The beginning of spring also ushered in the last day of the season for the Kindersley Klippers as their 25th year ended in a 3-2 game loss to the Estevan Bruins, a tough team that swept the Klippers 4-0 in the SJHL quarter-finals.
The Klippers put up a good fight for the Bruins during their playoff series, pulling the scoreboard tight in a 3-1 game for game one and even tighter for game two at 3-2. Games three and four, played at the West Central Events Centre, were true nail-biters as the Klippers performed on their own ice, and the Bruins pushed in to keep their 2-0 series advantage.
Game three found the Klippers a little winded as the travel-fresh Bruins controlled the ice, ending in a 5-0 shutout game. Knowing the game was a true do-or-die situation, the Klippers lit onto the ice with fervor, checking the Bruins advancement until the scoreboard stalled 3-2 for the Bruins. A penalty shot and a fistfight or two later the bell sounded with the scoreboard still locked in the Bruins favor.
Bruises forming and chests heaving with exertion, the teams lined up to shake hands at the end of the series. In a moment heavy with emotion, Klippers’ players Brody Ryberg, Cole Plotnikoff, Curtis Peck, Keillan Olson, Nik Malenica, and Tanner Thompson skated off the ice for the last time as junior hockey players.
The Klippers ended in 10th position in the playoffs, but the short session in the playoffs will not be without its fruit as many players will be able to use the valuable experience for the upcoming 2018-2019 hockey season.
For the latest information and for more updates on everything Kindersley ‘Like’ the Kindersley Social Facebook page below…
