The past couple of weeks have been a roller coaster of a ride as far as results go for the local KIJHL team, the Chase Heat.
Two weeks ago the Heat skated away with a not-so-great result, last week was a vast improvement and this past week we got both ends of the stick.
Wednesday, Nov. 20 brought what most folks would consider the highlight of the year so far, as the Heat trounced the Kamloops Storm 8 – 4.
The three stars of the game were Kaleb “Carps” Carpenter, Chad “Wild Thing” Wilde and Jacob “Jake” Mattes. The Storm opened up scoring but Chase came right back with four in a row to the cheers of fans in the stands.
In the second period, the Heat got two in the net in between the Storm nabbing another two for themselves.
In the third, Chase slipped two more in prior to Kamloops closing out scoring.
Shelby Kostyshen got two goals and Kurtis Johnson, Levi Chamberlain, Carpenter, Dom Hodges, Connor Venne and Wilde tallied once.
Aiden Silzer-Hooker finished the game with three assists, while Reese Forman and Johnson had two apiece.
What followed can be summed up as the “Bussed Bad Boys Blues” as the team traveled to Spokane, Washington and Grand Forks.
The only American team in the circuit shut off the Heat to the tune of 5 – 0. There were no highlights in this one.
The following night, the 24th, saw the Border Bruins and the Heat playing in Midway.
No scoring in the first, and Grand Forks fired four past Devan “Devo” Pearson in the second, before the local side could get a single marker.
Mattes came on in relief and watched as four more went past with the local lads managing two, the end result an 8 – 3 disaster.
Based on expenses, the three goals cost approximately $2,000 each and the only people happy about it live in Spokane and Grand Forks.
In summing up, it was a huge missed opportunity to move up in the standings, as Kamloops and Revelstoke are busy tripping over their skate laces.
During Chase Country Christmas, the Heat take on the league champion Beaver Valley Nitehawks Saturday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. Please bring food items for the Hamper Society and used warm winter jackets for those less fortunate. Your generosity will make someone else’s life just a little bit better.