The Kimberley Dynamiters had back-to-back games with first
place in the KIJHL up for grabs.
First up, it was the Creston Valley Thunder Cats in a battle
for first place in the KIJHL and the Eddie Mountain division.
The Cats opened the scoring early, but the Dynamiters responded
quickly with goals from Devon Langelaar, Chase Miller and James Farmer. After
the first 20 minutes the Nitro’s had a 3-1 lead.
“I thought that was our best first period of the season thus
far,” said head coach and general manager Derek Stuart. “Even though Creston
scored first, we took the play to them early and responded excellently.
Responding with two quick ones and then adding a third before the period
ended.”
Franco Colapaolo gave the Dynamiters a commanding 4-1 lead
over the Cats with just under seven minutes left in the second.
“After we got our fourth goal on the power play, we took our
foot off the gas a little bit and made a couple of errors. Creston is extremely
skilled and they made us pay for both those errors.”
The Dynamiters paid by having two goals scored on them in a
matter of 60 seconds, cutting into the lead making it 4-3.
“We refocused and reset in the intermission and came back
and played hard in the third and closed it out.”
The Dynamiters kept the Thunder Cats scoreless in the last
frame, holding on to win 4-3.
Cody Campbell was in net for the Nitro’s making 28 saves for
the win.
“He was really good,” Stuart said. “He played solid. He
stuck to his game. He has experience playing in big games when taking his
previous team to the TELUS Cup. Nothing seems to rattle him, if at all. He was
very solid.”
With Campbell’s stellar performance, he suited up again for
the Dynamiters against the Beaver Valley Nitehawks.
“It was a hunch,” Stuart said. “He played excellent against
Creston, and made some big, big saves. We wanted to play him again to see how
he could handle back-to-back games – we’ve done that with Traichevich before.”
Stuart also added, “Regardless of who is net, our team is
very comfortable and confident with both goaltenders.”
Campbell and the Dynamiters squared off against the red-hot
Nitehawks who were looking for their tenth win in a row, and were led by
goaltender Tallon Kramer, the October Kootenay Conference Player of the Month.
Kimberley opened the scoring with a goal by Tyler Van
Steinburg. But the Dynamiters had yet to realize what kind of game they were
in.
“The first half of the game we were not ready to play the
type of game that it was. It was the closest to an elimination playoff game
that we had this year. It was very intense, quick, hard hitting, and very
physical.”
“We didn’t adapt to that until the second half of the game.
A good team is going to capitalize on when we make mistakes.”
The Nitehawks tied the game early in the middle frame, and
then took the lead midway through the same frame.
“After the midway point of the second. I felt we responded
and pushed back and started to play the way Beaver Valley was playing. Once we
figured that out, they did a very good job in the second half of the game.”
The Dynamiters kept pressing throughout the remainder of the
game. They did the traditional desperation move by pulling the goalie in the
final 90-seconds, but the Nitehawks dumped the puck into the empty net.
“We missed two glorious chances prior to the empty net goal.
We fanned on them, but that happens unfortunately.”
When all was said, and done, the Beaver Valley Nitehawks won
their tenth game in a row, diffusing the Dynamiters 3-1.
Stuart was extremely pleased with his team’s performance
despite the 3-1 result.
“I am really proud with how the boys responded in the second
half of the game. Especially after playing such are hard game in Creston on
Friday, and then to play another elite team in the league on Saturday”
“Once we figured out the style of game it was going to be,
we figured out that style and played well. It was a good learning experience
for our players.”
During the Nitehawks game, team leading scorer Korbyn Chabot
left the game after a knee-on-knee.
“Chabot needs to see the team doctor. We are hoping it is
not as bad as it originally looked. It’s one of those things. It was the right
call, give credit to ref for making call.”
But while one Nitro may go down, another is returning to the
lineup as Bryce Salverda has been cleared to play. Drew Van den Bosch and Connor
Kendall are still shelved.
The Dynamiters now regroup and recharge for a road game
Thursday in Creston at 7:30pm, followed by Castlegar on Saturday at 8:00pm.
Check it out in the Kimberley Bulletin/Cranbrook Townsman
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