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foehammer007 · 04-29-2019, 04:20 PM

Welcome to the Post Game Show, live with me, William Icardi, as we are just wrapping up our match for the Halifax Raiders and the Kelowna Knights. Kelowna just came off a rough weekend of games going on a three game losing streak and they looked to bounce back with vengeance and they for sure did against the Anaheim Outlaws.

We really wanted to see what Kelownas Coach’s response would be coming into this game, a three game losing streak is the most they have had all season long and they needed a win to get back moving forward with the season. Both teams were coming into the game with a losing streak, Kelowna as we know had three games on the loss while Anaheim was on a four game losing streak. Well, Kelowna sent a message to Anaheim and really responded by crushing them to a Seven to Two win.

Left Winger Gunnar Söderberg, who has been one of the more consistent players even though he isn’t on the top line, opened the scoring of the game in the third minute of the first period, sniping a wrist shot into the top corner getting over the shoulder of Anaheim’s goalie Michal Burzawa, assisting on the goal was Right Winger Vadim Malichov and Defenseman Jason Bergenty.

Kelowna kept the pressure up as seven minutes later they scored back to back goals by Aleksandr Scherbak and Vadim Malichov, making the game 3-0 in favor of the Kelowna Knights as the first period ended.

Clearly the Anaheim coach had said something to his players, as in the first seven seconds of the second period, Anaheim grabs one back thanks to a slap shot goal by Corey Kennedy, giving Anaheim their first goal. Anaheim tried to keep the momentum up before Zach Laiberte of Kelowna buried another goal on Burzawa, giving Kelowna the 4-1 lead. The Anaheim Coach immediately pulled Burzawa from the net and put in Tibuk Soonika, clearly Burzawa was having a very off game and something needed to change for the Outlaws to get back into it.

Anaheim kept trying to claw something back, winning face-offs like mad men, but it would be all for nothing as at the ninth minute of the second, Karlstrabe Scholz gave Kelowna the 5-1 lead, and then a minute later he buried another one giving Kelowna another goal. At nearly the end of the second period, in the seventeenth minute, Anaheim bagged another goal by way of Martijin Westbroek, giving them their second goal of the game.

Anaheim’s fate seemed already sealed especially as most of their fans had already left the building and it became even more so after Karlstrabe buried his third goal, giving him the hat trick. The only cheers you could hear would be the few away fans and from the bench.

The game ended in favor of Kelowna in an impressive display of goal scoring capabilities with a 7-2 win. We got a chance to grab Karl before he headed off into the locker room to ask him a couple of questions.

Hey Karl, I know the guys must be buzzing after this win as everyone pulled their weight in the win, but getting a hat-trick is hard to come by, and even harder to come by as a D-Man, how are you feeling about it and can you tell me what happened out there on the ice?

Honestly, I still don't think I've had a chance for it to really sink in. As a scoring defenseman I'm always trying to put pucks on net and give our guys an opportunity to score, but to net 3 of my own is surreal. Full credit to the boys around me as there is no way I get 3 shots on net, let alone 3 goals without them driving the play and moving the puck around. I'd like to give a big shout out to my recent d partner Big Fudge as well. Since joining a line with him I feel my play has improved significantly and he's a big reason why. We feed off each other nicely and it really helps me as I try to focus and improve my own game.

Interview

Looking forward into the season, is your scoring to continue as you currently lead the team with seven goals? It seems like the team likes to keep feeding you the pucks to get into goal, is that the game plan?

Haha this is certainly uncharted territory for me, but if the boys are going to keep giving me scoring opportunities I'm not one to step aside. I'm going to continue to play my game and give our team a chance to win every night. Will I end the season as the team leader in goals? maybe, but it's not something I'm really concerning myself with right now. My biggest focus is actually improving my defensive play as I currently have a -13 rating, the worst in the entire league. My goal is to bring that back to a much more agreeable number while not sacrificing my offensive contributions to this team. In short, improve my play in our end without sacrificing my play in theirs.

Coming up next for Kelowna was the Halifax Raiders, who had trounced them in a 5-2 win at home so Kelowna coach Adam Falk needed to answer back as Halifax visited them at home. Well, the game did not start off perfectly as Kelowna would want, with Halifax scoring a goal in the first twenty seconds of the first period, a wrist shot by the center-man getting past Kelowna goalie Alexander Andersson-Grande.

Andrej Doskocil of Halifax picked up a hooking minor at a minute and a half, and Kelowna was able to cash in on that penalty, getting a goal from Zach Laliberte two minutes into the first period. The game quickly became a heated confrontation as Halifax kept pushing their luck with the referees having to go on the penalty kill three times in the first period. Kelowna wasn’t able to produce on their second power play, but for the third power play caused by Taisei-Tiikeri Wawazat for a slashing minor, Kelowna Knight Barry Batsbak was able to smash home a goal, giving Kelowna the lead they were looking for in the eleventh minute of the first period, sending them into the locker room at the end of the period with the lead.

The second period remained tightly contested as Halifax continued to seek to even up the game between the two teams and had a chance when Kelowna drew an interference penalty twenty four seconds into the period, but they were not able to capitalize on it. Five minutes into the second period, Halifax Raider Josef Kubinec was able to wrist a goal in, tying the game up in a very heated match as both teams were playing very physical and trying to get the go-ahead goal. The period ended tied at two goals apiece and both coaches would be going into their respective locker rooms looking to motivate their teams to the win.

Halifax would start the period off with getting a hooking minor, giving Kelowna another power play chance and although they did not capitalize on it, they were able to keep pressing on Halifax and finally able to break their goaltender in the sixth minute of the period, breaking the tie as Aleksandr Scherbak got a goal for Kelowna. Halifax pushed back but continued to rack up the penalties and on a tripping minor that Halifax got in the thirteenth minute of the 3rd, David Vent of Kelowna was able to bury home their fourth goal, sealing the fate of Halifax and giving Kelowna another win in back to back games.

After the games, we were able to catch up with coach Adam Falk of Kelowna to ask him a couple of questions.

Coach, coming off of a three game losing streak and soundly beating Anaheim to respond, how important is this win tonight? Halifax started that losing streak and getting a hard fought decisive victory surely has to motivate the players to keep moving forward?

It's a big turnaround for us. The top half of the league is incredibly tight this season, so we need to put 100% on the ice every time to get every point we can to stay in that upper half. Last season it was kind of a run-away between us & the Scarecrows, but 1st through 5th and even 6th is an exceptionally close race so far. Obviously winning is a great motivator moving forward & trying to keep pace with other teams, but we have some sound leadership in the locker room that have been around for a few seasons and they really keep this team on their toes.

Interview

This is the second game in a row where the first star is a D-man, and I am wondering does your offensive powerhouse always start from the back or is this a new game plan going forward?

My plan is to achieve & take offense from wherever it arrives. Scholz had a tremendous game, he was far & away the best player on the ice tonight. Ideally, the forwards are the ones putting the puck in the net every night & the defenders are protecting our goalie... but championships are build from the net outward, and we need talented players & leaders like Scholz to grab that role from time to time.

That's not to say the forward lines are forgotten; there's a lot of work / research / trial & error that goes into all four lines; they're assembled that way because they work. The best teams ice 12 quality forwards, not just 6 or 9.

Kelowna’s next two games are both at home as they look to host the Detroit Falcons and Colorado Raptors, two teams who currently sit at the bottom of the league and I know Kelowna players and fans are looking for two quick victories over these teams to really boost their chances of getting up to the first spot in the standings. Currently, Kelowna sits five points behind the Vancouver Whalers, one of their most hated rivals in the league.

Catch us next time as the season continues and we bring more Kelowna updates!