Michael King was crowned as the opening goal-scorer to cause a hailstorm of stuffies at Western Financial Place, leading the Kootenay Ice to a 5-1 win over the Calgary Hitmen on Teddy Bear Toss night.
Just before the halfway mark of the first period, King took advantage of a loose puck at the side of the net, banging home a rebound that caused the bears to fly.
“It was awesome, especially to get it early, it got the boys rolling and we went and got a couple goals after that, which was nice,” said King. “It was good to see all the teddy bears come down.”
The Ice scored by committee over the rest of the game, as four others lit the lamp in the final home game before the WHL schedule breaks before the Christmas holiday season.
Cameron Hausinger, Dallas Hines, Sebastian Streu and Petyon Krebs chipped in for the offence, while Colton Veloso tallied three helpers and Zachary Patrick earned a pair of apples.
“I think we got four great lines, we can all put the puck in the net,” said Veloso. “Anytime you have four lines that can do that, it’s a good thing.”
Goaltender Duncan McGovern was tapped for the start between the pipes, giving up only one goal in 25 shots.
King’s rebound goal got the offence rolling for the Ice early in the game.
Hausinger doubled the lead with a tap in a few minutes later, while Hines launched a rocket from the offensive zone blue line for a 3-0 lead after the first period.
“Obviously, I really liked the first period, but after that, I felt we were out chanced,” said Ice head coach James Patrick. “For young guys, it’s hard for them to play with a 5-0 lead because everyone wants to get their points and everyone starts cheating on the offensive side.
“I thought we were fortunate that we got a jump on them, they had their bus legs, and I thought that was a big key to the game, but we can’t play the way we played the last two periods and we won’t be successful moving forward playing that way.”
While Kootenay scored twice in the second period, they were outshot for the rest of the game.
However, the Ice kept finding the back of the net, as Streu tipped in a slick cross-ice feed from Krebs while driving to the net, while Krebs himself scored off a snipe from the slot 36 seconds later.
Krebs’ goal chased Calgary netminder Nick Schneider from the crease, as Matthew Armitage took over goaltending duties, making five saves over the rest of the night.
Calgary got themselves on the board late in the frame on a powerplay, as Mark Kastelic buried a loose puck on the powerplay, however, that would be the only scoring from the Hitmen.
Kootenay will close out the first half of their season with a rematch in Cowtown for an afternoon matinee on Sunday.
