Surge has Regals in first place

A wild scramble in front of the High Prairie net results in a clearing by High Prairie players during North Peace Hockey League action Nov. 10. Left-right are Peace River’s Nick Laporte, High Prairie’s Jarrod Gauchier, goaltender Cannon Cunningham, Rollie Gladue and Peace River’s Rob Brook. High Prairie won the game 10-5 to take sole possession of first place in the East Division.

Chris Clegg
South Peace News

It’s not how to start the game but how you finish. The High Prairie Regals proved the old adage to be true after winning two home games last week despite terrible first period play. The Regals erased a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Falher Pirates 8-3 Nov. 8, then overcame a 2-0 margin to whip the defending North Peace Hockey League champion Peace River Stampeders 10-5 Nov. 10. Regals’ acting coach Lee Hunt can’t fathom why the Regals are playing so poorly in the first period. “We’ve having terrible slow starts,” says Hunt, understating the case. But he credits his players for taking the bull by the horns and reacting positively. “They took it upon themselves to just start skating and passing the puck,” says Hunt. The Regals’ win coupled with Lakeland’s 16-2 thrashing in Fort St. John vaulted the Regals into first place in the NPHL’s East Division with a 3-1-0-0 record although the arch-rival Eagles hold a game in hand. Lance Gauchier opened the scoring against the Pirates but Jean Marc Meunier scored two power play goals and the visitors led 2-1. Lawrence Anderson’s power play goal late in the period tied the game. In the second period, the Regals took command outshooting the Pirates 17-8 and outscoring them 4-0. The game was for all intents and purposes over although the Regals added two more third period goals. T.J. Cunningham scored two goals while Rollie Gladue, Nathan Gladue, Justin Paul and Tyler Shantz added singles to account for the Regals’ scoring. Shantz’s second period goal was a welcome relief as he was snakebit throughout the contest by Pirates’ goaltender Leslie Montpellier, who robbed him at least three times. One stop was a stellar glove snag that left Shantz wondering what world Montpellier was playing in. Daniel Aubin replied with Falher’s other goal. The Pirates didn’t score even strength all night as all three goals came with the man advantage. Chris Prpich recorded the win in goal in only his second NPHL start. He suffered the loss in an 8-7 home overtime loss to Manning Jan. 12, 2002. Prpich may have flubbed the first goal but was solid afterwards, if not spectacular. “He stepped it up in the third period,” says Hunt. “He made some big saves … if you watch him he’s square to the puck.” The game against Peace River was a carbon copy, if not worse, than the Falher contest. The Stamps dominated play in the first period as Aaron Parenteau’s picture-perfect tip-in and Mark Sloan goals gave the visitors a 2-0 lead. Regals’ goaltender Cannon Cunningham was spectacular in keeping the score close as the Stamps outshot the Regals 17-7 despite dressing only nine skaters and two goaltenders. “If not for Cannon we would have been in dire straights,” says Hunt. Hunt discloses it was Cannon Cunningham and team captain Gauchier who spoke to the team after the period. “Everyone was terrible except Cannon,” says Hunt summing up the play of this club. “He made enough saves for the whole game. It could have easily been 6-0.” Hunt juggled his lines to shake things up. It paid immediate dividends as the line of Shantz, T.J. Cunningham and Gauchier scored the second period’s only three goals to give the Regals a 3-2 lead. Shantz scored twice with Gauchier adding the other. Parenteau’s second goal of the night in the first minute of the third period tied the score but the Stamps were obviously tiring. “I think they were a little tired,” says Hunt. “We really did step up the pace of the play. We tired them out. They had no gas left in the tank.” Stamps’ coach Cal Parenteau agreed. “We ran out of gas midway through the third period,” he says, after watching his team lose their fourth game in five starts to start the season. He adds fatigue plays a major role when players become tired and can’t execute. It was evident as two of their big guns, Nick Laporte and Rob Brooks, couldn’t buy a goal. “You just can’t do things as well as you can when you’re tired,” says Parenteau. Stamps goaltender Darren Dokken didn’t help this club’s cause with three soft goals in the third period when the game was still in doubt. “He was (not sharp) in the last two games,” says Parenteau, alluding to the Stamps 6-5 loss to Manning Nov. 8. Shantz had four goals and three assists to lead the charge while Gauchier had two goals and five helpers. T.J. Cunningham, Rollie Gladue, Justin Paul and Shane Smith added the others goals. Aaron Parenteau scored three goals for the Stamps while Sloan and Dale Scotton added the others. The Regals don’t play until Nov. 16 when they make the trip to Manning to play the Comets. It will be the last time this season they play their northern rivals. After a rare Saturday off on Nov. 17, the Regals return home for three straight games. The homestand begins with a Nov. 22 date against the Valleyview Jets followed by games against the Fort St. John Flyers Nov. 24 and Spirit River Rangers Dec. 1. Game times are 8:30 p.m.

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