Posse Split Weekend

The Posse split two games this weekend. A loss to Castlegar on Friday followed by a big win against divisional rival Kamloops storm.

The Posse faced the Castlegar Rebels on Friday night. The Posse head coach Dale Hladun made the decision early in the week to start affiliate goalie Mitch Sheridan. Mitch did a great job holding the explosive Rebel team to 2 goals. However puck luck was something the Posse just did not have. Missing a couple of empty nets and hitting the post late with the goalie pulled were just the way things were going for the Posse. The Posse lost 3-1, but they certainly were not outplayed.

Saturday night the Posse were in the big ice surface of MacAurther Island Sportsplex to face the Storm. The Storm are hosting the Western Canadian Jr. B Championships in April 2010. The Storm have dropped a number of players from their roster to open spaces for late additions. Two such additions are foward Gary Rai and Jordan Wilkins. Rai walked out on the Merritt Centenials of the BCHL earlier this season. He will bring Jr A experience and a scoring ability to the Storm.

Jordan Wilkins signed with the Storm. Jordan has not lived up to his early expectations. He is a large strong defenseman. Drafted by the Kootney Ice in the WHL bantam draft. He played as a 16 year old for the Summerland Sting, moved around the WHL for a couple of seasons. The around the AJHL for a season or two. of note Wilkin's parents now live in Princeton. His father is the head coach of the Princeton Midget Rep team.

The posse did not let the two late signings affect the outcome. A four goal 3rd period propelled the visiting team to a 5-3 win. Ben Morgan and Spencer Kristensen each had two points. The win widens the gap between Princeton and the Storm. The posse are up 3 points with 3 games in hand.

Posse host the same Kamloops storm on a mid week game this Wednesday.

last note, I hope the league looks at the end of the game film. Taylor Stuart takes a run at a Posse player after the game. Then crosschecks Devon Grossler in the face. McCance stomps on a stick. These kind of actions have to be dealt with by the league. If memory serve me right the Kamloops newspapers were all over the Posse for the Chase incident. I doubt this act will even make the paper. that is a shame.

The posse face the Castlegar Rebels this Friday night. The Rebels are sitting in first place in the Neil Murdoch division. They are two points ahead of the Nelson Leafs.

The rebels have the leagues leading scorer in Ryan Aynsley. Aynsley spent time in the BCHL. The Kelowna native has 27 goals and 27 assists to lead the league. It will be a tough chore to keep this player off the score sheet as he is currently riding an 8 game point streak.

The posse will want to work the forecheck on this team. Discipline will be key as Castlegar has almost twice as many penalty minutes to date as the Posse. The league stats have the Rebels powerplay ranked at 7th overall, with the Posse at 15th. Therefore staying out of the box will be important.

Team captain Dan Hillman has now played more games in a Posse uniform than any other player. Congratulations Danny!

Hey all this is my first blog and hopefully we can get this going. Over the next few weeks I will be here to answer any questions and to post my thoughts on the happenings with the Posse and around the league.