“I won’t tell if you won’t!” Actually, Grimshaw Huskies’ forward Brandon Bogdanek is covering his mouth after a check from High Prairie’s Steven Thunder Jan. 4.

Chris Clegg
South Peace News

Win one, lose one, win one, lose one.

It’s an all too familiar pattern the High Prairie Regals have fallen into as the NPHL regular season comes to a close.

The Regals rallied from a third period deficit Jan. 4 to defeat the visiting Grimshaw Huskies 7-5, but then lost at Dawson Creek Jan. 6 to the Canucks 8-6 after going to the British Columbia city with only 14 skaters.

The Regals trail the Huskies by one point [14-13] with five games left, the Huskies have only four. The Huskies also host West Division powers Grande Prairie and Dawson Creek this week so the Regals have every opportunity to move up in the standings the last three weeks before playoffs begin. With Falher [18 points] comfortably in first, it looks like the Regals and Huskies are on a collision course to meet in the playoffs, with only home ice advantage to be decided.

The only possible way Grimshaw would win any tiebreak is if the Regals lost in overtime or a shootout and the teams were tied at the end of the regular season. Grimshaw would get the higher nod based on more wins.

However, an overtime or shootout loss is no good for the Huskies, as the Regals would then win any tiebreaker based on their 3-1 record against the Huskies this season.

Six different Regals scored in the win over Grimshaw. The Regals led 3-1 after one period but the Huskies rallied in the second period with two power play goals, after receiving seven straight power play chances, much to the chagrin of the Regals and their fans.

In the third, the Huskies took the lead 5-4 but the Regals scored three times in the final 14:53 to win.

It was ironic the Regals would rally again in the third period. The Regals were 0-66 and 1-84 in 85 games after trailing after two periods before defeating Grimshaw before Christmas. While the comeback doesn’t count in the official stats – trailing after two periods – it is an indication that the club has a new never-say-die attitude.

Mitch Price scored twice to lead the Regals while Jacob Anderson, Steven Thunder, Lloyd AhKimNachie, Nelson Anderson and newcomer Sydney Gladue added singles. It was Thunder’s goal which tied the game in the third period 5-5 before unassisted by goals by AhKimNachie and Jacob Anderson closed the deal. AhKimNachie and Jacob Anderson each added two assists.

Ty Wiebe scored two power play goals to lead the Huskies, who were 3-for-9 on the power play. NPHL leading scorer Bond Hawryluk, Loewen Lambert and Carson Ewing added the other goals.

In Dawson Creek, the Regals trailed 4-3 after one period and 7-3 in the second before rallying to make it close. The Regals never led in the contest despite tieing the score three times. Gordy Laderoute’s shorthanded third period goal closed the gap to 7-6 before a late DC goal clinched the game.

Dolan Bjornson and Riley Muise each scored twice to lead the Canucks. Kevin Swales, Jeff Taylor, Levi George and Justin McLeod added the others.

Veterans James Tallman and Jay Anderson led the Regals with two goals each. Mitch Price and Laderoute added the others. Price, Al Anderson and Jay Anderson each added two assists.

Another bright spot for the Regal was their power play, which clicked on four of seven chances. The team’s 28.89 per cent success rate ranks third in the league. The team also receives the second fewest power play chances per game in the seven-team league so teams are well-advised to not take to many penalties.

The Regals’ lone game this week is at Manning Jan. 12.

Next home game is Tuesday, Jan. 16 when the Falher Pirates come to town.