Plenty of fans were on hand to watch the Creston Midget Chiefs play Coeur d’Alene on Saturday at the John Bucyk Arena.
Veteran netminder Curtis Luke started and had an awesome game as he played solidly in net. Zack King started off the Chiefs scoring in the first with a breakaway top shelf goal assisted by Nick Mottl.
Creston did well in the second period with goals from Otto Blackmore assisted by Mottl. A second goal from Otto was assisted by Keiran Simpson and Will Caspers. A short-handed goal by Josh Samuels was assisted by Chase Louie and Otto. Coeur d’Alene got one back with Creston down a man, and just before intermission Mottl got one from Zack Van Ruyskensvelde and Simpson. Coeur d’Alene battled back and got two past rookie netminder Chris Mulder to finish off the second period. The boys went to the dressing room leading 5-3.
The game went to 5-5, then Mottl got an unassisted goal in the third. Coeur d’Alene evened it up and scored the winning seventh goal. The Chiefs coach pulled the goalie in the last minute-and-a-half with the puck in the offensive zone. Creston lost the draw three times in front of their goalie. The Chiefs could not buy a goal; however, they did manage to keep it out of their own net.
The Chiefs coach said the team played well but some undisciplined penalties late in the game hurt the team’s chances for a win.
Missing from the roster were captain Jessie Bourgeios and Jacob Endersby. A lot of rookies were played in the second half of the game to give them plenty of ice time, as this was an exhibition game (Coeur d’Alene does not play in the Chiefs’ league). The Chiefs will be playing in Coeur d’Alene on the weekend.
— CRESTON VALLEY MINOR HOCKEY ASSOCIATION