The Kimberley Dynamiters climb standings with 3-1 win over Creston Valley Thundercats

Photo by Jonathan Righton

The Creston Valley Thundercats came into the game winning 7 of their past 10. But the new-look Nitro's were up to the task, and have beaten division opponents in their past three games to climb back into second in the Eddie Mountain Division.

The last time these two teams met, Creston's coach Dubois was angry. He also tweeted this later:

The highlight of my night (by a wide, wide margin) was meeting George, the man behind @RiderNewsKIJHL. And you can take that to the bancks.
— Jeff Dubois (@jdubois_bc) December 20, 2014

Game Notes

• Newcomer Brody Nelson got the start in net. (His first game since mid-December)
• Justin Meier also debuted. His first game since. (His first game since mid-November)
• Sawyer Hunt (out since early December) and Jordan Roy (out since mid-October) returned to the lineup.
• AP's James Rota and Mitchell Anderson dressed for the game. This was Anderson's first game. The 16 year old is a Kimberley native, and has been playing for the Cranbrook Knights, scoring five goals and nine points in 23 games.
• Scratches/Injuries: Busch, Buckley, Campanella, Marchi, Gordon

1st Period

The Dynamiters looked like they had just started a new season. Half of the starting lineup (Lane, Meier, Nelson) did have names on their jersey's. But it also looked like the Dynamiters had the bus legs in the first period.

My son was really happy when the ThunderCats scored the first goal of the game (he was traitor this game.) Cartwright split the D on an neutral zone feed. From that point on, the ThunderCats dominated the play, even when Hunt scored his goal from a misplay by the Cats. With 5 minutes remaining in the period, the Cats led in shots 14-3. Nelson was holding down the fort, despite the early goal against him.The Dynamiters ended the period with a 5-on-3 but couldn't capitalize. The game was tied 1-1, but the ThunderCats led in shots, 14-10.

2nd

The Dynamiters started the period short-handed, and effectively killed it. Kimberley got a PP of their own that took seven seconds to score on as Richter deflected Saretsky's point shot in. Moments later Meier introduced himself to the TCats with a thunderous hit. The period ended with Kimberley being outshot 8-6, but leading 2-1.

I had a great moment to chat with GM Dave Smith during this intermission, I got to supervise his meal, he told me his daughter was driving the zamboni for the first time during a game, and he got my son a puck. It was great to gain some understanding into KIJHL roster limits, and other inner-workings, plus his story of how he became the GM.

3rd

Meier and the ref just didn't along, he had a total of 16 PIM in the game. But there was also a theme of penalties, primarily against the Nitro's in this period. But the Nitro's held them back and didn't allow a PP goal on 9 opportunities. The Dynamiters almost added another PP goal themselves, but the penalty just expired as Jowsey's point shot ricocheted into the net, giving the Dynamiters a 3-1 lead. And then easily the save of the game, on defensive misplay, and dangling TCats player got a short break away, and severely undressed Nelson, except for his glove hand, leaving the TCats player wondering if there were any hockey gods helping him as he looked heavenward. This save was so great, that the Nitro's players surrounded him as if he had just scored a goal.

The Cats tried desperately to get back into the game, pulling their goalie. But took their own penalty moments later. Creston led in shots this period 9-8.

After the game, my son and I were invited down to meet the team. Which was a neat experience for both of us. Kinnon, who apparently doesn't deliver public speeches much, shared some kind words, which I will cherish. And then we gave high-fives and chatted with some of the players. Of course, the maintain feature was watching Meier's hit over and over again.

I then tweeted the Thundercats coach:

Hey @jdubois_bc the Bancks just took it to you :)
— Josh Lockhart (@joshuaklockhart) January 14, 2015

And this was all he said back:

@joshuaklockhart zing :)
— Jeff Dubois (@jdubois_bc) January 14, 2015

Nitro's Player of the Game
Brody Nelson - solid performance on his first outing. We'll forgive the first goal and say it was nerves. Made 30 saves. KIJHL star of the game

Honorable Mentions
Jordan Roy - 2A in his return.
Jason Richter - PPG that was the GWG
Tyler Kinnon - He was a physical force on D
Justin Meier - Heavy hits, and got to know the ref well

Further Reading
Boxscore
Tyler Rocca write up