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| Photo by Jonathan Righton |
Game one of the Kimberley Dynamiters and Creston Valley Thundercats lived up to the competitive expectations, heck, even exceeded it. The atmosphere was excellent, the players were giving it their all, and the goaltending was stellar! ...Just the game didn't end as a Nitro's Fan would hope. But still, you left the game satisfied, no matter which side you were cheering for.
Game Notes
- The rivalry between the two teams been brewing since the Dynamiters won 7-3 on home ice. Add on top of that the Cats renting out the Civic Centre for a practice earlier in the week.
- Tyson Brouwer and Brock Lefebvre got the starts in net
- Injuries/Scratches: Pagura, Revie, Campanella
- 589 in attendance
1st
It was fast and furious hockey with action at both ends of the rink. Every inch of the ice was being contested for, and both teams were finishing their hard hits. Fans from Creston were in attendance, which made the atmosphere even more dynamic and exciting. Meier was in the game, despite the double game misconduct by the same ref in the last game. But still the ref, who has an eye for Meier, was able to penalize him. The Dynamiters PK unit did an excellent job of blocking shots, cutting off angles, and limiting chances. The period finished level, with score tied at 0, and shots tied at 7.
2nd
The Dynamiters scored the first goal... actually it was waved off due to a high-stick. There wasn't an overwhelming reaction to the goal being waved off by the fans. And I didn't have a great view from my vantage point to comment. Moments later Creston broke in and Cartwright scored. Kimberley kept crashing the net, which led to several "after the whistle" calls. Wallace and Richter crashed the net, and got tangled up. Meier drove to the net, alone as linemates were changing, and drew an penalty as he was 1 against 5. Later Hunt kept digging for a puck, that eventually crossed the line, but was called off and Hunt was penalized. The frantic period, with inconsistent calls (my pet peeve), ended with the Cats up 1-0, but with the Nitro's throwing a lot of rubber at Lefebvre and leading in shots 9-3. Lefebvre was stealing the show.
3rd
The Nitro's scored just two minutes into the period. But this is how the goal looked to me, Jowsey fanned on a shot, then lined up again, lobbed it at the net and Prevost deflected it. What is reported on the score sheet is that Roy scored from Prevost and Hunt. All I can think is the puck must have been deflected several times before going past Lefebve. Later in a split second when I looked away from the play, Buckley lay awkwardly with feet up on the boards. He moved his arms and legs, but not much else. When a trainer came out and supported his neck, I feared the worse. But Buckley did eventually get up with help, and he did return to the game later in the period. When the game hit ten minutes left, you could feel the whole arena holding their breath and exhaling with a stoppage in play. Despite many chances, Brouwer and Lefebvre sealed up their nets for the remainder of the period. The Nitro's led in shots 12-8.
OT
With a short two minute break, both teams skated for the first 10-minute period (which if I remember correctly, if the game did not end in that 10 minutes there would be a lengthier intermission for the ice to be cleaned). Both teams were cautious, but capitalized on any chance they got. Brouwer and Lefebvre were both diving and flopping around keeping the puck out. The referee had put his whistle away. But as the period went on, you could see the players testing how much they could get away with. And the pinnacle of this was when Van Steinburg was crashing towards the net with the puck being delivered his way, his stick wasn't just lifted off the ice, his whole body was hooked off the ice and he was taken out of the play, giving the Cats a noticeable advantage (think of soccer, when a penalty isn't called because there was no advantage from the infraction, but in this case there was). Ward got a break away chance and made no mistake as he found the back of the net. And even though the game was in Kimberley, the arena erupted! (the Creston presence). And Creston took a 1-0 lead in the series.
The two teams face off again tonight. If last night was any indication, tonight's game will be great as well!
Even though the Dynamiters are down 1-0, they played an excellent game, and in my opinion the Cats MVP of the game Lefebvre played a near perfect game.
Dynamite Player of the Game (Changing it up from Nitro's Player of the Game, I think Dynamite Player sounds catchier!)
Tyson Brouwer and the defence - There were a lot of shots directed towards Brouwer, and only 20 of them made their way to him. There would have been a lot more if they were not blocked or redirected by the defenders
Further Reading
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