November 23, 2011 at 1:13 p.m.
Shorthanded Ice Wolves Bantams top Stoughton
The Ice Wolves have a smaller than average team, with only nine skaters and a goalie. Ideally in hockey you have at least ten skaters so that you can make a line change and give all five skaters on the ice a break, but the Ice Wolves get by just fine with nine skaters. During their first game of the season they played with only eight and were victorious. For the Stoughton game, two of the players elected to go deer hunting rather than play with their team, leaving only seven skaters. The bulk of the extra work fell to Kayne Lincicum and Caleb Chappell who played defense all by themselves the entire game. The stamina and poise that they displayed during this heroic accomplishment is beyond description.
The Vikings were the first to score in the game when they blasted a shot over the shoulder of Ice Wolves' goaltender Jake Cipri with just less than ten minutes remaining in the first period. Unfortunately for the Vikings, it would be the only time they fooled Cipri. The rest of the game he was unbeatable. So far early in the season, Cipri has raised the bar in each subsequent game and is starting to play at mid-season form.
The Vikings would keep their lead until only six minutes remained in the second period. At that point, despite not having had a single break the entire game, Kayne Lincicum found the energy to single handedly dominate the game. He took the puck deep in the Ice Wolves zone and skated it the length of the ice. After weaving through, around, and over the entire Vikings team, he slipped the puck right passed their goalie and the game was tied. Once the game was tied, the Ice Wolves seemed to find a new reserve of energy.
While the two defenseman had themselves a spectacular game, the forwards made their coaches extremely proud as well with what was their most complete game in recent memory. Generally speaking the forwards have to skate more during the game and can get pretty worn down. Playing shorthanded, the forward squad of Evan Rusch, Josh Berg, Brock Nolden, Mike MacKinnon, and Zachary Campbell did not have the luxury of getting a shift change every time they got on the ice as they normally would, so their conditioning was put to the test.
As a result of their ever improving passing, the Ice Wolves found themselves with numerous scoring opportunities. However, despite having outplayed the Vikings for most of the game, the offense did not get a goal until the third period. With the game tied at 1-1 entering the third period, the Ice Wolves put the game away with three third period goals. Zachary Campbell, Josh Berg, and Evan Rusch all tallied, with Rusch (2), Campbell, and Chappell all earning assists as well.
While not getting a goal or assist, Mike MacKinnon and Brock Nolden were an integral part of the offense and both stood out for their tenacity in keeping the puck in the Vikings zone. Final Score: Ice Wolves - 4 Vikings - 1.
The Ice Wolves will travel to Middleton to take on the Wings for their next game on November 27th. The Ice Wolves season record now stands at 3-0.
