Another Kootenay Ice training camp is in the books following the conclusion of the annual Black/White intrasquad game on Wednesday evening.
In a departure from years past, the Ice headed up the highway to Kimberley to play in front of fans at the Civic Centre, a smaller arena that is home to the Kimberley Dynamiters of the KIJHL.
Team White ended up with the win by an 8-6 score, jumping out to an early lead before allowing Team Black to make up the deficit and tie the game in the third period. However, Team White held on to the win in the end, with returning veteran Barrett Sheen tallying the game winner.
The game is typically billed with a dual purpose; a showcase for the club’s talented young prospects as well as another game-situation evaluation event for coaches and management before roster cuts.
Indeed, the whole day — from video sessions in the morning to dressing room setup to the national anthem before puck drop — was planned as if it was a regular-season game day, according to Ice head coach James Patrick.
“We wanted today to be like a game experience with morning skate, with video, having their dressing room set up like it would be in a game, the national anthem, penalties called, real referees and a really good-sized, fun crowd,” Patrick said. “I’ve heard some small rinks, Kimberley and Fernie are a great atmosphere at the Jr. B level, so it was a great experience for the young guys.”
And the prospects and vets certainly delivered for the Kimberley crowd, racking up 14 goals as Team White pulled ahead in the third frame to earn the 8-6 win.
It was a rookie who scored the opening goal, as James Form put Team White on the board first, before Jordan
Chudley evened up the score a few minutes later.
Veterans Tanner Sidaway took advantage of a lively bounce from the backboards, and Vince Loschiavo exploded a water bottle on the top of the net off a snapshot to give Team White a 3-1 lead after 20.
Less than a minute into the middle frame, Ethan Strang came on for Team Black, with back-to-back goals to knot the game up at 3-3.
However, Team White came back as veteran Colton Kroeker scored off as scramble in front. Michael Araki-Young got a lucky goal, centring a hard pass from the corner that deflected off a skate and in to put Team White up 5-3.
Heading into the final frame, Sheen padded Team White’s lead, walking in from the corner and slipping a low shot into the net. But Jordan Henderson, acquired in a trade with the Medicine Hat Tigers in the offseason, blasted a slap shot from the point on the powerplay to bring the score to 6-4.
Team Black then struck twice within 24 seconds to tie up the game, first from Keenan Taphorn, followed by Cameron Hausinger, another Kootenay off-season acquisition.
Sheen broke the deadlock on a breakaway, picking the top left corner after chasing down a puck, and Nolan Orzeck shovelled in a loose rebound in the crease to round out the scoring.
Patrick said he was pleased with what he saw from his players.
“I thought the effort level was really good,” he said. “We’d gone over some system stuff, we showed some video today and I thought they tried to do a lot of the things we started to talk about — face-off pursuits and even some defensive zone looks, so I thought that was good to see.”
He singled out veterans Brett Davis and Vince Loschiavo and praised some of the younger players including Nolan Orzeck, Jake Sanderson and Zachary Patrick.
“They’ve had great camps and they have a lot of real upside, those three in their future, so it’ll be exciting to watch,” Patrick said.
Davis, a sixth round draft pick by the Dallas Stars this summer, said everyone is focused on making an impression on the new coaches and management, including the young prospects.
“I was super impressed by the young guys,” Davis said. “A lot of skill out there, they can make plays under pressure, which is pretty hard to do playing against players who have been in the league for two, there, four years now.”
Now, it’ll be up to Patrick, his coaching staff and the rest of the hockey operations department to start determining the regular-season roster.
And it’s not going to be easy.
“I know [Ice GM] Matt [Cockell] has been around this league a long time and you’re looking at 16-,17-,18-, and 19-year-olds and where they stand, where they fit and what they’re development will be — that’s going to go into these decisions,” Patrick said.
“But it’s still going to be tough. I know there will be a couple guys going home who had really good camps.”
