BC survives rash of early penalties in WHL Cup win over Saskatchewan
BC 4 Saskatchewan 2
Nickolas Kovich and his Team BC mates know they dodged a bullet Wednesday night in the second game of the WHL Cup at the Peavey Mart Centrium.
The BC crew was assessed four penalties before the game was 11 minutes old and despite being under siege, killed all four and went on to post a 4-2 win over Team Saskatchewan in the tournament featuring the top 2008-born players in western Canada.
“We have to not take those penalties, it’s going to cost us against Alberta and Manitoba,” said Kovich, a fourth-round pick of the Red Deer Rebels in this year’s WHL Prospects Draft who signed with the team in September.
“That’s what we’ve been practising, both staying disciplined and the penalty kill. Saskatchewan came out flying but we kind of shut them down on the PK.”
Kovich, from Richmond BC, had a strong rookie camp with the Rebels this fall and inked a standard player agreement shortly after.
“I felt pretty good in camp, felt like I was kind of a standout guy,” he said. “There were a lot of good guys there, other standouts like Ethan Park.”
Two other ‘standouts’ in the Rebels’ rookie camp opposed Kovich and BC Wednesday, namely forward Beckett Hamilton, who scored once and was named Saskatchewan’s player of the game, and defenceman Jake Missura. Hamilton was Red Deer’s first round pick, 18th overall, this year and Missura was selected in the second round.
“There’s a lot of good talent in this tournament,” said Kovich, who included Hamilton and Missura in his assessment.
Kovich (pictured above) is hopeful that he will be a Rebels teammate with Hamilton and Missura as early as next year.
The six-foot-one, 170-pound forward is with the Delta Hockey Academy U18 Prep team this season and has scored two goals and collected four points in three games.
“I have to work on my positioning this season, bending my knees a bit more,” said Kovich. “I’ve been told I like to stand tall a lot.
“I should also work on having my stick on the ice more. I like to have it in the air so I have to work on that.”
Following a scoreless first period, Hamilton staked Saskatchewan to a 1-0 lead 6:10 into the middle frame, connecting on a two-on-one break with a rising shot from the inner edge of the right circle.
Lucas Benn (Kamloops Blazers draft pick from Cloverdale, BC) replied for BC just over four minutes later, and not even two minutes had passed when the eventual winners struck again, Liam Ruck potting his first of two goals on the evening on the power play.
Cohen Klassen (Regina Pats/Martensville, Sask.) tied the game early in the third period, scoring from a goalmouth scramble, but Kai Anderson (Vancouver Giants/North Vancouver) broke in alone and notched the winning goal at the 12:59 mark and Ruck (Medicine Hat Tigers/Osoyoos, BC) sealed the deal with an empty-net marker in the final minute.
Winning netminder Micah Davidson (Moose Jaw Warriors list/Kelowna) made 32 saves while Saskatchewan goalie Jackson Dunn of Regina blocked 21 shots.
Saskatchewan was zero-for five on the power play, BC one-for-three.
Alberta 4 Manitoba 2
Earlier in the day, Alberta got third-period goals from Jordan Duguay (Portland Winter Hawks/Edmonton) and Riley Boychuk (Prince Albert Raiders/Cochrane), into an empty net, in a 4-2 win over Manitoba.
Boychuk also assisted on Duguay’s goal and a marker off the stick of Cruz Pavao (Tri-City Americans/Calgary).
Zachary Lansard (Regina Pats/St. Anne, Man.) and Jaxon Jacobson (Brandon Wheat Kings/Brandon) replied for Manitoba, which got a 33-save performance from Dylan McFadyen (Wheat Kings/Winnipeg). Ryley Budd (Saskatoon Blades/Calgary) made 18 saves for Alberta.
The tournament resumes Thursday with BC meeting Manitoba at 4:15 p.m. and Saskatchewan facing off against Alberta at 7 p.m.
The WHL Cup will run through the weekend, with the semifinals scheduled for Saturday at 10:15 a.m. and 1 p.m., and the final set for Sunday at 1 p.m., preceded by the bronze medal game at 10:15 a.m.
