The Westwood Pub Grizzlies went fishing for Sculpin but instead of catching dinner were left swatting at air Saturday afternoon at Kin 2 arena.
The DWB Consulting/West Can Projects Sculpins had the run of the river and filled their bellies with a 4-3 victory that clinched the Shooters Prince George Rec Hockey League Rec B championship.
Penalties precipitated a two-goal power-play outburst that made all difference in the third period and the Sculpins hung on to clinch their first-ever Rec B playoff title.
"We had our full lineup once we got into playoffs, which we hadn't had all year, so we didn't have a great regular season, but once we got a full lineup we could beat anyone," said Sculpins assistant captain Jesse Lafromboise.
"We had to take advantage of that 5-on-3 and we buried two on that power play and had a couple of late kills as well. We're a really good defensive team and we shut them down."
Ian Davis and Andrew Barrett were the offensive heroes in the late stages for the Sculpins but goalie James Morrison was the star of the game. Showing the same reflexes that earned him a two-season stint in the BCHL with the now-defunct Quesnel Millionaires, the 26-year-old goalie stared down the Grizzlies, played his angles well, and stayed on his feet. Consequently, he wasn't fooled very often.
"We felt once playoffs came around we had a good chance to win and in our last coupe game we came from behind in the second half of the third period to win and this game was no different," said Morrison, who took over in the Sculpins' net in November when regular goalie Tony Ferreira moved to Vancouver. "There was a lot of intensity for guys who have to go to work on Monday. It got a little bit chippy, a bit hacky, some emotions were getting the best of guys, but it was fun to be on the right side of the score clock."
The BX Pub Heat loaned goalie Kevin Sybrandy to the Grizzlies for the final to replace the unavailable Kris Schmidt and Sybrandy was under siege with the game tied 2-2 when Shawn Basi got caught slashing while the Griz were already killing a penalty for too many men. Davis was unchecked in the slot for the go-ahead goal on a one-timer and a minute later Barrett was standing on Sybrandy's doorstep when he banged in a behind-the-net feed from Lafromboise. Basi made it a one-goal game on a Grizzlies' power play but that's as close as it got.
Dylan Matthews and Doug Thompson scored the other Sculpin goals. Kalen Spoletini and Ryan Shannon also scored for the Grizzlies.
"The two power-play goals were quick and that was the momentum-changer, the slashing penalty killed us," said Shannon. "They're a hard-skating team and they deserved to win."
Bad blood resulted in spilled blood when the teams exchanged punches after Sculpin forward Lance Young lowered his shoulder and flattened Spoletini. But that was almost to be expected between two evenly-matched teams trying to settle season bragging rights.
"We played these guys seven or eight times in the regular season and they're always intense physical games, there are guys bleeding on both teams," said Lafromboise.
The Grzzlies (25-9-4-1) won the regular season and the Sculpins (14-20-4-3) were fourth out of eight. In the playoff round-robin, the Grizzlies beat the Sculpins 2-1. They advanced to the final after a 4-2 semifinal win Friday over the defending champion Westwood Warriors, while the Grizzlies topped the Greywolves 6-2 in the other semi.
In the Masters B final, Rivers Edge Services winger Owen Thomson set up linemate Anthony Price to open the scoring in the first period, then collected the gamewinner in a 3-1 victory over Interior Offroad. Dave Bressette added an insurance goal for Rivers Edge, the regular season champions. Interior Offroad winger Kevin Scobie broke up Derek Mettauer's shutout bid.
In the Rec C final at the Elksentre, Brandon Montgomery and Jordan Huisman each scored twice to lead Emco Elite to a 4-1 win over the BX Pub Heat. Ryan Bird scored for the Heat.
Pilsner Ice got two goals from Andrew Adams and singles Aron Alexander, Brent Moerike, and Steven Bartkowski in a 5-1 Rec C final win over the PWB Penguins. Ron Downey replied for the Penguins.
The PG Rec League is now registering players aged 16 and older for its spring adult roller hockey league. The deadline for registration is April 25. Cost is $120 per player and $1,200 per team. Each team will play 16 games. For more information go to recsms.com.
