Steelheads back on track with a win over the Houston Luckies to cement Division lead.

The Steelheads won 4-1 on Saturday night to the Houston Luckies.
(Jan 10th, 2008)

The Smithers Steelheads clinched their lead on top of the West Division of the CIHL, with a comfortable 4-1 win over the Houston Luckies, in a pretty tough game on the road that allowed them to even their season series with the Luckies at two games apiece.

Steelheads next goal is to clinch the League regular season championship. They need at best, two wins or a win and a tie in next weekend's double-header on home ice, with the Williams Lake Stampeders, to unseat the defending champs, the Kitimat Ice Demons. That is only if the Demons are able to defeat the surging Rampage in their final meeting, not a gimme as it might have been seen earlier in the season.

If they do not then it will make it a little easier for the Steelheads.

Saturday night's bumpy affair with Houston was a sloppy game at times, with the passing on both sides not clicking. The game turned into mostly individual play, with Darryl Young and Jamie Deba looking like standouts for the Steelheads and Don Kenzel for the Luckies, also stood out.

Nobody on the Luckies seemed able to touch Young's speed and if it weren't for Kenzel the score could have been a little embarrassing for the Luckies.

Deba for the Fish made the saves he needed to make - although a couple post helped him out - and that could have made a difference.

Houston's feisty Blair Dinelle threw a bit of a "hissy fit" and left the game in the third, a little early, although some Steelheads fans felt he could have been ejected in the second period.

Steelheads Dan Vinnish was ejected in the third for a hard hit from behind that was objected to by the Luckies. Kyle Amonson came to his rescue, and it got ugly and Amonson left the game with Vinnish.

Steelheads were short handed for 11 minutes in the third, including two full minutes at 5 on 3, allowing the door to open for the Luckies, who managed 10 good shots on net, but could not beat the goaltender or the defence of the Steelheads.

Steelheads Darryl Young got two goals in the game, including one in the first, shorthanded; with the assists from Kyle Young on the first and Randle Groot and Kellin Brown on the second.

Steelheads were handed three minors in the first and the Luckies one. Shots on goal were even as the game seemed to go end to end.

In the second period the Luckies started the scoring on a goal by Dwayne Anderson assisted by Blair Dinelle. Steelheads came back with two more goals with their third scored by Mike Verticchio assisted by Eric Smith and the fourth scored by Dan Vinnish assisted by Darryl Young and Matt Arnold. Again shots on goal were fairly even, but the play so sloppy that who ever broke out with a burst of speed got a shot on net. The Luckies took four penalties called with Blair Dinelle drawing some boos from the Steelheads fans.

There were no third period goals, but the Steelheads spent much of the period shorthanded. Four players ejected, Dan Vinnish from the Steelheads, and Kyle Amonson, Blair Dinelle, and Glen Kelly from the Luckies. Luckies out shot the Steelheads by a pretty good margin, but could not put one past Deba. There were seven penalties handed out to the Steelheads and three for the Luckies.