This will be a running thread for Quake hockey, PHS regional basketball and Region IX basketball for Northwest College. Check back here for updates on games, schedules, etc. and then pick up Tuesday's Powell Tribune for complete coverage.
QUAKE HOCKEY--Hockey season came to a close for the Yellowstone Quake on Sunday evening as the team fell 5-2 to the Helena Bighorns in the decisive fifth game of the America West division series. Chris Rinaldi scored late in the first period, then lit the lamp again early in the second period to temporarily give the Quake a 2-1 edge. Helena answered with two goals in a 63-second span in the middle of the period and added two third-period goals to advance to the NORPAC Cascade Cup.
For the second night in a row, the Quake was held to fewer than 20 shots on goal according to the unofficial statistics. Helena advances to face Seattle, the Pacific division winner, for the Cascade Cup.
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NWC MEN'S BASKETBALL--The Northwest College Trappers were eliminated from Region IX tournament play 82-71 on Sunday afternoon by No. 18 North Platte. The Trappers and East sub-region champion Knights played more than 10 minutes of back-and-forth basketball with neither team establishing more than a three-point lead. NWC grabbed the upper hand late in the first half to open a five-point lead. North Platte closed out the first half on a run though, carrying a 36-35 lead into halftime.
The Knights' hot hand continued into the second half as the team from Nebraska quickly built a nine-point cushion. Northwest twice cut the lead to two points, only to see the Knights re-establish it on both occasions. North Platte had pushed its edge to 13 late in the contest before a final push by the Trappers cut the gap to 75-71 with under 90 seconds to play. North Platte closed the contest on a 7-0 run to bring down the curtain on an outstanding season by Northwest College.
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STATE 3A BRACKET RELEASED--The Powell High School girls will open state tournament play on March 11 at 10:30 a.m. at the Casper Events Center against Wheatland. The two schools met to open the year at the East-West Showdown with Powell taking a narrow 42-36 victory in that encounter. Buffalo and Cody are the other two schools on Powell's half of the tournament bracket. The Panthers will face one of those schools on Day 2 of the Wyoming state basketball championships.
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QUAKE HOCKEY--They'll be going to a decisive Game 5 in Helena on Sunday as the Bighorns scored a pair of third-period goals to tally a 4-2 victory over the Yellowstone Quake and level the series at two games apiece. Chris Rinaldi and Tyler Boyce each scored in the second period for the Quake, who escaped from a first period trailing just 1-0 after skating a man down for nearly half the period.
Helena scored its go-ahead goal two minutes into the third period and the Quake missed a golden opportunity to tie the game after going 0-for-3 on power-play opportunities in the first half of the third period. Helena scored its insurance goal with 1:57 remaining on a power play to give the game its final margin.
The winner of Sunday's game will win the NORPAC America West division pennant and advance to the league's championship series, which starts on Tuesday. A Quake victory will bring the series to Cody for Games 1 and 2.
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NWC & PHS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL -- It's been an interesting night here at Casa de Sports Guy with two internet feeds and a radio station streaming three different sporting events. Two of those are now in the books, and neither of them went well for Powell fans.
At Sterling, Colo., head coach Janis Beal's first season on the bench of the Northwest College Trappers came to a close following a 76-69 loss to Northeast Nebraska. NWC fell behind by double digits early, but had fought back to within six late in the first half before Northeast Nebraska closed out the first half on an 8-0 run to carry a 35-21 edge into intermission. The Trappers were never able to fully recover from that spurt as they stayed within sight of the Nebraska school but were unable to conjure the run they needed to change the outcome. The Trapper women finish the year 11-19.
In Lyman, the Powell High School girls made a valiant late run, but started from too far behind to avoid a 42-36 loss to Jackson. The defeat might not be bad news -- remember, Jackson captured the state title last season as the 3A West runner-up. The two schools played to a 5-5 deadlock after the first eight minutes and the Panthers' offense never gained much momentum.
Jackson steadily pulled away from Powell throughout the middle of the game, pushing its lead as high as 13 points at one stage of the third quarter. After being held to just 19 points in the first three quarters, the Panthers found life in the final eight minutes, staging a late rally that brought the team to within 39-36 following a controvesial apparent late three-point bucket for which the Panthers only received credit for two points. Unfortunately, the team came up empty over the final 40 seconds while Jackson tacked on a trio of late free throws. Powell heads to Casper next week as the No. 2 seed from the 3A West.
As for that third streaming internet broadcast, the Yellowstone Quake and Helena Bighorns are currently tied 1-1 midway through the second period. The Quake hold a two-games-to-one edge in the series and are looking to close things out tonight with a win to earn a spot in the NORPAC championship series. Expect an updated post in 90 minutes or so with the final details from Game 4 in Helena.
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NWC MEN'S BASKETBALL--The Northwest College Trappers watched a 17-point first-half lead nearly evaporate, but then re-established the gap midway through the second half to earn a comfortable 85-74 victory over Gillette College in the first round of the Region IX men's basketball tournament. The Pronghorns were never able to get closer than seven once the Trappers built theilr lead back into double figures.
Northwest College will face North Platte, the only member of the Region IX tournament field to be ranked nationally, at 3 p.m. on Sunday in the second round of tournament action.
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QUAKE HOCKEY--The Yellowstone Quake moved within one win of an America West divisional title on Friday night by blanking Helena 5-0 in hockey action. Nick Kent, Matthew Tackett and Chris Rinaldi each scored in the first period as the Quake rebounded from a sluggish Game 2 to score all the goals they would need.
Rinaldi added a second goal to open the third period and Mathew Schulz closed out the scoring for the night with the Quake's fifth goal. Goalie Alex Larson was once again nothing short of stellar in posting the shutout.
Also stellar was the Quake's play in the defensive zone. After surrendering more than 50 shots in each of the first two games of the series, Quake defensivemen allowed Helena to make just 28 attempts on goal. The Bighorns came away empty on all 13 power-play opportunities as the Quake's penalty-kill unit took on a starring role.
The Quake will look to close out the divisional championship series Saturday night in Helena. Should the series go to Game 5, that game will be played Sunday afternoon. If the Quake win either Saturday or Sunday, they would open the NORPAC championship series against either Seattle or Eugene on Tuesday night in Cody's Riley Arena.
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PHS GIRLS -- The Powell High School girls' basketball team advanced to the 3A West championship game on Friday with a 66-50 win over Park County rival Cody. Savannah Donarski finished with a team-high 22 points, but it was Kami Cooley's rarely-seen four-point play in the third quarter that triggered a 16-4 second-half Panther run that helped to blow the game open. Powell had the better of a fast-paced first half to lead 36-29 at intermission, but gave all but a point of that lead back to Cody in the early minutes of the second half before embarking on the decisive run.
The Panthers will play at 7 p.m. on Saturday against the winner of tonight's late game between Jackson and Mountain View.
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PHS BOYS -- Boys basketball season came to an end for Powell on Friday morning as Lander delivered the Panthers their second defeat of the 3A West regional tournament, 47-39. A second-quarter Lander surge lifted the Tigers to a 23-12 lead at intermission. A 7-0 run by Powell in the third quarter pulled the Panthers back to within six points, but the Tigers immediately answered with nine consecutive points of their own, grabbing a 34-19 lead. A late run by Powell trimmed the gap back to single digits with fewer than 90 seconds remaining before time ran out on the Panthers' comeback efforts. Powell wraps up the year with a 3-20 record.
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PHS BASKETBALL -- The Powell High School girls cleared their first regional hurdle while the Panther boys stumbled and will be playing on the elimination side of the bracket on Friday. The Panthers asserted themselves after a slow first quarter to pull in front of Pinedale by 12 points midway through the second period. From there, the team put it on cruise control, never allowing the No. 8 seed Wranglers closer than seven, but never really pulling any further ahead either as a spate of turnovers and missed layups prevented a broader final margin.
Powell's boys played their closest game of the season in three attempts against Worland, but were still unable to slow down the Warriors. The Panther boys, playing without the injured A.J. Anderson, fell by a 72-46 final count.
The schedule for Friday now features the Panther boys playing an elimination game against Lander at 10:30 a.m. The two schools split their regular-season encounters. Powell's girls will meet up with cross-county rival Cody at 4 p.m.
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QUAKE HOCKEY -- The Yellowstone Quake and Helena Bighorns will head to Montana tied at one game apiece after the NORPAC America West regular season champs evened things up with a 7-3 victory on Wednesday night. After a scoreless first period, Helena scored three second-period goals and never allowed the Quake closer than two from that point forward.
"We just didn't do a very good job on our floor check tonight and we took some dumb penalties when we were down," Quake coach Sean Hogan said of the effort. "Helena is a more experienced team than we are, and that's what it looked like out there tonight."
All but five members of the Quake roster are in their first season of junior hockey.
Tyler Roberts' goal late in the second period put the Quake on the board and gave the Riley Arena crowd some hope. Helena's Cody Hess picked up a pair of power-play scores in the first 3:30 of the third period to move out to a four-goal advantage. The Quake got back to within 5-3 thanks to goals from Chris Rinaldi and Andrew Lord, but were unable to find the net again. Helena capped the game with a pair of goals in the final six minutes.
Game three will take place Friday night in Helena. There will also be games Saturday evening and, if needed, Sunday afternoon. Should the Quake win two in Helena, the NORPAC championship series would begin Tuesday in Cody.
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