Williams Lake Stampeder hockey players from past and present faced off for a game at the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex Friday, Dec. 30.
In front of an enthusiastic and good-sized crowd, the Stamps emerged the winners with a final score of 9-6 against the Alumni team.
Five of the Stamps’ goals were scored by the team’s general manager Dylan Richardson, who said the Alumni had come into the game undefeated so it felt great to win.
“They kicked our butts last year,” he said of the Alumni players. “This year it felt like the fans wanted them to win.”
Richardson has been on the team for a decade.
He noted while the Stamps versus Alumni game was just for fun, it was also great to see the players on his team were committing and the game meant something to them.
“We are starting to come together and it’s nice to see. Tonight some of the passes were crisp,” he said. “This is the year, I think. We have a really good team.”
Lane Wycotte of the Stamps scored the first goal of the game 2:33 minutes into the first period, unassisted.
Answering him a minute later, Alumni player Francis Johnson scored at 3:28, assisted by Tyrel Lucas, followed by another Alumni goal by Evan Fuller scoring at 4:51, assisted by Matt Lees.
Richardson’s first goal for the Stamps came at 8:42 in the first period, assisted by Nick Flinton and Cam Flinton.
Closing out the first period with a tie 2-2, expectations were high for fans of both teams.
In the second period, however, only the Stamps scored, nabbing four goals.
Richardson scored his second goal at 2:09, assisted by Cam Flinton and Brady Fuller.
Wycotte scored his second goal at 3:15, assisted by Ryan Yaworski.
Nick Flinton scored at 14:41, unassisted and Brendan Pigeon scored at 15:55, Dayton Long assist.
In the first five minutes of the third period, Richardson scored on a penalty shot at 5:17 and scored another goal at 5:35, assistance from Cam Flinton and Mark Bouchard.
The Alumni would bounce back eventually scoring four goals in a row.
Nathan Zurak got the team’s third goal at 5:46, with Matt Lees and Evan Fuller assisting.
Lees scored at 6:47, assisted by Nathan Zurak and Evan Fuller.
The team’s fifth goal was scored by Tyrel Lucas, assisted by Wilf Robbins and Francis Johnson and the team’s sixth and final goal came from Aaron Zurak, assisted by Nathan Zurak and Cliff Philpot.
Richardson’s final goal came at 19:12, unassisted and on an empty net.
Next up, the Stamps will play on home ice against the Quesnel Kangaroos Saturday, Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m.
As Richardson eyes the home game, he said he and the team are excited.
“We have been playing well. It’s going to be a good opportunity for the young guys to step up and play harder in the new year.”