Thursday 27 February 2014

Dynamiters win 5-2 to take Game 2 on the road

The 5-2 score favors the Dynamiters again.

The Ghostriders suffered the rath of Garcia, after being cheaply taken out in game one, and no call was made, Garcia potted two goals, including the game winning goal. (Just imagine the damage he could have had on the game if he wasn't in the box for 12 minutes)

However, the star of this game was Mousseau, turning aside 30 shots, that's 10 more than Logan-Hill. Mousseau is the reason why the score ended up the way it did. So he earns the Nitro's Player of the Game recognition.

I need to do a shout out to a fan. Whoever texted the webcast saying "three game suspension" after Mousseau was ran into, that was awesome, witty and well-timed.

The series shifts back to Kimberley on Friday before returning to Fernie on Saturday. Having a road win under the belt, and being up 2-0 in the series, the Dynamiters have an edge on the series.

Wednesday 26 February 2014

Suspensions

Ok, first off, I am a fan blogger and my opinion is separate from that of the teams, so the following is mine  and is not endorsed by the team.

Let's talk suspensions.... both of them. It seems that the league, the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, wants to see the Ghostriders win this series. Why you ask? Well the league dished out a three-game suspension to Darren Martin and Eric Buckley.

Martin was suspended for a 'staged' fight in the last game of the year. A staged fight, doesn't that imply both parties were willing, maybe even consenting, combatants? I think that is different from other fights where sometimes there is a victim. So let's give them three games for being two players who want to fight and made sure it was safe to do so. The team captain missed game one, and will miss two and three.

The league then suspended Eric Buckley for three games after game one of the series. Yes, I get it, he went into the goalie while trying to deflect the puck. This is the KIJHL playoffs! Expect players to crash the net for a deflection. One game, maybe even two I would understand, but THREE! Has it not crossed the leagues mind that Logan-Hill may have over sold it? He didn't leave the game with an injury, he continued to play, despite his dramatic snow-angel after the collision. So now Buckley will miss games two, three, and four. He had three points in the first game, adding to his seven points against the Ghostriders in eight games.

The league has in a sense taken out one of Kimberley's better defencemen, and has sidelined a talented forward. So for games two and three, the Nitro's will be short two key role players.

Way to make your stamp on the series KIJHL, in your attempt to determine the outcome. Way to go. I hope the Nitro's prove you wrong and shove this right back at you.

Nitro's take Game #1 with 5-2 win

It sure is playoff time! In one of the fastest and short shift games of the year, the Nitro's were able to hang on during the first two periods and dominate the third, for a 5-2 win over Fernie.

The game started with a little controversy. Logan-Hill conveniently knocked off the net before the Nitro's scored in the first. In the third, Logan-Hill was bowled over by Buckley and his own defenseman, Buckley was given 5min and a game for the incident.

The officiating, while overall was decent, there were some miss calls and 'make up' calls that drove me crazy. For example, Garcia was pulled by the jersey down sliding feet first into the boards, no call. The 'make up' call, was after Buckley got a penalty in the second for charging, and drew one as well, the ref sheepishly called Marchi for slashing to allow the Ghostrider's to have their PP that they didn't have on the Buckley penalty.

While the game was fast paced and finesse, Miller delivered two solid hits during the third to increase the physical play.

Now, while Richter did have two goals and two assists, and Mousseau stopped 24 shots, the Nitro's Player of the Game was Buckley. Buckley had two goals and an assist, he got under the Ghostrider's skin, each time he got a penalty, he was able to draw a Ghostrider with him. Which had me tweet the following after the game:


The two teams play again tonight in Fernie.

Tuesday 25 February 2014

In-Depth Series Preview: Nitro's vs Fernie Ghostiders

For this look at the series, I grabbed the numbers from the games played between the two teams, and is in compliment to the preview posted yesterday.

The Nitro's and Ghostriders have met eight times this season. Nitro's have won six of them, outscoring Fernie 31-23. Fernie won their two games on home ice.

Offence
The Nitro's have averaged 3.88 goals per game against Fernie, more than their season average of 3.38, while taking an average 31 shots a game.
The Ghostriders have averaged 2.88 goals per game against the Nitro's, less than their season average of 3.33, while shooting an average 29 shots per game.

Defence
The average 3.88 goals per game that Fernie let's in, is slightly above their season average of 3.37
The 2.88 average goals against for Kimberley, is slightly below their 3.02 season average.

Special Teams
The Dynamiters have been excellent on the PP and PK against Fernie, scoring 14 times on 48 attempts, a 29.17% efficiency rate, and have also killed off 94.44% of Fernie's PP.
The Ghostrider's special teams have been lacking when they have played the Nitro's, scoring twice on 36 PP attempts, a 5.56% efficiency rate. They have only killed off 70.83% of the Nitro's PP.

Game Winning Goals
There was no one clutch player with their being a different GWG scorer each game. However, only once was the GWG scored in the first period (Fernie's 5-2 win on Nov 16). Two GWG scored in the second period, one for Fernie and one for Kimberley. Three GWG scored in the third, all for Kimberley. And two GWG scored in overtime. It seems that if the Nitro's can't score in the third period to get past however many goals Fernie has scored, Fernie hangs on to win the game.

Penalties
While I do believe there were more PIM called then given to particular players, the two teams have averaged about 45 minutes in penalties in each game. I imagine this pace will be kept, if not surpassed. There is no love between the Dynamiters and Ghostriders.

Save Percentage
While both the teams sport mid-range SV% during the regular season, during their matchups, Fernie struggled, with a SV% of .874. However, when Logan-Hill gets into a groove and faces more than 40 shots, Fernie wins. Both Fernie wins, came when Logan-Hill faced 40 and 41 shots.
The Dynamiters however have a .901 SV% during the series.

Scoring Leaders - Fernie
Spencer Bender 3G-4A
Dylan Robertson 2G-4A
Aidan Geiger 2G-4A
Joel Burgess 2G-3A
Ben Primeau 1G-4A

Scoring Leaders - Kimberley
Eric Buckley 3G-4A
Jared Marchi 2G-4A
Tyson Klingspohn 3G-3A
Jordan Busch 1G-5A
Dylan Sibbald 3G-2A

Monday 24 February 2014

Awards Night Results



I wish I had been there, unfortunately strep throat got the best of me, so I decided not to share my germs....

Anyway, here are the winners:
  • Most Valuable Player: Jason Richter 
  • Rookie of the Year: Jordan Busch 
  • Scholastic Achievement: Brady Revie 
  • Most Inspirational: Tyler Kinnon 
  • Best Defenseman: Bryce Perpelitz 
  • Leading Scorer: Jared Marchi 
  • Most Sportsmanlike: Jared Marchi 
  • Most Improved: Charlie Dagostin 
  • Most Popular Player: Tyson Klingspohn 
  • Coaches Award: Andrew Miller 
  • Bloggers Choice Award: Dylan Sibbald

Playoff Predictions & Musings

Final Four
If I had to pick a final four (even though anything is possible for my Nitro's) I would pick the following teams based on my power rankings:
  • Summerland Steam
  • Kamloops Storm
  • Beaver Valley Nitehawks
  • Creston Valley Thunder Cats
Primed to Upset
After all the match up comparison's, I think the following teams are primed to upset:
  • Osoyoos Coyotes over Kelowna Chiefs
  • Sicamous Eagles over Kamloops Storm
  • Spokane Braves over Nelson Leafs (probably because I went to Gonzaga, a little favoritism there)
David vs Goliath
I'd say the following series are the equivalent of Team Canada playing, well Team Sweden (powerhouse team mentioned first):
  • Creston Valley Thunder Cats vs Columbia Valley Rockies
  • Beaver Valley Nitehawks vs Castlegar Rebels
  • Summerland Steam vs North Okanagan Knights
Sleeper Teams
As noted in the upset section, I think both the Sicamous Eagles and Spokane Braves could surprise. I picked goalies from both their teams to be on my KIJHL All-Star Team. If their goalies get rolling, watch out.

Human Error & Unpredictable
Even though I rely heavily on my stats, and expect things to be calculated, I cannot account for human error. So really, ANYTHING is possible and ANYTHING could happen in these playoffs. I think that is one reason why I am such a fan, is despite my craving for statistics, the game is so unpredictable.

GO NITRO'S!!!!



KIJHL Playoff Preview: (2) Kelowna Chiefs vs (3) Osoyoos Coyotes

(2)                VS                  (3)

Offence:
Kelowna ranked 7th (3.87 GFA)
Osoyoos ranked 6th (3.90 GFA)
Edge: Osoyoos +1

Defence:
Kelowna ranked 8th (3.27 GAA)
Osoyoos ranked 12th (3.46 GAA)
Edge: Kelowna +4

Goaltending:
Kelowna ranked 6th (.911 SV%)
Osoyoos ranked 10th (.902 SV%)
Edge: Kelowna +4

Special Teams:
Kelowna ranked 8th (101.48 PP+PK)
Osoyoos ranked 7th (101.74 PP+PK)
Edge: Osoyoos +1

Series Edge:
Kelowna 
with a +6 points after tallying up the edges in each category.

KIJHL Playoff Preview: (1) Summerland Steam vs (4) North Okanagan Knights

(1)              VS                (4)

Offence:
Summerland ranked 5th (4.00 GFA)
North Okanagan ranked 14th (3.23 GFA)
Edge: Summerland +9

Defence:
Summerland ranked 3rd (2.92 GAA)
North Okanagan ranked 14th (3.75 GAA)
Edge: Summerland +11

Goaltending:
Summerland ranked 4th (.913 SV%)
North Okanagan ranked 9th (.903 SV%)
Edge: Summerland +5

Special Teams:
Summerland ranked 4th (106.14 PP+PK)
North Okanagan ranked 18th (94.79 PP+PK)
Edge: Summerland +14

Series Edge:
Summerland 
with a +39 points after tallying up the edges in each category.

KIJHL Playoff Preview: (2) Chase Heat vs (3) 100 Mile House Wranglers

(2)              VS                  (3)

Offence:
Chase ranked 8th (3.81 GFA)
100 Mile House ranked 17th (3.06 GFA)
Edge: Chase +9

Defence:
Chase ranked 13th (3.48 GAA)
100 Mile House ranked 10th (3.38 GAA)
Edge: 100 Mile House +3

Goaltending:
Chase ranked 7th (.908 SV%)
100 Mile House ranked 15th (,893 SV%)
Edge: Chase +8

Special Teams:
Chase ranked 11th (100.08 PP+PK)
100 Mile House ranked 13th (97.98 PP+PK)
Edge: Chase +2

Series Edge:
Chase 
with a +18 points after tallying up the edges in each category.

KIJHL Playoff Preview: (1) Kamloops Storm vs (4) Sicamous Eagles

(1)          VS              (4)

Offence:
Kamloops ranked 3rd (4.75 GFA)
Sicamous ranked 16th (3.06 GFA)
Edge: Kamloops +13

Defence:
Kamloops ranked 2nd (2.79 GAA)
Sicamous ranked 7th (3.27 GAA)
Edge: Kamloops +5

Goaltending:
Kamloops ranked 8th (.907 SV%)
Sicamous ranked 1st (.922 SV%)
Edge: Sicamous +7

Special Teams:
Kamloops ranked 3rd (108.38 PP+PK)
Sicamous ranked 9th (101.3 PP+PK)
Edge: Kamloops +6

Series Edge:
Kamloops 
with a +17 points after tallying up the edges in each category.

KIJHL Playoff Preview: (2) Beaver Valley Nitehawks vs (3) Castlegar Rebels

(2)           VS               (3)

Offence:
Beaver Valley ranked 4th (4.40 GFA)
Castlegar ranked 10th (3.50 GFA)
Edge: Beaver Valley +6

Defence:
Beaver Valley ranked 1st (2.75 GAA)
Castlegar ranked 16th (4.19 GAA)
Edge: Beaver Valley +15

Goaltending:
Beaver Valley ranked 3rd (.916 SV%)
Castlegar ranked 17th (.886 SV%)
Edge: Beaver Valley +14

Special Teams:
Beaver Valley ranked 2nd (109.94 PP+PK)
Castlegar ranked 15th (97.3 PP+PK)
Edge: Beaver Valley +13

Series Edge:
Beaver Valley 
with a +48 points after tallying up the edges in each category.

KIJHL Playoff Preview: (1) Nelson Leafs vs (4) Spokane Braves

(1)           VS                 (4)

Offence:
Nelson ranked 2nd (4.75 GFA)
Spokane ranked 15th (3.08 GFA)
Edge: Nelson +13

Defence:
Nelson ranked 5th (3.10 GAA)
Spokane ranked 11 (3.40 GAA)
Edge: Nelson +6

Goaltending:
Nelson ranked 13th (.898 SV%)
Spokane ranked 2nd (.921 SV%)
Edge: Spokane +11

Special Teams:
Nelson ranked 6th (103.1 PP+PK)
Spokane ranked 10th (100.8 PP+PK)
Edge: Nelson +4

Series Edge:
Nelson 
with a +12 points after tallying up the edges in each category.

KIJHL Playoff Preview: (2) Kimberley Dynamiters vs (3) Fernie Ghostriders

(2)         VS           (3)

Offence:
Kimberley ranked 12th (3.38 GFA)
Fernie ranked 13th (3.33 GAA)
Edge: Kimberley +1

Defence:
Kimberley ranked 4th (3.02 GAA)
Fernie ranked 9th (3.37 GAA)
Edge: Kimberley +5

Goaltending:
Kimberley ranked 14th (.898 SV%)
Fernie ranked 12th (.899 SV%)
Edge: Fernie +2

Special Teams:
Kimberley ranked 5th (103.93 PP+PK)
Fernie ranked 17th (95.05 PP+PK)
Edge: Kimberley +12

Series Edge:
Kimberley
with a +16 points after tallying up the edges in all categories.

KIJHL Playoff Preview: (1) Creston Valley vs (4) Columbia Valley

(1)          VS                 (4)

Offence:
Creston Valley ranked 1st (5.42 GFA)
Columbia Valley ranked 18th (3.02 GFA)
Edge: Creston +17

Defence:
Creston Valley ranked 6th (3.10 GAA)
Columbia Valley ranked 17th (4.42 GAA)
Edge: Creston +11

Goaltending:
Creston Valley ranked 5th (.911 SV%)
Columbia Valley ranked 16th (.891 SV%)
Edge: Creston +11

Special Teams:
Creston Valley ranked 1st (109.94 PP+PK)
Columbia Valley ranked 20th (87.26 PP+PK)
Edge: Creston +19

Series Edge:
Creston Valley
with a +58 points after tallying up the edges in each category.

Sunday 23 February 2014

Eddie Mountain Division Predictions vs Reality

It's now time to see how my very novice predictions made at the start of the year about the Eddie Mountain Division actually compare to the final standings.

I predicted the following:

  1. Kimberley Dynamiters (actually placed 2nd)
  2. Golden Rockets (Ouch! that hurts... actually placed last)
  3. Creston Valley Thunder Cats (tops in the division)
  4. Columbia Valley Rockies (wahoo! I got ONE right!)
  5. Fernie Ghostriders (finished higher, in 3rd place)
Maybe next year I will do better???

KIJHL Power Rankings - February 23


Here is this last regular season power rankings. Creston Valley Thunder Cats have been the hottest team in the league over the past month, and the 100 Mile House Wranglers the coldest.

Rank Team Offence Defence Spec-T Goaltending Total LW Diff
1 x-Beaver Valley Nitehawks 4 1 2 3 10 9 -1
2 y-Creston Valley Thunder Cats 1 6 1 5 13 22 9
3 x-Summerland Steam 5 3 4 4 16 18 2
4 t-Kamloops Storm 3 2 3 8 16 13 -3
5 z-Nelson Leafs 2 5 6 13 26 29 3
6 x-Kelowna Chiefs 7 8 8 6 29 24 -5
7 x-Sicamous Eagles 16 7 9 1 33 35 2
8 x-Osoyoos Coyotes 6 12 7 10 35 30 -5
9 x-Kimberley Dynamiters 12 4 5 14 35 41 6
10 x-Spokane Braves 15 11 10 2 38 40 2
11 x-Chase Heat 8 13 11 7 39 44 5
12 x-Fernie Ghostriders 13 9 17 12 51 47 -4
13 x-North Okanagan Knights 14 14 18 9 55 53 -2
14 Grand Forks Border Bruins 9 19 16 11 55 52 -3
15 x-100 Mile House Wranglers 17 10 13 15 55 45 -10
16 x-Castlegar Rebels 10 16 15 17 58 59 1
17 Princeton Posse 11 18 14 19 62 64 2
18 Golden Rockets 19 15 12 20 66 65 -1
19 x-Columbia Valley Rockies 18 17 20 16 71 71 0
20 Revelstoke Grizzlies 20 20 19 18 77 79 2

Saturday 22 February 2014

It’s Game Day! Nitro’s vs Fernie Ghostriders Preview

It’s the final game of the year! Go Nitros!




Kimberley Dynamiters
vs
Fernie Ghostiders
28-21-2-0
Record
24-21-0-6
58
Points
54
2nd
Division Standing
3rd
11th (3.37)
Offence (GFA)
12th (3.35)
4th (3.04)
Defence (GAA)
9th (3.35)
14th (.893)
Goaltending (SV%)
12th (.899)
10th (19.19)
Power Play
18th (15.59)
3rd (83.88)
Penalty Kill
11th (80.37)
10th
Power Ranking
13th
W3
Streak
W1
7-2-0-1
Last 10
4-6-0-0
Jared Marchi (25G-32A)
Top Scorer
Aaron Neufeld (18G-24A)
Jason Richter (23G-23A)
2nd Top Scorer
Joel Burgess (24G-17A)
Tyson Klingspohn (14G-18A)
3rd Top Scorer
Spender Bender (15G-21A)
Dallin Wolf (125)
PIM Leader
Dylan Robertson (117)

Friday 21 February 2014

Play Off Schedule vs Fernie Ghostriders

Home games bolded

February 25th vs Fernie
February 26th at Fernie
February 28th vs Fernie
March 1st at Fernie
March 3rd vs Fernie*
March 4th at Fernie*
March 5th vs Fernie*

* = if necessary

Sunday 16 February 2014

Nitro's claim 2nd spot in division with 4-1 win over Fernie

Even though it has been determined that the Dynamiters and the Ghostriders were going to play eachother in the first round of the playoffs, we finally found out who was going to have home ice advantage: The DYNAMITERS! Their 4-1 win over Fernie sealed the deal.

Jared Marchi was the Nitro's Player of the Game scoring the game opener and assisting on two other goals. Nielsen also deserves a shout out for sealing the deal scoring the 3rd and 4th goals of the game.

Kale Johnston got cheap at the end of the game, hope there is a punishment for such a late cheap shot.


This was a great preview of the upcoming series, not to mention the teams play again this coming Saturday!

The local radio station summed things up nicely:



Good job Nitro's!

Saturday 15 February 2014

It’s Game Day! Nitro’s vs Fernie Ghostriders Preview




Kimberley Dynamiters
vs
Fernie Ghostriders
27-21-2-0
Record
23-20-0-6
56
Points
52
2nd
Division Standing
3rd
13th (3.36)
Offence (GFA)
12th (3.37)
4th (3.08)
Defence (GAA)
9th (3.33)
14th (.893)
Goaltending (SV%)
12th (.899)
10th (19.45)
Power Play
17th (15.42)
3rd (83.58)
Penalty Kill
12th (80.08)
10th
Power Ranking
13th
W2
Streak
W1
6-3-1-0
Last 10
4-6-0-0
Jared Marchi (24G-30A)
Top Scorer
Aaron Neufeld (17G-24A)
Jason Richter (23G-23A)
2nd Top Scorer
Joel Burgess (23G-17A)
Tyson Klingspohn (14G-18A)
3rd Top Scorer
Ben Primeau (13G-21A)
Dallin Wolf (125)
PIM Leader
Dylan Robertson (113)

Tuesday 11 February 2014

KIJHL 2013/14 All-Star Team

Instead of my usual Power Rankings, I am diverting to name who I believe would make the KIJHL All-Star team. I should note, in two weeks when I do the power rankings it will be the last one as it is the end of the season.

Now to the All-Star team, these are the lineups and pairings I would make.












Forwards










Jamie Vlanich Travis Wellman Nick Josephs


Nelson Nelson Kelowna





















Jesse Collins Brandon Formosa Logan Styler


Creston Valley Creston Valley Creston Valley





















Dallas Calvin Ryan Edwards Jagger Bowles


Beaver Valley Beaver Valley Kelowna





















Josh Rasmussen Brock Balson Kaleb Boyle


Kamloops Kamloops Chase






















Jackson Purvis Kienan Scott





Grand Forks Summerland
















Defencemen














Daniel Buchanan Spencer Spoech





Kamloops Kamloops

























Seth Schmidt Tyson Levesque





Creston Valley 100 Mile House

























Darnel St. Pierre Archie McKinnon





Nelson Beaver Valley


























Bryce Perpelitz








Kimberley



















Goaltenders










Kris Joyce Kyle Michalvosky Jon Manlow


Sicamous Creston Valley Spokane