The Fort St. John Flyers, after being stifled for most of the second and third periods last night, dug deep and scored three quick goals in the last 10 minutes to win Game Two of the series against the Grande Prairie Athletics and even it up at 1-1.
The Flyers broke out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first, but the Athletics tied it up before the intermission, and really controlled the game until the second half of the third.
"We started out really good and set the tone. They adapted and carried it through and we stopped moving. At the end of the day, it was our perseverance in the third period that did it," said Flyers Coach Andrew Leriger.
Flyers assistant captain Adam Horst was the star of the game, as he had a hat trick and five points in total. However, he pointed to the team finally having a full bench of 20 players and consistent effort from the third and fourth lines that was the difference tonight.
"All four lines did what they needed to do. The third and fourth are important lines and having them going like that is a huge part of being successful in the playoffs," said Horst.
One area the Flyers do need to improve on is the powerplay. They failed to score on seven tries in the first game, and only scored once in nine tries in Game Two, although that goal came against an empty net at the end of the game.
"We’ve been fighting it. We’re going to get our opportunities, they are a very undisciplined team. We need to have a consistent bench and have the same guys showing up every night," Leriger said.
Game Three is Saturday, Feb. 9 in Grande Prairie at 8:30 p.m.
Grande Prairie Athletics at Fort St. John Flyers
Thursday, February 7, 2019, 8:30 p.m., North Peace Arena, Fort St. John
1st Period
Scoring — Fort St. John, Adam Horst (Lien Miller-Jeannotte, Ryan Carter) 3:47; Fort St. John, Rick Cleaver (Tanner LeSann) 6:24; Grande Prairie, Parker Sharp (Tyrell Mason, Andrew Buote) 7:57; Grande Prairie, Dennis Rix (Parker Sharp) powerplay, 13:07.
Penalties — Fort St. John, Rylan Sideroff (hooking, 2 min.) 11:26; Grande Prairie, Mark Stojan (slashing, unsportsmanlike, 2 min.) 16:33.
2nd Period
Scoring — Grande Prairie, Lyndin Lewis (Tanner Labbe) powerplay, 10:44.
Penalties — Grande Prairie, Morgan MacLean (cross-checking, 2 min.) 2:24; Grande Prairie, Tyrell Mason (tripping, 2 min.) 4:49; Fort St. John, Brandon Pfeil (hooking, 2 min.) 7:54; Fort St. John, Jeff Shipton (tripping, 2 min.) 9:51; Grande Prairie, Paul Larocque (hooking, 2 min.) 13:15; Grande Prairie, Blake Clement (roughing, 2 min.) 13:48; Fort St. John, Jeff Shipton (roughing, 2 min.) 13:48; Grande Prairie, Mark Stojan (charging, 2 min.) 17:22; Grande Prairie, Braden Crone (roughing, 2 min.) 17:22; Fort St. John, Joey Massingham (roughing, 2 min.) 17:22; Grande Prairie, Alex Curran (slashing, 2 min.) 18:52.
3rd Period
Scoring — Fort St. John, Ryan Carter (Justin Fillion, Adam Horst) 9:18; Fort St. John, Adam Horst (Jeff Shipton) 9:29; Fort St. John, Jaxon Glass (Adam Horst) 12:42; Fort St. John, Adam Horst (Ryan Carter, Ryan Forbes) powerplay, empty net, 18:59.
Penalties — Fort St. John, Jaxon Glass (slashing, 2 min.) 10:34; Grande Prairie, Blake Clement (slashing, 2 min.) 14:45; Fort St. John, Justin Fillion (holding, 2 min.) 15:58; Grande Prairie, Lyndin Lewis (interference, 2 min.) 18:04.
Goal (saves/shots) — Fort St. John, Travis McLean (32/35); Grande Prairie, Kiefer Smiley (21/26)
Powerplay — Fort St. John (1/9); Grande Prairie (2/5)
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