Welcome all to the end of the first round of the playoffs and the recap of our Kelowna Knights end of season! My name is William Icardi and I hope to bring you all coverage of the Knight’s playoff push as they continue to march on towards glory. A couple of major transfers happened for the Knights in their last ten games of the season as they looked towards the playoffs and we will see how they fared with their changes.

Since our last update for the Knights, it seems like the team went on a weird roller coaster ride of ups and downs, with mostly it being down. After game days 20-21, where Kelowna gained two wins, the Knights were sitting at a 10-7 record, looking to try and continue to string along wings as they made a long grinding push for the number 1 spot.

Well, hockey can be cruel and the Knights did not fare as well as they wanted, finishing the rest of their seaon going 12-16-5, ending the season in 7th, with a record of 22-23-5 and 49 points total, 20 points off of top placed St. Louis Scarecrows. It’s their worst performance since Season 44, where they ended the season at the bottom with 41 points, and disappointing after their runs in season 45 and 46, where they saw a 3rd place finish and conference title winning position.

After running on a three game winning streak, the Knights went into game day 61 looking to continue their late season form of winning, they managed to pull off a shoot out win against the Lethbridge Lions early in the morning. Nearly fourteen hours later, a trade was announced by the Kelowna Knights, in a weird twist of fate, sending to Lethbridge Lions two of their top players, Winger Liam Hutchinson and one of their Defensive Heroes Karlstrabe Scholz, with Lethbridge sending Kelowna their winger Tah Puhcheese and two 3rd round picks for the Season 48 and 49 drafts, with the stipulations of those picks being as follows “Whichever season IS a Reddit Draft, that will remain an unprotected 3rd. For the NON-REDDIT DRAFT, that 3rd will become a 2nd IF Lethbridge wins the cup this season (S47).”

Before being traded, Liam played in 42 games for the Knights and posted a decent line of stats, getting ten goals, eighteen assists, and twenty eight points overall, rocking a 0 plus minus. Karlstrabe before he was traded to the Lions, produced eleven goals, nineteen assists, and thirty points with a nasty -25 plus minus record.

Tah Puhcheese collected two goals, two assists for a total of four points during his 42 games with the Lions, and in eight games for the Knights he copied exactly the same stats, two goals, two assists, four points. Liam in his eight games for the Lions has only one goal for one point, while Karl has racked up two goals, five assists for a total of seven points.

Kelowna’s top goal scorer for the season was Zach Laliberte, ending the season with 19 goals, 14 assists, and a total of 33 points, while Bobby Sharp ended the season with the most assists and points on the team, 13 goals and 26 assists to equal up to 39 points. The top three lines on the team had pretty similar point totals as it seems like the team has been working well together.

New Free Agent signing Touncie Bitties

So, now we got all of that out of the way, the Kelowna Knights are looking to see how far they can go in the playoffs, and their first round match up is against last place Colorado Raptors. The Knights were looking to get off on the right foot and really push the pedal down.

Game one started off in a slow matter as both teams tried to find their rhythm, but after two minutes of the first period, Jason Bergenty of Kelowna picked up a Holding penalty, which gave Colorado a really good opportunity, but it was squandered nearly thirty seconds later as Colorado's Emeka Valetine-Okoli picked up a high sticking penalty and both teams played out to a four on four. Nothing happened until the seventh minute of the first period as Raptor Richard Rocket blasted home a sweet wrister and got past Kelowna’s goalie Alexander Andersson-Grande.

Kelowna knew they couldn’t end the period on a sour note like that and continued to press the Raptors for the next couple of minutes, as they finally got a response two minutes later, Barry Batsbak smashed home a slapper after being sent a saucer pass by Piotr Horvat, tying up the game 1-1. Both teams had a couple more chances but the period ended tied with Colorado having seven shots and Kelowna sitting at five.

The second period, Kelowna came out of the gate looking to really press Colorado and take the lead, they saw their chance to get ahead but Colorado goalie, Alexander Thorstrom, was standing on his head as he blocked shot after shot for a while. Colorado got a penalty for hooking near the ninth minute, and Kelowna wasn’t able to capitalize on it.

It wasn’t until after thirteen minutes had passed in the second when Kelowna finally grabbed a goal against Colorado, Bobby Sharp getting his first of the playoff on the assists from Zach Laliberte and Jason Bergenty. Colorado’s goalie tried to hold the line but he could only do so much against the massive amount of pressure Kelowna was pouring on them.

With the period ticking down and Kelowna leading, Colorado had a couple of good looks during the period but never could get one back. Kelowna picked up a holding minor in the fifteenth minute and gave Colorado a great chance, but the Knights goaltender was holding his own and the penalty kill stood strong as Colorado wasn’t able to get many good looks or shots on goal.

Nearly five minutes later after Kelowna’s second goal, new Knight Tah Puhcheese slotted home a goal, following an assist by Vadim Malichov and Josef Novotny. The line worked hard to get into position and Tah was able to slot one home, giving Kelowna a 3-1 lead, and would end the period with a massive shot lead, 13 for Kelowna and only 3 for Colorado.

Colorado Coach went into their locker room fired up, it was a rough period to swallow after a closely contested first period, and the Raptors knew that. Starting the third period off in a horrible way, the Knights picked up a double minor for slashing on David Vent and gave Colorado just the right chance to get back into this game, and with the power play almost over Raptor Jules Watt put one home as Colorado scored, giving the Knights a problem as they saw their lead cut in half, 3-2.

Three minutes after Colorado’s goal, Piotr Horvat had another slashing penalty call against the team and again Colorado went on the power play, a horrible time for Kelowna as they looked to be falling apart, but they held on and were able to kill off the penalty. Colorado and Kelowna would go back and forth with high intensity hockey, going coast to coast before Colorado’s Ja'Aj Coitus-Wagg picked up a high sticking minor after nearly thirteenth minutes in the period. It gave Kelowna some breathing room, although they were not able to put one home they felt like they could win the game.

Colorado would pull their goalie to try and give them a chance, and eventually Kelowna would dump a goal in on the empty net, Zach Laliberte getting the empty netter, following an assist by Barry Batsbak and Bobby Sharp. That pretty much ended game one, 4-2 in favor of Kelowna. Shots at the end of the third were 8 for Colorado and 7 for Kelowna. Total shot count was 25 for Kelowna and 18 for Colorado.

Both Goalies had an alright game, although both I am sure wished they had better stats as Colorado’s goalie stopped 21 out of 24 for a .875 save percentage, and Kelowna’s goalie stopped 16 out of 18, for .889 save percentage.

Barry Batsbak about to score his first playoff goal

Kelowna had a great chance as they took a 1-0 series lead, and wanted to bag both home games as they looked towards game 2. Colorado knew they had to take at least one game, and especially tie up the series going into their home games and they started the first period of game two off in a great way, really pressing Kelowna but the Knights weathered the storm for a few minutes until almost five minutes had gone by and Colorado’s Calogero Crudelli bagged his first goal of the playoffs, putting it past Kelowna’s Alexander Andersson-Grande.

It gave Colorado a great surge, but their momentum took a hit as they took a high sticking penalty almost a minute later, giving Kelowna a power play and they were able to tie up the game by way of Barry Batsbak’s power play goal, getting a nice pass from Aleksandr Scherbak and giving the Knights a fighting chance.

The game carried on very back and forth, both sides trying to get one past each other’s goaltender and it took nearly six more minutes in the game before Colorado got one to give them the lead, Calogero Crudelli got his second of the playoffs, and of the game. The Knights knew they had to keep up the pressure and they would be able to break down the Raptor’s defense, and two minutes later Barry Batsbak got his second of the game, again tying up the game before the period ended. Aleksandr Scherbak and Jack Icicle assisted on the goal.

The first period ended with both sides having 14 shots on goal each. Both sides were looking fantastic and both needed to keep up the pressure, but at the start of the second period, literally four seconds into it, David Vent picked up a roughing minor penalty, giving Colorado the edge as they pressed on the Knight’s defense, but they were able to kill the penalty. Kelowna fought back but Colorado really pressured them, but while they were down in the Knight’s Zone, a quick steal and passing play from David Vent and Josef Novotny gave Vadim Malichov the perfect chance to wrist a goal home as he gave Kelowna the lead at 3-2.

Piotr Horvat picked up a hooking penalty halfway through the seventeenth minute giving Colorado a power play chance to crawl back into the game, but they were not able to slot one home and the period ended with Kelowna going into the locker room with the lead. Colorado lead shots in the period, 10 to 8.

Colorado knew they had to get back into the game and over the first two periods they have been doing really well, so they wanted to come out of the gate strong, but after 90 seconds in the third, they picked up an Interference penalty and gave Kelowna a nice power play to try and put the game away, which they were able to do when Vadim Malichov put away a goal after getting passes from Big Fudge and Zach Laliberte.

Colorado tried to push their luck and eventually would get a goal back when Anastasia O’Koivu put one past Kelowna’s goalie, putting them only one goal behind. Nearly eight minutes later, the Knight’s were able to seal the deal and get the win by way of Nathan Explosion’s first playoff goal, being assisted by Barry Batsbak and Aleksandr Scherbak. The game ended 5-3 in Kelowna’s favor, giving them a 2-0 series lead. Kelowna had the shot lead as well, 37 to 27.

Aleksandr Scherbak looking for the pass

Going to Colorado, Kelowna was looking sharp and heavy hitting as they had put the pressure on the Raptors, and Colorado needed to come up with some sort of game plan to get back into this series or they would fall completely apart. Kelowna had their weaknesses but they seemingly had disappeared when the playoffs started.

The first period started off nervously, as both sides tried to play safe and smart hockey, Kelowna not wanting to give anything up and Colorado just trying to find their rhythm. Colorado started to really press down on the pedal as they looked to take the lead, and they had a perfect opportunity when Kelowna player Big Fudge got a double minor roughing and gave them a nice long power play after twelve minutes had gone by in the period.

Apparently that is all they needed because twenty seconds into the power play, Mikelis Ozolins smashed home a goal for Colorado, giving them the lead. They held on for the rest of the period, pouring on the pressure when they could but both sides fought hard till the end of the period. Colorado had the lead going into the second, 1-0, but Kelowna had the shot lead, 8 to 6.

Kelowna had felt this pressure before and knew they had to do something to get back into the game, and they would look to get the tying goal right away, but they were not able to and eventually after three minutes into the second, new Kelowna player Touncie Bitties, who was picked up as a free agent after the trade, got a hooking penalty, giving Colorado yet another power play, but they were not able to do much with it.

The second continued to play on until Colorado’s Jules Watt got a holding minor as well, and while Kelowna was not able to get a power play goal, a few seconds after it ended Jack Icicle got the goal they were looking for, after a sweet pass from Josef Novotny and Tah Puhcheese. The Knights could breath a little, but wanted to keep the pressure up and both teams would press each other back and forth, with Kelowna having more of their shots go through.

After almost twelve minutes had gone by, Nathan Explosion got a hooking minor and gave Colorado the breathing room they needed and was able to pounce on the mistake by Kelowna, slotting home a goal from Nick Novak. So many penalties have been hurting both sides, and Colorado were able to enjoy their lead for only a minute before Kelowna got a goal from Tah Puhcheese, getting his second of the playoffs and getting assists from Big Fudge and Jack Icicle.

While Kelowna had more chances, Colorado wouldn’t go down without a fight but with only two minutes left in the period, Kelowna’s Aleksandr Scherbak snapped home a goal after getting assisted from Nathan Explosion and Barry Batsbak. Taking the lead, Kelowna felt right but it lasted twenty seconds as Colorado immediately responded with a goal from Ja’Aj Coitus-Wagg. The period ended in a tie, 3-3. Kelowna had the shot lead at the end of the second, 13-6.

Both teams had been fighting against each other, and both teams were slugging it out against each other. Colorado needed a win badly and they really wanted to seek it out, but Anastasia O’Koivu got a roughing minor after twenty seconds into the third, giving Kelowna a perfect chance to seal the deal, and they were able to score after a few seconds on the penalty, Barry Batsbak slotting home a goal after Big Fudge and Nathan Explosion assisted him.

It seemed like it could be over for Colorado, but they never gave up and kept pressing Kelowna and eventually they were able to break and get the tying goal, Calogero Crudelli got the goal for the Raptors, and the game was tied, again. Both teams had back and forth penalties and chances from both sides to end the game, but time ran out and this was the first game of the series going into overtime. Both teams were getting absolutely exhausted at the end, but this is where cup winning teams are born and both of them would continue to try and push for the win. It took eight minutes into overtime before Kelowna’s Zach Laliberte got the winning goal after getting assisted by Barry Batsbak. Kelowna took a 3-0 series lead and things were getting dark in Colorado as they faced getting swept and needed something to change for them. Kelowna again ended with the shots lead, 34-24.

Jack Icicle scoring the tying goal for Kelowna

Kelowna’s players were feeling great, they’ve had to grind out some games but they had the lead and going into game four they didn’t want to relax, they could take the series now and be able to rest a bit before the next series. Colorado wasn’t giving up just yet, and they fought for every inch on the ice, Kelowna continued to dominate on the ice but Colorado was able to get the first goal as Knute Knurtsson gave the Raptors the lead.

It was a great way to start for the Raptors, and they wanted to keep it up but they were not able to find any way past Kelowna’s defense, barely getting any shots off and then they started to play a bit sloppy, as one of their players took a high sticking penalty, giving Kelowna a power play and an easy way back into the game. Zach Laliberte got his third of the playoffs as he tied the game up for the Knights after passes from Piotr Horvat and Bobby Sharp. Yet again, Colorado has shot themselves in the foot after taking the lead. They continued to pick up penalties during the first, and would end the period with only 2 shots on goal, compared to Kelowna’s 13.

It started to look like the end for Colorado as Kelowna dominated the play, able to hold their defensive wall against them and put a crazy amount of shots against the Raptors, and it continued on when the second period began. Colorado was able to pick up their pace and get more shots on goal but they continued to harm themselves as Jake Peralta took a high sticking minor after five and a half minutes and helped Kelowna to their second of the game, taking the lead when Piotr Horvat slotted home a goal after being assisted by Zach Laliberte and Big Fudge.

The period was back and forth as both teams looked to try and get another goal, especially Colorado, but it ended with Kelowna maintaining the lead 2-1, as the period ended with Kelowna also having the shot lead, 11-9.

It looked better for Colorado after only getting two shots on goal in the first, and they had to do something or they were going to be sent to the golf course early. Colorado pressed hard and continued pressing until they tied it up when Knute Knurtsson slapped home a goal, giving the Raptors some sort life. Kelowna wouldn’t back down and would continue to grind against Colorado, almost desperately looking to close the series and breathe a little before the next round. It took almost thirteen minutes to pass in the period before Gunnar Soderberg gave the Knights exactly that, taking the lead after passes from Bobby Sharp and Zach Laliberte.

Gunnar Söderberg scoring the series winning goal

Colorado tried, but in the end it wasn’t enough as Kelowna held their ground and secured the win, 3-2. The Series was over as both teams lined up for the hand shakes, Colorado looked absolutely defeated but they gave Kelowna a run for their money, the Knights had made quite a few mistakes over the series but their pressure was tremendous.

It seems like Kelowna has turned things around after the end of their season, they looked almost a completely different team, fired up and motivated. Their next series will line them up against the Montreal Militia. The series has already started but we will cover that another time, this has been long enough. Thank you all, this is William Icardi, signing off.

Chivalry noise

Go Kn00ts

Rikkert Biemans || #21 || S66  || Tampa Bay Barracuda || Katth#7745
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Drafted 8th overall by the Kelowna Knights
Drafted 6th overall by the Texas Renegades and traded to Montreal Patriotes
Traded to St. Louis Scarecrows
Traded to Tampa Bay Barracuda
S67 WJC Gold Medal - Dach
S70 IIHF Gold Medal - Germany
S72 IIHF Gold Medal - Germany
S73 All Star Game (1st appearance)
S74 IIHF Gold Medal - Germany
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SMJHL:
S65 || GP: 66 || G: 14 || A: 11 || P: 25 || SHT%: 13.6% || Hits: 85
S66 || GP: 66 || G: 19 || A: 20 || P: 39 || SHT%: 13.8% || Hits: 93
S67 || GP: 66 || G: 36 || A: 32 || P: 68 || SHT%: 18.6% || Hits: 129
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SHL:
S68 || GP: 66 || G: 29 || A: 25 || P: 54 || SHT%: 16.8% || GWG: 6 || Hits: 108
S69 || GP: 66 || G: 12 || A: 38 || P: 50 || SHT%: 08.4% || GWG: 3 || Hits: 72
S70 || GP: 66 || G: 22 || A: 32 || P: 54 || SHT%: 13.5% || GWG: 0 || Hits: 73
S71 || GP: 66 || G: 31 || A: 40 || P: 71 || SHT%: 14.8% || GWG: 2 || Hits: 100
S72 || GP: 66 || G: 38 || A: 31 || P: 69 || SHT%: 16.6% || GWG: 7 || Hits: 102
S73 || GP: 66 || G: 38 || A: 43 || P: 81 || SHT%: 13.0% || GWG: 6 || Hits: 94
S74 || GP: 66 || G: 42 || A: 57 || P: 99 || SHT%: 16.3% || GWG: 7 || Hits: 100


 



Barry Batsbak || #92 || S46 || Calgary Dragons || 2,080 TPE (peak) || Katth#7745
Alias: The Bird
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 204 lbs
Number: 92
Country: Austria
Render: Evgeny Kuznetsov
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SHL:
S48 || CGY || GP: 50 || G: 03 || A: 10 || P: 13 || +/- -10 || SHT%: 03.66% || FO%: 50.49%
S49 || CGY || GP: 50 || G: 10 || A: 11 || P: 21 || +/- -01 || SHT%: 13.33% || FO%: 49.89%
S50 || CGY || GP: 50 || G: 05 || A: 20 || P: 25 || +/- -05 || SHT%: 04.85% || FO%: 53.81%
S51 || CGY || GP: 50 || G: 12 || A: 17 || P: 29 || +/-  05 || SHT%: 09.45% || FO%: 54.32%
S52 || CGY || GP: 50 || G: 15 || A: 26 || P: 41 || +/-  11 || SHT%: 10.79% || FO%: 54.99%
S53 || CGY || GP: 50 || G: 17 || A: 38 || P: 55 || +/-  16 || SHT%: 10.37% || FO%: 56.70%
S54 || CGY || GP: 50 || G: 14 || A: 36 || P: 50 || +/- -06 || SHT%: 07.22% || FO%: 57.82%
S55 || CGY || GP: 50 || G: 14 || A: 42 || P: 56 || +/- -11 || SHT%: 08.86% || FO%: 57.82%
S56 || CGY || GP: 50 || G: 29 || A: 34 || P: 63 || +/-  39 || SHT%: 15.59% || FO%: 55.44%
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SHL Playoffs:
S48 || CGY || GP: 11 || G: 01 || A: 05 || P: 06 || +/- 00 || SHT%: 05.56% || FO%: 44.74%
S49 || CGY || GP: 07 || G: 02 || A: 03 || P: 05 || +/- 05 || SHT%: 15.38% || FO%: 51.67%
S50 || CGY || GP: 20 || G: 02 || A: 08 || P: 10 || +/- -01|| SHT%: 06.25% || FO%: 58.21%
S51 || CGY || GP: 07 || G: 01 || A: 03 || P: 04 || +/- 01 || SHT%: 05.88% || FO%: 47.93%
S52 || CGY || GP: 13 || G: 05 || A: 07 || P: 12 || +/- 09 || SHT%: 15.15% || FO%: 51.50%
S53 || CGY || GP: 07 || G: 02 || A: 01 || P: 03 || +/--02 || SHT%: 08.00% || FO%: 00.00%
S54 || CGY || GP: 05 || G: 01 || A: 04 || P: 05 || +/- 00 || SHT%: 07.14% || FO%: 00.00%
S55 || CGY || GP: 06 || G: 01 || A: 03 || P: 04 || +/--04 || SHT%: 05.88% || FO%: 00.00%
S56 || CGY || GP: 05 || G: 01 || A: 04 || P: 05 || +/- 00 || SHT%: 07.14% || FO%: 00.00%
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IIHF Round Robin:
S48 || AUT || GP: 12 || G: 00 || A: 01 || P: 01 || +/-  00 || SHT%: 00.00% || FO%: 50.00%
S49 || AUT || GP: 12 || G: 04 || A: 02 || P: 06 || +/- -01 || SHT%: 20.00% || FO%: 51.95%
S50 || AUT || GP: 12 || G: 00 || A: 03 || P: 03 || +/-  03 || SHT%: 00.00% || FO%: 53.18%
S51 || AUT || GP: 12 || G: 04 || A: 04 || P: 08 || +/- -01 || SHT%: 16.00% || FO%: 57.39%
S52 || AUT || GP: 12 || G: 06 || A: 04 || P: 10 || +/-  10 || SHT%: 23.08% || FO%: 61.13%
S53 || AUT || GP: 12 || G: 01 || A: 10 || P: 11 || +/- -02 || SHT%: 02.94% || FO%: 00.00%
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IIHF Medal Rounds:
S48 || AUT || GP: 01 || G: 01 || A: 00 || P: 01 || +/-  01 || SHT%: 50.00% || FO%: 100.00%
S50 || AUT || GP: 02 || G: 00 || A: 00 || P: 00 || +/- -01 || SHT%: 00.00% || FO%: 47.50%
S51 || AUT || GP: 01 || G: 00 || A: 00 || P: 00 || +/- -00 || SHT%: 00.00% || FO%: 00.00%
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SMJHL Regular Season:
S45 || KEL || GP: 50 || G: 08 || A: 05 || P: 13 || +/-  -04 || SHT%: 16.00% || FO%: 46.88%
S46 || KEL || GP: 50 || G: 11 || A: 25 || P: 36 || +/- +12 || SHT%: 10.68% || FO%: 46.10%
S47 || KEL || GP: 50 || G: 13 || A: 25 || P: 38 || +/-  -10 || SHT%: 10.08% || FO%: 48.30%
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SMJHL Playoffs:
S45 || KEL || GP: 04 || G: 02 || A: 00 || P: 02 || +/- +00 || SHT%: 50.00%
S46 || KEL || GP: 18 || G: 02 || A: 12 || P: 14 || +/- +10 || SHT%: 06.06%
S47 || KEL || GP: 10 || G: 05 || A: 07 || P: 12 || +/- +00 || SHT%: 15.63%
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Transactions & Awards:
S45: Drafted 61st overall by Kelowna Knights
S45: Silver medal WJC (CAN)
S46: Drafted 22nd overall by Calgary Dragons
S46: Laurifer Trophy (KEL - SMJHL)
S46: Riko Muerto Award (KEL - Most Underated Player)
S46: Bronze medal WJC (CAN)
S47: John McBride Award (KEL - Playoff MVP)
S47: Gold medal WJC (CAN)
S49: Appointed as Head Coach of the Kelowna Knights
S49: First career shorthanded goal (Thursday, August 15, 2019)
S49: First career hattrick (Saturday, August 17, 2019)
S49: President's Trophy (CGY)
S49: Appointed Federation Head for Austria
S49: Mike Izzy Award (CGY - Exemplary commitment to off-ice contributions to the team)
S50: Named Alternate Captain for S50 (CGY)
S50: Western Conference Champion (CGY)
S50: Challenge Cup Champion (CGY)
S51: Appointed co-GM for Kelowna Knights
S52: Appointed GM for Kelowna Knights
S53: Jesster Award (CGY - Most Valuable Player)
S53: Western Conference Champion (KEL)
S54: Named Alternate Captain for S54 & S55 (CGY)
S54: Laurifer Trophy (KEL)

 
S50 Challenge Cup Finals Game 7

Nice Job on your Media!
I can't help notice that TV, with the Shark Choking on that Hockey Stick, in the first picture, in the background!
Hopefully the Knights Choke after being up against the Militia 2-0 in the second round!
LOL a Sharks Fan on a team called the Knights... Irony??
Go Militia!!