Game one of the Western Canadian Finals between the Calgary Mountaineers and the Coquitlam Adanacs was played Thursday night at the Coquitlam Sports Centre.
The first period was quiet period as both teams took some time to get into the game and get the jump on the other – sort of a feeling out period.
The Mountaineers came out strong in the first two minutes, but the adrenaline slowly died down after as they were making bad passes and couldn’t get quality shots of.
The Adanacs weren’t any better as they couldn’t generate any scoring chances because the Mountaineers kept them to the outside.
The Mountaineers were the first to receive a power play as Keegan Rittenger sat for two minutes, but the power play only lasted a minute as Matt Andruchow received a holding penalty.
Rittenger was back in the box a minute after his first penalty expired and the Mountaineers capitalized this time around when Lucas Claude quickly released his shot to beat goaltender Pete Dubenski at 16:44.
It looks like the first period was enough for a feeler, as both teams scored often in the second period.
Eli McLaughlin evened the scored 49 seconds into the period, but the Mountaineers took a quick 3-1 lead when Connor Goodwin and Jordan Prysko scored before the six-minute mark.
Adanacs’ Tyler Pace put it past goaltender Jordan Kanscal with the shot clock winding down to cut the Mountaineers lead to 1, but the Mountaineers regained their two-goal lead a minute later with a goal by Claude.
The Adanacs took control of the game starting at 8:28 when Jake Taylor ran down the wing and even with a defender on him, he was still able to get a shot off and beat Kanscal.
McLaughlin netted his second and third of the game within a minute, but not back-to-back as Michael Messenger scored on a breakaway in between McLaughlin’s goals as it was 6-4 Adanacs by the tenth-minute.
Brett Hawrys extended the Adanacs lead when he fought off a few defenders and scored at 13:28, but with Messenger in the box for high sticking, the Mountaineers went 2-for-3 on the power play as Dan Taylor scored at 14:34.
The Adanacs and Mountaineers each exchanged a goal before the period ended making it 8-6 heading into the third period.
The Adanacs continued their momentum from the second period into the third. The lead went back and forth as Challen Rogers scored at 1:48 to give the Adanacs a three-goal lead, but Mountaineers’ Taylor made it a two-goal game at 4:24.
McLaughlin scored on the power play with his fourth goal of the game followed by Hawry’s second goal of the game to make it 11-7.
The Mountaineers had an opportunity to claw their way back into the game with back-to-back power plays, but they couldn’t beat Dubenski who made 37 saves on the night.
The Adanacs put the game away for good when McIntyre scored at 11:29 and then Cole Shafer scored his usual shot, top corner over the goaltender’s right shoulder at 12:44.
The Mountaineers had a full two-minute 5-on-3 power play with just over five minutes remaining in the period, but they just didn’t have enough in the tank to keep up with the Adanacs.
Shafer added a shorthanded goal to make it 14-7 as that was the final score at the Coquitlam Sports Centre.
Three stars of the game
1. Coquitlam – Eli McLaughlin – 4 goals
2. Coquitlam – Chase McIntyre – 2 goals, 3 assists
3. Coquitlam – Pete Dubenski – 37 saves, 7 goals allowed
The Western Canadian Finals continue tomorrow, Friday, August 8th; same place, same time.
