Miners Season Opener April 30/05 vs St.Albert Senior Rams
Score: Edmonton Miners 10 St.Albert Senior Rams 3
Played @ Bill Hunter Arena
Miners Goals & Assists:

ST. ALBERT RAMS AND THE EDMONTON MINERS OPEN THE 2005 SEASON WITH A BANG.

If the first period of last nights game was any indication of what the RMLL Sr. B/Sr. A league was going to be like then we are in for a very entertaining year but it we are going to see more of what we saw in the third period then it will not be worth the effort to attend. Both teams were ready for this one and it was great to see the Rams with a full bench and new attitude. There were a number of new players including former Miners, Jordan Kula, Kam Partington and Glen Tichkowsky, all of whom strengthened the Rams defense. Partington and Tichkowsky also saw a little time out the front game.

The first period was fast paced and full of action. Referees, Larry Howard and Lee Carlyle called a close game throughout and the Miners were the first to feel their whistles getting the first three penalties, however the Rams were unable to find the twine. The Rams did get the first goal of the season when Mike Kosh fired the ball from the top beating the Miner’s starting goalie Jon Marrese under the stick to take a 1-0 lead. Greg Whitenecht tied the score on a breakaway pass from Marrese to tie the score. Two minutes later the Rams took their first penalty of the year and paid the price for it when Neil Tichkowsky blasted one from the top beating Rams goalie Matt Somes. That was the way it finished for the period, 2-1 Miners. Both the teams moved up and down the floor very well with the Miners having the edge in speed resulting in a number of good scoring chances only to be thwarted by the strong play of Somes.

In the second period it was not at the same pace and it got a little sloppier. The result was more chances for the Miners and they did a better job of finishing. A minute into the period N. Tichkowsky got his second in a row to make it 3-1. Mark Malayko broke inside of the Rams man short box and took a pass from N. Tichkowsky and fired it past Somes for the Miner’s second power play goal. Half way through the period Trevor Scott broke in past the Miners defense and fired it past Marrese to make it 4-2. Aiden Inglis, a rookie for the Miners, then broke out of his own end after picking up a loose ball and went in alone on the Ram’s goalie beating him on the glove side to give the Miners a three goal lead. Lucas Huyser-Wierenga, another Miner’s rookie also got in home free to score his first goal. Shaun Wilhelm showed his power to shoot from the outside when he fired one for his first of the year. Finally another Miner rookie, Chris Schmidt got inside and just before getting hit hard took a pass and put the ball past the Ram’s tender to give the Miners an 8-2 lead.

The third period quickly deteriorated as the Rams became a little frustrated and the Miners took some liberties causing tempers to flare and for the most part the players lost interest in playing the game. As a result the Miners took 36 minutes in penalties including a 10 misconduct and the Rams were served with 35 minutes. There were few highlights in the period. A number of scrums broke out but the only fight of note was when Chris Habkirk and Tony Reid squared off and took the time to take off their helmets. It was a solid effort by both players with each landing solid shots. Habkirk was at a disadvantage because of Reid’s long reach but he stood in there and went toe to toe. The fight went on for some time and it was clear that both players were had given it all they had and were dead tired at the end. It appeared that the decision went to Reid. As for goals it was the Rams that got the first of the period when Chris Habkirk fired for his first of the season in the first two minutes of the period. The Miners then finished the scoring with one from Andrew Dixon who got his first goal in two years. You would have thought that he had many more with the howitzer he fired. The last goal came on the power play with Wilhelm getting his second of the night.

The player of the game was the Rams goalie, Somes. He made a number of spectacular saves. There were a number of goals called back. It was around 6 of them. Both teams showed that they have talent but will have to do a lot of work if they are going to make any noise when the play offs come along. Leading the scorers was N. Tichkowsky with 2, 1; Lucas Huyser-Wierenga 1,3 and Mark Malayko with 1,2. The Miners next game is Friday, May 6th at 8 pm against the Calgary Mountaineers and then Saturday May 7th at 9 pm against the Calgary Raiders.