On a night when the Williams Lake Stampeders were helping ‘Stamp Out Hunger’ in the community, the team was also looking to stamp out a win in their last home game of the regular season.
While fans entering the Cariboo Memorial Complex dropped off their food donations for the Salvation Army Food Bank in exchange for a free program with the chance to win prizes, the Williams Lake Stampeders were on the ice hosting their southern rivals, the Lac La Hache Tomahawks.
Williams Lake stormed out of the gates, jumping out to an early 4-0 lead with two goals from Tyrel Lucas, a power play tally from Andrew Fisher and another marker from Nathan Zurak.
The Tomahawks’ Wilfred Robbins and Gilbert Robbins fired back, cutting the deficit in half, before Williams Lake closed out the second period with goals from Matt Lees, and Lucas’s third of the night, an unassisted short-handed effort, to put the Stampeders up 6-2 heading into the final frame.
A handful of early penalties from both teams allowed Wilfred to add his second on the power play, before Jassi Sangha returned the favour for the Stampeders just over a minute later.
Just past the midway point of the period Tomahawks forward Donovan Nicholas added his first on another power play to cut the Stampeders’ lead to 7-4.
But Lees, with his second, and Stuart Sages — on a setup from Lees and Zurak — put Williams Lake up 9-4 and the game out of reach for the Tomahawks.
Nicholas added a late goal for Lac La Hache to end the 9-5 decision.
Williams Lake’s Justin Foote stopped 32 of 38 shots in the winning effort, while his counterpart, Matt Brenner of the Tomahawks, turned aside 32 of 41.
Following the weekend Williams Lake (10-3-1) sits second on the Central Interior Hockey League East Division, one point back of the Quesnel Kangaroos (11-4-0) with one game in hand.
The Stampeders, who have three road games remaining in their regular season schedule, return to the ice Saturday, Jan. 4, to visit the Houston Luckies. Sunday, Jan. 5, Williams Lake takes on the Smithers Steelheads.