The Crossfire finally came home, but it wasn’t as joyful a homecoming as some were anticipating, ending in a 14-6 loss for the hometown team.
The Crossfire and the Bandits have some history together with a really rough game starting off the season. This game, however, wasn’t going to turn into the brawl that initiated the season, as the commissioner of the league told the refs to stomp out any sparks.
And stomp they did, with penalties coming in a constant stream so there was a penalty on the board for almost every minute of play.
It took both teams a period to get used to the zeal of the refs, resulting in a slow first with both teams shorthanded for much of it.
The Bandits were the first to net a goal, nine minutes into the period on a four on three.
The Crossfire responded a couple minutes later, when a player cut into the Bandits zone, shorthanded and found the back of the net.
The Bandits would net one more goal in the first and from there never lost the lead.
In the second the Bandits stole away from the Crossfire, as the Quesnel team couldn’t fan a spark to flame.
Early in the second the Bandits took a couple goals, before the Crossfire managed anything. A nice goal seven and a half minutes in could have turned into something, but the Bandits stole the momentum with a run of five goals that put a damper on the Crossfire’s spirits.
The Crossfire rallied again, late in the period, putting in two nice goals in a row, with an exceptional, end to end goal, but the Bandits kept on top of the Crossfire, netting another goal before the period finished.
In the third, the Bandits buried any spark with a four goal run. A couple Crossfire goals in the last half of the third wasn’t enough to bring the Crossfire back.
The Crossfire, due to the ice coming off late in Arena 2, spent their first three games on the road.
Quesnel opened their season against the Bandits, in a rough game. Through the first two periods, the Crossfire were on their game, keeping ahead through 40 minutes. In the third however, the Bandits made a comeback, narrowly beating the Crossfire. The Crossfire then took on the Lumberjacks and the Devils to round out their road trip. Both games were losses.
The Crossfire continue their season looking for a win next Thursday. Game time is at 8 p.m.
