The Williams Lake Stampeders joined in on the spirit of giving during the weekend, providing fans, and the community, something to cheer about.
Two exciting hockey games Saturday and Sunday, respectively, made way for the team to host its Food Drive Game and Teddy Toss Game in support of local, charitable organizations.
The Central Interior Hockey League senior men’s squad marched away from the weekend with a Saturday night, 4-3 loss versus the Hazelton Wolverines, and bounced back Sunday with a convincing 4-1 triumph over the Smithers Steelheads at the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex.
Saturday, the two teams seesawed back and forth through the first two periods as Williams Lake’s Cole Zimmerman, followed by Hazelton’s Liam Dodd, sent the contest into the second frame knotted at one a piece.
There, the two teams traded goals again with Tyson Ghostkeep scoring first for the Wolverines, followed by a Kurtis Bond marker for the Stamps with just under four minutes remaining in the second period.
Rob Raju and Tre Potskin, however, extended the Hazelton lead to 4-2 with five minutes remaining in the contest, before Justin Bond added a late marker with 50 seconds remaining to make it interesting as time wound down.
Picking up the win between the pipes for Hazelton was Keano Wilson, stopping 23 shots, while Willie Sellars turned aside 19 of 23 shots in the losing effort.
Read More: Stamps take season opener on road versus ‘Roos
Sunday, the Stampeders set the tone just two and a half minutes in the game as Dylan Richardson found the twine on Steelheads’ netminder Tyran Hunter.
From there, the Stampeders poured an offensive onslaught on the Steelheads’ defence, amassing 59 shots in the 4-1 victory.
Matt Brenner was solid in goal for Williams Lake, allowing just one goal on 21 shots in the win.
Scoring for Williams Lake were Richardson, Kaleb Boyle, Cole Zimmerman and Tristan Sailor.
The weekend leaves the top of the CIHL standings in a log jam with the Stampeders currently occupying the third-place position with four wins, three losses and two overtime defeats and 10 points.
Prince Rupert, meanwhile, who has two games in hand on Williams Lake, sits second at 6-1-0, while the Terrace River Kings remain unbeaten with a perfect 8-0 record.
The Quesnel Kangaroos, meanwhile, are just two points back of the Stamps. The two teams will have a chance to widen the gap between them in the standings next, on Dec. 14, when Williams Lake travels north to face the Roos.
The Stamps will then take a two-week break over the holidays, before returning home to the CMRC to host their northern rivals from Quesnel once again. Puck drop for the Saturday, Dec. 28 game is 7:30 p.m.
sports@wltribune.com
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