Back on home ice tonight against Humboldt, the Kindersley Jr. Klippers split a pair of games on their pre-season opening road trip to Alberta on the weekend. The Klippers lost 4-0 to the Drumheller Dragons on Friday night before rebounding for a 3-1 win against the Lloydminster Bobcats on Monday.
After wrapping up the final morning of instruction at their annual hockey school on Friday, the Klippers hit the road for the Badlands to face off against the Drumheller Dragons in the first chance for newly promoted GM Ryan Gibson and new head coach Kyle Schneider to watch the team in full-speed action, assistant coach Ben Marshall and athletic therapist Jayden Villifane also logging their first time behind the Klippers bench.
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The group's debut was an unceremonious one as they took a shutout loss against the AJHL's Drumheller Dragons.
After a late Dragons powerplay goal finished a penalty filled first period 1-0 for the home side, Drumheller got on the board again early in the second with two goals in the first five minutes to increase their lead to 3-0 before making the 4-0 final with a goal in the final minute.
The Klippers managed to kill off four penalties but couldn't get their own powerplay going with an 0/5 night.
After that game the team used a travel day on Sunday before a Labour Day matinee against Lloydminster on Monday.
Another slow start led to the Klippers being outshot 12-6, but things stayed scoreless for a tie game after one period. The Bobcats opened the scoring six minutes into the second period and held onto a one-goal lead for ten minutes before Russ Demo scored a shorthanded goal to tie things up and get Kindersley on the board for the first time in the preseason.
The third period started off on the right note for Kindersley as Dawson Gamble scored to make it 2-1, and then Cowyn Loney scored eight minutes later as the Klippers took advantage of a charging penalty to make the game 3-1 with an insurance marker on the powerplay.
Goaltender Brady Carr stopped all seventeen shots he saw for the win, as all four Klippers goalies made an appearance this weekend with Brett O'Halloran and Mattias Radke splitting time on Friday, John Macpherson and Carr taking the crease on Monday.
The Klippers are right back in action after the Alberta road trip, hosting the Humboldt Broncos tonight at 7:30 PM.
The game will be played inside the CO-OP Arena at the West Central Events Centre in the Kindersley with the Inter Pipeline Arena side reserved for this weekend's PBR event (more information here).
After tonight the Klippers will have five days in between games. A rematch on the road against Humboldt is up next on September 8, and then back at home on September 10 the Klippers will welcome in Drumheller to finish off a home-and-home.
The regular season starts Friday, September 19 on the road in North Battleford, the first half of a home-and-home with the Klippers home opener set for the next night, September 20.