In front of a full house at the Co-op Arena at the West Central Events Centre, the Kindersley Sr. Klippers and Eston Sr. Ramblers battled it out in a much anticipated game one in the best of three provincial playoff series.

Kindersley got on the board early after a Troy Boisjoli faceoff win, Brody Ryberg took a shot from the point that had eyes, and made its way past Eston goaltender Tyrell King to give Kindersley an early 1-0 lead just over 3 and half minutes in. Then just over two minutes later, the Sr. Klippers doubled their lead on a nice pass off the boards by Brandon Cummings which sprung Shayne Neigum a partial break. Neigum could not bury it, but newcomer Kylar Hope put in the rebound. Things stayed relatively even until the Sr. Klippers took three straight minor penalties and the Ramblers got back in the game, as Cam Oliphant went upstairs on Kindersley goaltender Luke Sproule to cut the lead in half, with the assists going to Johnny Calkins and Connor Cox. Then just over two minutes later the Ramblers tied it five on five, as Ben Webb picked up the puck on a rebound from a BJ Somerville shot. Kindersley had a chance to take the lead on a shot by Shayne Neigum with just over three minutes left which beat Tyrell King, but not the post, and the score remained tied. Eston then took a penalty at the end of the period to give Kindersley a powerplay heading into the second.

After 1: Sr. Klippers 2 - 2 Ramblers, shots 21-14 Ramblers 

Taking advantage of that late first period penalty, the Sr. Klippers capitalized, as Shayne Neigum scored on a one timer setup by Brody Ryberg, with Darian Dziurzynski screening Tyrell King to give them the one goal lead back. Then just over four minutes into the second, the Sr. Klippers connected for their fourth goal of the night, as Darian Dziurzynski scored on a nice setup by Kylar Hope. Hope's tenacious play continued as he levelled Jesse Ismond twice on the same shift to send a message that Kindersley was the more physical team in this game. The Sr. Klippers then increased their lead to three, as Tyrell King let in a soft goal on a shot by Brandon Cummings, with the assists going to Ryberg and Troy Boisjoli at the 12:30 mark. Steve MacIntyre was also a force in this game, as he hammered a couple of guys standing in front of the net, and one who had just taken a shot on goaltender Luke Sproule. The Sr. Klippers held on to the three goal lead heading into period three.

After 2: Sr. Klippers 5 - 2 Ramblers, shots 11-8 Sr. Klippers in the period, 29-25 Ramblers overall

The third period started off with the Sr. Klippers going to the penalty box. Eston once again took advantage just over four minutes in, as Jesse Duchscherer deflected a Connor Cox point shot nicely, and got Eston to within two, with the second assist going to Jesse Ismond at the 4:33 mark. This goal gave the Ramblers instant momentum, and they were all over the Sr. Klippers for a majority of the period. Luke Sproule was sharp between the pipes all game long, and he stood tall in the final period to keep the score at 5-3 heading into the latter stages. Eston had one final push, but could once again not beat Sproule and the Sr. Klippers took game one.

FINAL: Sr. Klippers 5 - 3 Ramblers, shots 16-14 Ramblers in the period, 45-39 Ramblers overall

The Sr. Klippers were the more physical team in this game, and it was one of main reasons they took home game one of this best of three series. Captain Troy Boisjoli nailed a few guys, and defenseman Jared Erickson had his strongest game of the season, as he absolutely hammered at least three Eston players. Eston did prove they belonged in this series, outshooting Kindersley by a small margin, but Luke Sproule was up to the task, and made 42 saves in the victory. Game two between this two teams in back in Eston this Friday at 8:30 pm. We will have the pregame show on Classic Hits Radio, beginning at 8:15 pm.

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