The Estevan Power Dodge bantam A Chargers took a 1-0 first round playoff series lead on the Swift Current Colts at the Civic Auditorium on Sunday with a back-and-forth 8-4 win that showcased classic fire-wagon hockey.
After each team warmed up in a tight checking opening period that saw Estevan’s Marci LeBlanc and Swift Current’s Brynne Doerksen find the back of the net, the play opened up markedly in the second.
“We hadn’t been on the ice in a week,” said Chargers coach Rob Klassen. “We took last week off and I think that showed a bit. We were a bit rusty, a bit slower and come second period, the girls, their legs were going again. They knocked the rust off and I think that was the difference.”
The Chargers’ Ireland Biette netted both of her goals in the middle frame, with the first coming at the 14:04 mark off a nice cross-slot feed from Kenzie Balon and the second happening on a drive to the net with 26 seconds remaining to give Estevan a 3-1 lead heading into the third.
Balon made it 4-1 Estevan on the powerplay 4:49 into the third before Swift Current’s Jannae Carlson scored the first of her two in a span of five minutes at the 12:54 mark. LeBlanc and Balon scored two more before the period was 13 minutes old to put the Chargers up 6-3, but the Colts replied back shortly after on a goal by Jenny Hope. To complete the wild finish, Estevan forwards Brittney Klassen and Balon each potted another to make the 8-4 final. Chargers goaltender Myah Battersby earned the win in net, while Allison Wall took the loss.
Klassen said their first South Sask Female Hockey League (SSFHL) playoff win came down to skating hard and capitalizing on their opportunities. He said they’ve seen the Colts three times this season in league play, winning at home Jan. 30 after splitting a two-game trip to Swift Current Nov. 7 and 8, and that has allowed them to understand how they break out, what their weaknesses are and how to expose them, but that doesn’t make the series any easier to win.
“We’re two close teams,” said Klassen, noting they finished in fourth place in the SSFHL this season with a 12-11-1 record while Swift Current finished fifth with a 9-13-2 mark. “We’ve got a bit more firepower, scoring power than they have, but they work hard and they don’t quit which is how we play as well. It should be a good series. We’ve been tight most of the year in the three games we’ve played with them, so I’m expecting the same.”
Game two in the best-of-three series goes Friday in Swift Current, with both teams facing off at the Lignite Miners Centre on Saturday if a third game is needed.
