell River 32-25 on the night.

In the earlier game, Kitimat shut-out Williams Lake 3-0.

Rupert takes on Kitimat tonight at 8:15 p.m., while Powell River will suit up against Williams Lake at 5 p.m.

~Written by Patrick Witwicki

In more ways than one, the 2011 Coy Cup will be memorable for Prince Rupert.

True, the Rampage, the CIHL’s newest entry, is getting to host the provincial tournament in only its third year of existence, having just completed their most successful season in history, going 11-5 and winning a round versus Hazelton, before falling 2-1 to the Kitimat Ice Demons.

And for Rupert, it’s the first time Kaien Island has hosted the Coy Cup since 1978, when at that time, the Prince Rupert Kings came an overtime goal away from advancing to the nationals at the hands of the Prince George Mohawks, who actually won the Hardy Cup (national title) that season.

But there’s even one more surprise in store: the most successful born-and-raised Rupert hockey player is returning home for the first time in 15 years to suit up for the Rampage.

Robin Gomez, who just wrapped up his first season as head coach of the Saanich Braves in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (Jr. B), is expected to arrive in Rupert on Sunday, and his size and strength will be a welcome addition to a Rampage team, based on size comparisons to other CIHL teams, is a little on the smaller side.

Joining Rupert at the Coy Cup, which begins Tuesday March 8 at the Jim Ciccone Arena, are CIHL champions Williams Lake, Kitimat, and Powell River, the defending Coy Cup champions.

Success at the tournament for Rupert won’t be easy, said coach Frank Pyde, as all three visiting teams play a similar fast-paced style, where turnovers can quickly wind up as goals.

“You can’t give them time to make a pass,” he said. “But we’re sort of the rookie here. All three of those teams have been to the Coy Cup, and have won it.”

Rupert is very familiar with Kitimat, since they’ve now faced the Ice Demons seven times this season, winning four, but lost the last two that allowed the Ice Demons to advance to the CIHL finals against Williams Lake.

“It was a little bit of a let-down losing to Kitimat,” said Stava. “Hopefully that was an anomaly.”

The Rampage also had the chance to get a look at Williams Lake, who play a style that can only be summed up one way: firewagon hockey.

“They’re the most talented team we’ve played,” said Stava. “They’re a pretty team to watch.”

Pyde added: “They play a fast game, and all four lines are quick.”

Powell River, then, is the wild-card. Rupert isn’t sure what to expect from the defending Coy Cup champs, but by all accounts, their style is similar to that of the Stampeders.

“Dylan (Lawrence) is from Campbell River, so he sort of knows what they are like,” said Stava. “And he says they have some real good players. So it’s nice to get them right off the ferry (Tuesday night).”

The interesting sub-plot to this story is the history that Gomez is bringing with him to Rupert. On one hand, he is the only born-and-raised Rupert hockey player to ever suit up in an NHL game – three, in fact, with the Washington Capitals in 2005 after the lock-out. Granted, it was three exhibition games, and after that, Gomez spent most of the rest of his hockey career in the East Coast Hockey League, two levels down from the NHL, but even Stava still talks about Gomez’s claim-to-fame – his dust-up with NHLer Rob Ray, which is still a popular viewing on YouTube. So one could consider Gomez’s return as a hero finally coming home.

But if Rupert fans are looking forward to some legendary duking-it-out during the Coy Cup, Pyde is quick to shake his head.

“We’re not looking for him to be doing that,” he said. “If you scrap, you’re gone for the next game. But he’s not going to be afraid to go to the net.”

For the first time since he was a young kid, Gomez didn’t lace up the skates this season; instead, he was busy with his role as coach of the rebuilding Saanich Braves. And while the regular season record wasn’t great, as the team only managed 15 wins, the team came together at the end, winning six of seven games heading into the playoffs, and then they gave the Comox Glacier Kings the scare of their lives in the first round, taking the series the distance, before falling 2-0 in the decisive game 5.

“We had OT in Game 4 to win the series, but couldn’t get it done,” said Gomez. “And Comox was only two points out of first place, and we gave them a good fight.”

If Saanich had managed to win that series, then Gomez coming up to Rupert for the Coy Cup would have been a moot point. Instead, the outcome has helped bring together a very interesting homecoming for a local hockey player.

After all, he left minor hockey at age 14 to go play hockey at Notre Dame in Saskatchewan, and then played four years in the Western Hockey League. And he went on to have a good professional hockey career, even though the majority of it was spent in the ECHL with the South Carolina Stingrays.

But the hometown favourite’s reputation took a bit of a hit during the 2007-08 hockey season, when he signed with the Victoria Salmon Kings of the ECHL so he could play hockey closer to home. A line brawl that went horribly wrong ended up with Gomez allegedly sucker-punching a Las Vegas player who was taunting the Victoria bench, and Gomez was initially charged with assault.

However, in July 2009, a Victoria judge cleared Gomez with a non-guilty verdict, leading to the scenario a year later where Gomez was successfully chosen as coach for Saanich. And there has been some discussion online leading up to the Coy Cup, as other teams in the CIHL may be raising their eyebrows at the decision to include Gomez.

But every team in the Coy Cup is allowed to keep one or two roster spots open for provincial purposes, and with the tournament in Rupert, the Rampage wanted to bring one of their own heroes home. With size as part of the equation, that decision led to Gomez.

“It was maybe a joke two months ago,” said Gomez. “But then it came together, and I’m looking forward to going up there and playing in front of my friends.”

One would think that Gomez’s hockey experience would be a huge asset for Rupert, but Gomez was rather frank in saying that he’s actually nervous about playing in front of the Rupert faithful, even though he has played in front of NHL arenas.

“I’m nervous right now just talking to you,” he said. “I haven’t played there in 15 years, and I want to do well and help the team win. I’m expecting quite a bit out of myself for the tournament, but then again, I haven’t played in a year.”

But the reaction from the team in Rupert is that both Gomez’s experience and size up-front will certainly help their cause.

“He’s not going to be afraid to go to the net and muck it up in the corners,” said Pyde. “And that’s what we need.”

Still, the biggest worry for Rupert might be on the score-sheet, as at press-time, it’s still unclear whether CIHL regular-season scoring title winner Rob Millar will be cleared to play, as he continues to recover from a concussion.

“You don’t want to risk your health for a hockey game,” said Stava.

Instead, success at the Coy Cup may be rather simple: goaltending. After all, Williams Lake has the reigning 2010 MVP in net, Justin Foote, who also just happened to kick out 60 shots in their decisive win over Smithers back in round two.

“He might be the best goalie in the league,” said Pyde.

But Stava thinks the Rampage’s goaltending is just fine too, thank you, and it’s likely Keith Movold and company will be counted on to steal at least one game or two.

Plus, Rupert has the most important factor of all in their favour: the home crowd. The team didn’t lose a home game all year until that playoff implosion against Kitimat, and Stava expects the building on McBride to be roaring.

“Our hometown advantage is huge,” said Stava. “We’ll have our crowd, and it will be great.”

And with it, the added bonus too: Gomez, coming home.

“I’ve played in some pretty big games in my career, but this will be pretty fun,” said Gomez. “I’m really excited to play in Rupert.”

Rupert will play every night at 8:15 p.m., starting with their contest March 8 versus Powell River. The first place team from the round robin then gets a bye into Saturday’s final on March 12, while second faces third Friday night, also at 8:15 p.m.

~Written by Patrick Witwicki