The Quesnel Crossfire extended its win streak to three with an impressive 14-11 home victory over a game Prince George Stylers squad on Tuesday (May 15).
For local sports fans who haven’t had a chance to see them play in the West Fraser Centre yet, this team is the most exciting ticket in town, hands down.
The game star went to #18 Hunter McSeveney, who tallied a goal and four assists. But it could have easily gone to the team’s scoring leader, #55 Dusty Cathcart, who had four markers, or #8 Garth Kennedy, who consistently found new gears to transition to in a four-goal, one-assist performance.
Even their opponents have little but praise for this young team with a powerful engine.
“Quesnel’s come a long way in the last few years,” says Stylers forward Matt Rochon, who scored four goals and added two assists on the evening.
“They’re a good team to play against.
“They have a solid core and some guys who have played together for a long time and it’s nice that they are competitive out there.”
The first period was a see-saw match, with both teams trading blows but neither giving up much ground.
Quesnel’s #89 JT Moore had a lovely little goal where he cut in from just right of the Stylers goalie and snapped a sly one past him to tie it at 3-3.
The teams went into the dressing room knotted at four.
The Crossfire came back onto the floor with renewed purpose in the second period and blew the game wide open.
With Cottonwood seeds flying through the inside of the arena, the hometown boys went on a tear, scoring three straight goals to force the Stylers goalie out of net.
His large replacement didn’t fare much better, letting in another that made the score 8-4 with slightly more than 10 minutes left in the period.
A costly five-minute major allowed the Stylers to stop the bleeding and fire back their own volley, making it 8-6 at the five-minute mark, but McSeveney put on a sneaky clinic with a fake-and-put-away snipe from in close that padded the Crossfire lead to three at the end of the period.
The Stylers kept pace in the fourth, with a couple of their younger players showing the Crossfire what they are capable of.
Rookie Gage Prince turned on the jets for a sublime breakaway goal, and big-bodied Cameron Proust shook off three Crossfire defenders for a workman-like score as well.
Rochon says that Gage, who is adjusting well in his first season, is really small, but very fast.
He says that the team is looking for a fellow southpaw to pair with Proust, so they can take better advantage of passing plays on the offensive end.
Quesnel’s Cathcart complimented the Stylers forwards, saying the defense needed to figure them out early on.
“We had to scan our opponents and see who we needed to put on whom and we put our tougher defencemen on their tougher players to just keep ’em out and pressure them into taking outside shots,” he says.
Of his team’s success, Cathcart says their secret is keeping cool heads and staying out of trouble.
“In previous years, we’d just get out of control and spend our game in the box,” he mentions.
“But now, we’re controlling ourselves on the floor and keeping our heads in the game.”
Cathcart says that every member of the team is extremely committed to success this year.
All players have been making it to practice, and even injured teammates like goalie Jesse Daigle and strong defenceman Will Pagurat have been showing up to cheer and give advice.
Next Thursday (May 24) will be their third match against the Prince George Bandits, the only team they have yet to beat this year.
“We just need to stay out of the box and run ’em,” says Cathcart.
“Tucker ’em out.”
He says improved support in the stands would help their chances too.
“We need to get some more fans,” he exclaims.
“Let’s pack the barn!”
