Kelly Hrudey and 2,000 other Nanaimo Clippers fans provided a big-game atmosphere, but the home team couldn’t come through with a win.
The Clips were defeated by the Cowichan Valley Capitals 6-5 in overtime Sunday night at Frank Crane Arena.
After a pre-game pep talk from the team’s new part owner Hrudey, the Clippers brought all kinds of energy to the opening faceoff. Nanaimo outshot Cowichan 21-3 in the opening frame but had to settle for just a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.
In the second period Nanaimo made it 3-1 but started to slow the pace. Every mistake they made the rest of the night seemed to end up in the back of their net. Cowichan drew to 4-3 after two periods, then scored twice more midway through the third period before the Clippers’ Brett Hartskamp tallied a game-tying goal.
Cowichan ended it just 37 seconds into overtime, burying a juicy rebound.
“We had our feet going and we had a high intensity level and it was really working for us,” said Graeme McCormack, Clippers defenceman. “And then we get up a goal or two and we kind of relaxed.”
Clippers coach Bill Bestwick said his team gave the puck away too many times in the second half of the game.
“We were outworked on boards in our end and it allowed [Cowichan] to keep the puck in our zone and keep pressure on and it resulted in goals against,” said Bestwick. “I think some of our players were guilty of taking some time off when they shouldn’t have.”
Clippers players said there was miscommunication and lack of communication in their end of the ice, but they also gave some credit to the opposition.
“They’re playing for their season right now. They played with more desperation than we did tonight,” said Kyle Kramer, Clippers forward. “We just got outworked and outbattled on the walls.”
Players said having Hrudey and another new owner, David Moir, in the building was only a little bit of a distraction. The Clippers obviously wanted to show themselves in a better light than they did.
“With the new owners in and a really big crowd we were pretty down after the game,” McCormack said.
A post-game locker-room visit by some minor hockey players, however, buoyed the team’s spirits, McCormack said, and the Clippers will be just fine moving forward.
“We did a lot of things right tonight and we were really close to doing a lot of things right,” he said.
Myles Fitzgerald scored two goals for the Clippers and Kramer and Brodie Jamieson also scored leading up to Hartskamp’s marker. Charles-Andre Pelletier made 21 saves in the loss.
On Friday the Clippers beat the Capitals 4-1 in Duncan. Danick Malouin, Victor Newell, Ryan Stanimir and Kramer scored in that one with Charles-Alexy Premont earning the win with 28 saves.
GAME ON … The Clippers’ last home game of the regular season is Friday (Feb. 18) against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs at 8 p.m. at Frank Crane Arena. The Clips then visit the Victoria Grizzlies Saturday.
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