Friday 26 February 2016

Gary Pearson Memorial Award - Kimberley Minor Hockey

On Tuesday during the first intermission of game one the "mini" Nitro's had a presentation at centre ice recognizing the up and coming most inspirational players.

The Kimberley Minor Hockey Association introduced a new award in honour of Mr. Gary Pearson who sadly passed away in October 2015.

The Gary Pearson Memorial Award will be awarded annually to the "Most Inspirational Player" in Kimberley Minor Hockey, a player that inspires their teammates with Work Ethic, Leadership, Positivity and Love of the Game.

This year's Nominees are:
Logan Murray 
Tristen Kwasney 
Jaxson Armstrong 
Isaac Sommer 
Taylor Schmideder 
Riley Payne 
Bailey Park 


Each of these nominees were given an engraved medal as their team's "Most Inspirational Player". Just look at those smiles!

The Winner of the 2016 Gary Pearson Memorial Award as the "Most Inspirational Player" in Kimberley Minor Hockey was Isaac Sommer. Isaac is also Gary Pearson's grandson, what an emotional moment for the debut of the award.


Special thanks to Fortis BC for their support of this award.

Thursday 25 February 2016

Kimberley Dynamiters Awards Banquet


Sunday February 21st was the Kimberley Dynamiters Volunteer and Awards Dinner Banquet. All the regular season awards were handed out to the players. All photo's are by Jodi L'Hereux. Check the full collection of pictures here.

Most Scholastic: George Bertoia

 Most Improved Forward: Sawyer Hunt 

 Most Improved Defenseman: Tyler Van Steinburg

 Century Award: Keenan Haase, Jordan Busch, Eric Buckley, Jason Richter, Jared Marchi

 Leading Scorer: Eric Buckley 

 Most Sportsmanlike: Trevor Van Steinburg 

 Most Popular Player: (As chosen by the fans) Eric Buckley 

Band-Aid Award: Korbyn Chabot (Runner Up: Austyn Moser)

Unsung Hero Award: Trevor Van Steinburg 

Most Inspirational: Jason Richter 

 Rookie of the Year: George Bertoia

Best Defenseman: Jordan Busch

Most Valuable Player: Tyson Brouwer 

Coaches Award: Keenan Haase, Justin Meier, Jared Marchi

20 Year Old Presentation: Justin Meier, Tyson Brouwer, Jordan Busch, Eric Buckley, Jared Marchi

Kimberley Dynamiters Assistant Equipment Manager is off to Nationals

Photo by Jonathan Righton
Neil Rye is the Assistant Equipment Manager for the Kimberley Dynamiters. He is also an Alpine Skier, and is heading off with the BC Alpine Skiing Team: Special Olympics to represent the province at Nationals. Good luck Neil!

Tuesday 23 February 2016

Eddie Mountain Division Top Goaltender: Tyson Brouwer

Photo by Jonathan Righton
Congratulations to Tyson Brouwer on being selected as the Top Goaltender for the Eddie Mountain Division. It was long over due, and well earned this year.

Eddie Mountain Division Top Defenseman: Jordan Busch

Photo by Jonathan Righton
Congratulations to Jordan Busch on being named the Top Defenseman in the Eddie Mountain Division, well deserved.

2015-2016 Regular Season Eddie Mountain Division Champions - Presentation & Banner

Photo by Jonathan Righton
Don't touch the banner Jason!!!

KIJHL Clutch Scorers - Year End Rankings

It's now time for the last edition of the clutch scorers for the year.

Observations:
  • Reminder that this looks at Special Team Points (SHG, SHA, PPG, PPA) and GWG. - As best as records are kept, not a top scoring/point getter.
  • Carson Cartwright, Doan Smith, Nick Headrick, and Michael Cardinal all finished the year off strong with all of them increasing by 13-16 points this month.
  • Cartwright's strong finish led to him holding down that top spot here, despite being 5th in league scoring
  • Shout out to the PP helpers, Alec Wilkinson and Jordan Busch both finished the year with 30+ assists on the PP.

Rank PLAYER TEAM PPGx2 PPA SHGx2 SHA GWx2 TOTAL
1 Carson Cartwright Creston Valley Thunder Cats 34 8 10 1 4 57
2 Jared Marchi Kimberley Dynamiters 18 17 2 0 14 51
3 Micheal Cardinal Columbia Valley Rockies 12 22 10 4 0 48
4 Kolten Moore Chase Heat 16 11 4 0 16 47
5 Eric Buckley  Kimberley Dynamiters 12 19 0 1 14 46
6 Jack Mills Summerland Steam 18 5 6 6 10 45
7 Zach Befus Fernie Ghostriders 28 12 0 0 4 44
8 Alec Wilkinson Creston Valley Thunder Cats 4 33 0 0 6 43
9 Rainer Glimpel Osoyoos Coyotes 24 15 0 2 2 43
10 Tayden Woods  Castlegar Rebels 22 19 0 0 2 43
11 Braden Fuller Beaver Valley Nitehawks 20 11 4 0 8 43
12 Keenan Haase  Kimberley Dynamiters 16 13 0 1 12 42
13 Jordan Busch  Kimberley Dynamiters 10 31 0 0 0 41
14 Nick Headrick Castlegar Rebels 14 22 0 0 2 38
15 Jason Richter  Kimberley Dynamiters 22 6 2 0 8 38
16 Jace Weegar Beaver Valley Nitehawks 10 20 0 0 8 38
17 Michael Fidanza  Chase Heat 14 11 0 0 12 37
18 Zackari Andrusiak Kamloops Storm 22 9 0 0 6 37
19 Braeden Tuck  Osoyoos Coyotes 10 13 0 1 12 36
20 Braden Hughes Chase Heat 16 16 0 0 4 36
21 Josh Baird Kelowna Chiefs 10 13 2 1 8 34
22 James Severs Creston Valley Thunder Cats 14 13 0 0 6 33
23 Jonathan Lee Kelowna Chiefs 14 11 0 1 6 32
24 Doan Smith Columbia Valley Rockies 20 6 4 1 0 31
25 Chris Breese  Castlegar Rebels 14 15 0 0 0 29
26 Bobby LaRue Osoyoos Coyotes 12 7 2 0 8 29
27 Trevor Okino Chase Heat 6 23 0 0 0 29
28 Justin Peers Fernie Ghostriders 16 8 0 3 2 29
29 Cole Keebler Fernie Ghostriders 2 13 10 0 4 29

Monday 22 February 2016

Kimberley Dynamiters Star Players

New this year the KIJHL started tracking Home and Away Star choices.

Here is the complete list of Kimberley Dynamiters selected for Home and Away Stars

Player Home Star Away Star Total
Jared Marchi 6 1 7
Jason Richter 3 2 5
Eric Buckley 3 2 5
Keenan Haase 3 1 4
George Bertoia 3 0 3
Jordan Busch 1 2 3
Tyson Brouwer 2 1 3
Brendon Benson 1 1 2
Mitch Traichevich 0 2 2
Trey Doell 1 1 2
Korbyn Chabot 1 1 2
Sawyer Hunt 0 2 2
Graham Dugdale 2 0 2
Terrell Clarricoates 0 1 1
Brodie Buhler 0 1 1
Justin Meier 0 1 1
Austyn Moser 1 0 1
Tyler Van Steinburg 0 1 1

If you did a quick count this equals 47... meaning there are five games missing, either human error on my part, or human error else where.

Marchi definitely stands out as a Home Star favourite. As for road warriors, Richter, Buckley, Busch, Traichevich and Hunt all earned two Away Stars.

In short, if there was a Kimberley Dynamiters Star Award (maybe I should do that next year!?!?), Marchi would have been the deserving winner.

Playoff Preview: Kimberley Dynamiters vs Fernie Ghostriders


Kimberley DynamitersvsFernie Ghostriders
41-7-0-4Record27-20-0-5
86Points59
1stDivision Standing4th
3rd (4.06)Offence (GFA)10th (3.25)
2nd (2.10)Defence (GAA)9th (2.85)
3rd (.926)Goaltending (SV%)5th (.921)
3rd (23.44%)Power Play8th (17.87%)
1st (88.48%)Penalty Kill12th (83.48%)
T-1stPower RankingT-9th
W6StreakL4
8-2-0-0Last 103-6-0-1
Eric Buckley (24G-46A)Top ScorerCole Keebler (27G-31A)
Jared Marchi (28G-38A)2nd Top ScorerJustin Peers (21G-32A)
Jordan Busch (8G-58A)3rd Top ScorerZach Befus (25G-28A)
Eric Buckley (100)PIM LeaderColeton Dawson (96)


HEAD-TO-HEAD RESULTS
DATEAWAYHOMESCORETYPE
06-Nov-15Kimberley Dynamiters@Fernie Ghostriders4 - 3RS
20-Nov-15Fernie Ghostriders@Kimberley Dynamiters3 - 2 OTRS
28-Dec-15Fernie Ghostriders@Kimberley Dynamiters2 - 3RS
29-Dec-15Kimberley Dynamiters@Fernie Ghostriders2 - 3 OTRS
05-Feb-16Fernie Ghostriders@Kimberley Dynamiters4 - 2RS
08-Feb-16Kimberley Dynamiters@Fernie Ghostriders2 - 0RS
13-Feb-16Fernie Ghostriders@Kimberley Dynamiters1 - 3RS
20-Feb-16Kimberley Dynamiters@Fernie Ghostriders5 - 2RS

HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORDS
TEAMWLTOTLGFGA
Kimberley Dynamiters (H)21011010
Kimberley Dynamiters (A)3001138
Fernie Ghostriders (H)1300813
Fernie Ghostriders (A)22001010

Summary
This series, imo, will come down to three pieces: Goaltending, Special Teams, and who can win at home.

Goaltending
Orser vs Brouwer, rematch of last years division final, just this year in the first round. It will be stellar. Who ever can steal a game or two could decide the series.

Special Teams
Kimberley is the top PK team and one of the more efficient PP units. The Ghostriders are mid-pack in both areas. Yet both teams are amongst the league lowest for times short-handed. So who can ever capitalize on those moments will have the edge.

Home Ice
Ferie is 1-3 at home, and Kimberley is 2-2. Winning at home will be crucial for both teams, because who ever collects more road victories (given the regular season) may win the series.

Extra Reading

Year End KIJHL Power Rankings & Playoff Predictions

The final installment of the KIJHL Power Rankings for the 2015/16 season. Not surprisingly the top teams from each conference are tied for first, Osoyoos Coyotes and Kimberley Dynamiters.

The hottest teams heading into the playoffs are the Summerland Steam and Columbia Valley Rockies.

The coldest team is the Kamloops Storm.

So here are the Power Rankings, and below are my playoff predictions:


Let's start off with Division Champions in the Playoff Predictions:
Kimberley Dynamiters, Beaver Valley Nitehawks, Osoyoos Coyotes and Chase Heat.

Next is the Conference Champions (no surprise, maybe easy picking):
Kimberley Dynamiters and Osoyoos Coyotes.

KIJHL Final.... well, it's a tie. But as in a past post the team that is the KIJHL league leader AND the top Power Ranked team have the greatest odds for winning, so I give the nod to:
Kimberley Dynamiters.

Dark Horses:
There is a 12 point difference between the Cats and Dynamiters, but they could surprise. PLUS the Hottest team heading into the playoffs is the Columbia Valley Rockies, so they could upset as well! Needless to say the Eddie Mountain division looks competitive.

Summerland Steam also come into the playoffs hot, and could upset in their division and conference. I have also learned not to doubt the 100 Mile House Wranglers and with home ice advantage clinched until the Conference Finals, they too are poised to upset.

Kimberley Dynamiters Week That Was - February 22, 2016

This past weekend the Kimberley Dynamiters closed out the regular season with two convincing victories over the Golden Rockets and Fernie Ghostriders.

Highlights:
  • The team clinched home ice advantage all the way to the finals
  • Brouwer registered his 8th shutout
  • Richter, Doell, and Meier returned to the lineup
  • Richter hit the 200 point mark in his KIJHL career
  • AP goalie Adam Andersen and defenceman Chase Leroux played this weekend.
It was the Rockets final game of the year, a year of many growing pains for the Rockets. In their final game they were playing with a short bench, 15 skaters, and unfortunately for Rockets fans, this game was heavily one sided. Richter, Doell and Meier made their returns. It didn't take Richter long to make his mark in his return as he scored three minutes into the game. Buckley, Haase, and Wit added goals in the period, making it 4-0 after 20. Wit scored his second of the game, he has been looking more and more comfortable with the team, and has a nose for good attack positioning. Colapaolo gave the Dynamiters a dominating 6-0 lead after 40 minutes. Chabot scored on his second chance on the same play, and Richter rounded out the scoring with his second of the game, making it 8-0. Brouwer made 24 saves for his 8th shutout of the season. Doell was the KIJHL star of the game. Busch, Hunt and Marchi each had three assists on the night. 850 in attendance.

It was very classy to see Wit shake hands with his former coach and teammates at the conclusion of the game, and you could see them wish him well in the playoffs.

KIMBERLEY DYNAMITERS PLAYER STATS
#PlayerGAPTS+/-SHPIM
2George Bertoia000E00
6Devon Langelaar011E00
8Trey Doell011E00
9Tanner Wit202E00
10Jordan Busch033E02
11Justin Meier000E02
12Eric Buckley101E00
14Franco Colapaolo101E00
15Jared Marchi033E00
16James Rota000E00
18James Farmer000E00
19Graham Dugdale000E00
21Trevor Van Steinburg000E02
22Sawyer Hunt033E00
24Brodie Buhler000E02
26Korbyn Chabot101E00
27Keenan Haase112E00
40Jason Richter213E00
KIMBERLEY DYNAMITERS GOALIE STATS
#PlayerMIN.SHSV
1Tyson Brouwer (W)60:002424
33Mitch Traichevich (Backup)0:0000

What a unique game to be played in Sparwood, and the arena looked packed! 617 in attendance. There was a lot at stake for this game. If Kimberley wins, they clinch first spot in the entire league. If Fernie wins, they hold down the 3rd spot in the division. Traichevich started, a huge confidence booster for such an important game. Adam Andersen made his debut as back up goalie, and AP Leroux dressed for the game.

The Riders were in tough as they had only returned home at 8am the morning of the game after playing in Fruitvale the night before due to bus troubles. They had the classic "bus legs".

The first period was a draw. Then the flood gates opened in the 2nd, five goals were scored, four of them for Kimberley. Wit continued his hot streak notching a short handed goal from Meier. Marchi and Richter then added two PP goals. (Despite missing 17 games Richter was looking good). The Riders did respond with a goal, before Buckley added the fourth goal of the period for the Nitro's. Richter sealed the game in the 3rd with an EN goal, giving the Nitro's a 5-2 win, he was also named KIJHL player of the game. Haase had 2A, and Buckley a 3pt game (1G 2A). AP Leroux played sound positional D, very impressive. Speaking of impressive, Traichevich made 31 saves for the W, including many highlight reel saves.

KIMBERLEY DYNAMITERS PLAYER STATS
#PlayerGAPTS+/-SHPIM
2George Bertoia000E02
3Lucas Purdy000E02
5Chase Leroux000E00
8Trey Doell000E04
9Tanner Wit101E00
10Jordan Busch011E00
11Justin Meier011E02
12Eric Buckley123E00
14Franco Colapaolo000E00
15Jared Marchi112E00
16James Rota000E00
18James Farmer000E02
19Graham Dugdale011E04
21Trevor Van Steinburg000E00
24Brodie Buhler000E014
26Korbyn Chabot000E02
27Keenan Haase022E00
40Jason Richter202E02
KIMBERLEY DYNAMITERS GOALIE STATS
#PlayerMIN.SHSV
33Mitch Traichevich (W)60:003331
30Adam Andersen (Backup)0:0000