November 22, 2024

Not all wins are created equal for the Briercrest Clippers, and they had to be a little extra pleased with this one as they downed their bitter rivals the Red Deer Kings Friday night. The Kings are repeat champions, but it was the Clippers who last put them out of the playoffs in a 2022 sweep. Briercrest also finished at the top of the standings last season, so the stakes felt high and the atmosphere was charged with a playoff-like intensity.

Ethan Kelly and Ryan Miley set the tone early for the home side with several big hits and key defensive plays. The Clippers had the ice tilted all night and peppered the Kings' Kristian Lyon with a barrage of shots. Jake Dale struck to give Briercrest an early lead, but Red Deer fought back and their player of the game, Tanner Sklaruk, helped them grab a 2-1 midway through the second period despite being badly outshot. While Dominik Tmej wasn't always busy in net for the Clippers, he did make some incredible saves when tested to keep the pressure on the visitors. Dale converted a beautiful setup from Keagon Little to tie things up, and the rink was rockin'.

The game got increasingly chippy as the final period was underway. Derrick Lange and Jaedon Little had the Kings hearing footsteps as they forechecked hard and finished every check. Ethan Lindsay jammed in a rebound to break the tie and put the Clippers ahead with nine minutes left, and the happy ending looked imminent, but several penalties followed and Briercrest's top-rated penalty kill was tested repeatedly, bending only on an extended 5 on 3 as Red Deer tied the game and ratcheted up the tension even more.

There appeared to be some karma in the immediate aftermath of that tying goal, as a Clipper was tripped up behind the play and the partisan crowd gave full vent to their displeasure. Play continued and seconds later Justin Keck outraced his defender and lasered a pass onto the stick of Jacob Arsenault, who roofed it over Lyon to retake the lead with just a minute and a half left in the game. Colton Aikens put the icing on the cake with an empty-netter to make it 5-3 and the Clippers swarmed Tmej in well-earned celebration.

"There's animosity going into a weekend like this," reflected player of the game Jake Dale afterward. "We still have another level- they're a good team and we know they're going to push back so we have to have our best tomorrow."

Tomorrow's rematch should be a dandy- catch it at 2:00pm at the Barkman arena or on ACAC's streaming service.