Huskies progress to second round with 4-3 win over Sexsmith

Much like game three of the series, game four saw the Huskies’ offence make an early appearance, as the reigning League MVP Robbie Sidhu opened the scoring only 26 seconds into the first period, giving the Huskies the ever-important early 1-0 lead. Assists on the play were awarded to Steven Fast and Huskies’ Captain Cody Hildebrand.

According to Huskies assistant coach Jeremy Clothier, scoring such an early goal was a big factor in last night's game, saying it quickly killed the Viper's momentum. He also talked about the Huskies finally had a full bench, which was very beneficial for the team that has had attendance issues on the road.

Roughly 13 minutes following the game’s opening goal, Sexsmith’s Shaw Pickett tied the game at 1-1. Fortunately for Fort St. John fans, that tie didn’t last too long, as Brighton Campbell broke the tie three minutes later, restoring the Huskies' one-goal lead, to wrap up the period with the Huskies leading 2-1.

Game 4 heated up in the second period, as in this frame, it was the Vipers that struck first, tying the game at 2-2 roughly halfway through the second.

With the game tied at 2-2, Robbie Sidhu, much like he has done the entire regular season, took over offensively, scoring twice in remaining ten minutes in the second, scoring at the 11:36 and 17:27 markers of the second. Sidhu’s two-goal period completed the hat trick for the forward, and gave the Huskies a two goal cushion entering the final frame of game four.

Just like they did in the second, Sexsmith made things interesting in the third. With the Huskies down a man at the beginning of the period, the Vipers capitalized on a very important power play, cutting the lead to 4-3.

Unfortunately for Sexsmith, they were unable to score another goal in the third period, resulting in a 4-3 final for Fort St. John, who will now progress to the second round of the NWJHL playoffs.

Despite a 2-0 record for Huskies goaltender Travis Mclean, it was Ty Gullickson who got the start in net for the Huskies. Gullickson turned aside 25/28 shots he faced, earning his first win of the post season.

The Huskies will now shift their focus to the very talented Peace River Navigators, a team that has given the pups trouble all season long.

In the six meetings between the two teams this season, Peace River has never lost to Fort St. John. To make matters more difficult for the Huskies, the Navigators haven’t gone a game against Fort St. John without scoring less than four goals, while the Huskies failed to score more than three goals in each of the meetings, being outscored 43-16 in those six games.

Luckily, the beauty of the post season is that regular season stats are insignificant, providing a blank slate where the Huskies can redeem themselves.

Game one of the second round series kicks off in Peace River Friday, Feb.24, then game two takes place the following day, Saturday, Feb.25 at the North Peace Arena, with the puck scheduled to drop at 8 p.m.