Those dreaded words on the outside of a box: some assembly required.
Those words can mean anything from screwing in a lightbulb to breaking out the power tools and wading through dozens of pages of instructions.
But one thing鈥檚 for sure, with those words on the box, you don鈥檛 know what you鈥檙e going to get when you open it up.
Last weekend, the Jasper Bantam Bearcats started their playoff run against the Edson Warriors, and in the two games played, we got a look at two very different games.
When we peered into the box on Friday night鈥檚 home game, we saw a mixed jumble of unfamiliar pieces and an obvious lack of tools. Except for two sharp goaltenders at either end of the ice鈥擠uncan McLeod for our Bearcats鈥攖he first 20 minutes looked a lot like it was played by DIYers trying to decipher the instructions in French.
Elvis Gorontzy-Slack put the Bearcats in the lead five minutes in, but Edson equalized before the period was out, so not much was assembled in the opening frame.
In the second, Edson鈥檚 penalty woes began and, thanks to this, Jasper was able to get some work done. Rhys Malcolm scored a powerplay marker with his trademark wrister from the hashmarks and Hunter Zenner put Jasper up by a deuce with a pop-up deflection over the Edson netminder鈥檚 melon.
The Warriors stumbled back to within one goal as the second period drew to a close, but Jasper would take that one goal lead into the second intermission.
Not much happened in the third, except for a bunch of penalties and a bunch of stopped shots. Neither team could find the back of the net and the game would end like it did 20 minutes earlier with Jasper on top 3鈥�2.
We opened the box on Sunday鈥檚 second game to find an entirely different collection of bits. With a bit more sleep and some line shuffling鈥攚hich included putting Eric MacMahon up on forward and Magnus Stenlund back on the blueline鈥攖he Bearcats found the Ikea Allen-key that was missing the day before. Jasper had jump from the opening shift and less than three minutes in had built something recognizable.
Holding the puck in at the blue line, Drew Tank fed it across to Magnus Stenlund who sent in a slapper that was deflected into the net by Joel Peleshaty.
Edson equalized poking in a loose puck halfway through the period, but Malcolm regained Jasper鈥檚 advantage a few minutes later鈥攚risting in the puck from the hashmarks.
After 20 minutes, the score was 2鈥�1 for Jasper.
The second started with a strong start. Peleshaty scored another goal, making no mistake on a perfect feed from Gorontzy-Slack, and the Bearcats had their first two-goal lead of the weekend.
Next came 10 minutes of exciting, end-to-end hockey with solid goaltending at either end. Edson pulled back within one, picking up a loose puck in the blue paint and putting it behind Jasper鈥檚 other goalie, Severin Golla, but Peleshaty would complete his hattrick, stepping out from the corner unmolested and burying the puck in the net, to regain the two-goal advantage.
On the same shift, with Cooper Hilworth drawing all the attention, Gorontzy-Slack repeated Peleshaty鈥檚 move, this time from behind the net, giving Jasper a 5鈥�2 lead.
In the third, Jasper鈥檚 grinders took over. Zenner was a stand out with hard work in the Warriors鈥� corners, making space for Trenton Rea and MacMahon around the net. There were no goals for this line, but it accounted for plenty of important offensive zone time.
On the back line, Matthew Park and Tyler Carlton were steady.
With a minute and a half to play, Edson picked up one more goal, but it would not be near enough as the game would end 5鈥�3 for Jasper.
This propels the Bearcats into the second round of the playoffs against their northern rivals, Slave Lake.
Game times and venues are still to be announced, but no matter where or when, Jasper will need to hit the ice well constructed to extend its playoff run against the Thunder.
John Wilmshurst Special to the 51暗网
