The Williams Lake Stampeders split a pair of home games on the weekend improving its Central Interior Hockey League record to two wins and one loss.
Saturday, the Kitimat Ice Demons scored three times on the power play and once shorthanded to stun the Stampeders and its opening night fans, 5-2.
Sunday, Williams Lake rebounded against a young Prince Rupert Rampage squad, winning 7-1. The Rampage scored the first goal of the contest early in the first period but it was all Stampeders after that.
Saturday, the Ice Demons didn’t take long to take the hometown fans out of the contest, scoring three unanswered power play goals on Williams Lake’s Justin Foote — two from Brandon Wakita and one from Ian Coleman — before Stampders’ forwards Nathan Zurak and Stu Sasges brought the contest back to within a goal at 3-2.
The third period, however, was once again all Ice Demons. Wakita potted his hat trick marker while Derrick Delisser rounded out the scoring. Shots on goal were 34-30 in Williams Lake’s favour.
Sunday, Prince Rupert’s Jared Meers opened the scoring near the seven-minute mark for the Rampage; however, Williams Lake answered back in a big way.
The Stamps went on — with Tyrel Lucas scoring a hat trick and Francis Johnson adding two goals of his own — to score seven unanswered goals to win the contest. Scoring the other Stampeders goals were Nathan Zurak and Sasges.
Justin Foote stopped 31 shots in the winning effort while Rampage netminder Blake Buckham turned aside 42 shots of his own.
The Stampeders now have five more consecutive home games — the next coming back to back, Oct. 26-27, against the Omineca Ice and last year’s unbeaten Smithers Steelheads, respectively.
For more on the Stampeders visit www.wlstampeders.com.