View From The Ice
by Brett Holmes
March 07 1998
Playoffs are now underway and we ended up on the top of our league with Coronation, Consort and Macklin (Doetzel) following. We ended up playing the fourth place Macklin team, and the first game was played in Macklin.
I was not present at the game because I wasn’t feeling so great but from what I hear, we were down 9-4 after two periods of play and managed to score eight goals to Macklin’s five in the third period.
Glencross had a great game as he scored seven goals and assisted on two others. Benoit and Stempfle combined for eleven points.
Macklin finished the game with five powerplay goals and Provost scored on all three Macklin penalties, 3.
Provost scoreboard:
First Period- Ganser (Carroll); Glencross (unassisted).
Second Period- Glencross (Benoit, Moncrieff); Glencross (Stempfle, Benoit).
Third Period- Glencross (Benoit, Carroll); Benoit (Glencross, Stempfle); Glencross (Stempfle); Paulgaard (Ganser, Sorby); Benoit (Stempfle); Stempfle (Glencross, Benoit); Sorby (Moncrieff); Glencross (Stempfle).
In game two we were down by two goals and looking for the quick equalizer. We got first goal from Benoit less than a minute into the game to bring us within one goal of tying up the series.
I barely saw any ice time in this game either as I broke his thumb when he landed on in. I went off just five minutes into the game. I came back for a little bit but couldn’t handle it so I stopped.
I barely saw any more of the game but it wasn’t necessary. There was nothing else to see that was worth looking at.
Absolutely nothing was going our way. The puck would always bounce off the end of our sticks right on to Macklin’s.
But the worst part was on the bench and in the dressing room. There was more anger at each other than anything else. We weren’t classified under the word “team”. But I guess it didn’t matter anyways. We were down 5-3 after one period, down by four goals in the series.
Again in the second period things weren’t going our way.
Macklin scored on a breakaway which I’m sure Stahl had stopped, but it was ruled a goal.
Little giveaways and small mistakes showed up on the scoreboard. 10-3 for Macklin after two.
Now in the third, I saw about the last three minutes and we finally scored after two periods, and we only kept Macklin to one goal. A better period I’m assuming.
11-4 Macklin. Final shots in this game were 39-30 in our favor. This was our first homes loss this season.
Final score in the series was 25-16 for Macklin.
Provost scoreboard:
First Period- Benoit (Glencross); Stempfle (Landmark); Ganser (Benoit).
Second Period- No scoring.
Third Period- Sorby (Moncrieff).
Onto Camrose for the second and final round of our Zone playoffs.
Daysland/Forestburg was able to beat this Camrose team by nine goals and if we could take Daysland/Forestburg we could surely beat Camrose.
I looked over at the Camrose players warm up and I thought double digits easily. No problem.
We had called up four other players to give us a hand, Klein, Bishop, Heck and goalie Wetzstein.
It turned out that they were just as I thought except that we didn’t play that well. Not looking to where we were passing to and not clearing the puck when we had the chance. Although, I have to give credit to the Camrose goaltender who made about three great glove saves in a row, and kept out the lower shots as well.
We were dominating the play, but things were still not bouncing our way.
It was a scoreless game until Glencross snapped one by the short side from the left face off dot after taking a pass from Benoit. Moncrieff getting the other assist. It was about time we got by their goalie.
A minute later, five minutes remaining in the first, Glencross then struck again. This time on the powerplay, on a similar shot to his last. 2-0 Provost.
I really think it could’ve been at least five nothing because we had the chances.
The second was almost identical to the first. We seemed to be dominating, but Camrose was starting to get a bit offensive now.
We got one penalty and that was all Camrose needed to score. We got another penalty right after. Camrose scored again to tie it up at two.
But Glencross scored two more. His third and fourth of the game just two minutes apart. Klein picking up an assist on one of those.
Camrose did get another goal on a perfect backhand on a semi-breakaway.
4-3 for Provost after two frames. It shouldn’t have been that close.
I think it was in the third when Stempfle was cross-checked in the back and sent flying head first into the boards. He lye there for a few minutes but came out alright with a sore neck. No call on the play.
In the first Stempfle was kicked, and you could clearly see the player kick him. And just after the kick, Glencross was hit from behind on the buzzer. No call on either infractions.
Anyway, back to the third period. Camrose scored just five minutes into the period to tie it at four.
Then Stempfle took a pass from Glencross on a two-on-one to put it in. Perfect play.
But again Camrose tied on a tipped point shot.
Not too many more chances for either team but the goalies did come up big when needed.
The period went by fairly quickly but I realized it was harder to watch the game from the stands because I kept on thinking to myself what I would’ve done instead of that. It’s frustrating.
Anyway, with the face off in our end, only a few minutes remaining, Glencross won the draw back to Adams. Adams did his patented flip pass where he scoops the puck to center ice for the winger to catch up with it. And Benoit almost completed the play. The puck went a little too far and he was tripped before he touched it. A penalty shot was awarded.
I was a bit surprised because he didn’t have control of the puck. But maybe he got a bit of it before he fell.
But Benoit was about to take his penalty shot. He took the puck over the blueline and I thought he was going to deke, and I think the goalie thought that too. But he didn’t. He shot it in the net on the stick side which would eventually prove to be the winner.
Less than 30 seconds later Benoit and Stempfle went in on a two-on-two. Benoit managed to attract the two Camrose defensemen at the blueline. He passed it over to Stempfle down near the hash marks who was all alone.
Glencross caught up to the play, Stempfle passed, in the puck went. Glencross scored his fifth goal of the game on a perfect play. Stempfle was just returning the favor.
Final score seven Provost goals to Camrose’s five.
Provost scoreboard:
First Period- Glencross (Benoit, Moncrieff); Glencross (Benoit).
Second Period- Glencross (Moncrieff); Glencross (Klein, Moncrieff).
Third Period- Stempfle (Glencross, Benoit); Benoit (penalty shot); Glencross Stempfle (Benoit).
We will play the second game of the zone series the weekend in Provost.
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