High River Flyers netminder Kashton Payne goes out with a boom in his last game with the team.
The Flock put a hurting on the Three Hills Thrashers tonight (Dec. 20) with a definitive 7-1 win at Bob Snodgrass Rec Plex in their HJHL tilt.
High River had 11 players get at least one point in the game, with Ethan Burgeson, Tanner Willford, and HJHL Player of the Week Lucas Hughes all cashing in three points each.
Kaiden Fulton was due to start tonight's game, but a late lineup change, announced at the start of the game, saw Payne get the call between the pipes.
Payne had an excellent game, stopping 33 shots and giving the crowd a highlight reel stop when he came across to rob a Thrashers player, making a stick save near the goal line.
The first period would go scoreless, with Payne making 13 saves and Three Hills goaltender Shane Ford stopping 14 shots.
Hughes opened the scoring three minutes into the second period, with Burgeson and Willford all getting their first of three points on the night.
Willford added his second point of the night 20 seconds later with a goal of his own. Jonah Thomas and Ethan Miller grabbed the helpers on Willford's marker.
The Thrashers would score their only goal of the night, with Drew Williamson cashing in on the power play 14:18 into the second frame. Miller answered back to give the Flyers a 3-1 lead going into the third period, with Willford picking up his third point in the second period and Hughes grabbing his second point with the assists.
The third period was all Flyers as they put four goals in the back of the net and outshot the Thrashers 14-6. The Flyers announced in the third period that Payne was playing his last Heritage Junior B game, which seemed to give the Flyers even more fuel to win the game for their netminder.
Rodie John Pickens found twine 1:46 into the third period with a power play goal to give the Flock a three-goal lead.
Issac Cayetano and Lucas Gough both got their first points of the night on Pickens's marker. Assistant captain Cody Steinert went top corner with a beautiful goal three minutes later to give the Flyers a 5-1 lead. Flyers kept the pressure on, with Thomas adding to the Flyers lead three minutes after Steinert's goal.
Captain Wout Rehorst got his first point in the game, and Burgeson grabbed his second point of the night with the helpers.
Tiernan Rowan potted the final goal of the game while on the power play, Burgeson and Hughes got the assists for their third and final points of the evening.
When the buzzer rang to end the game, Payne, wrought with emotion, was quickly surrounded by his teammates as they showed their goaltender respect.
In a classy move, head coach Jeff Gardner, who was a goaltender himself, and assistant coach Tom Bradbury came out on the ice to thank Payne for all he has done for the organization. Payne would then wait until all his teammates were off the ice to soak in Bob Snodgrass Rec Plex one last time and then gave a salute to the crowd as he skated off the ice.
The Flyers are back at it tomorrow at home and come into the game with a 4-1-0 record in December. The puck drop for tomorrow's tilt between the Flyers and the Agra Risk Wheatland Kings is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.