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.

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!

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

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 Dynamiters	vs	Fernie Ghostriders
41-7-0-4	Record	27-20-0-5
86	Points	59
1st	Division Standing	4th
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 Play	8th (17.87%)
1st (88.48%)	Penalty Kill	12th (83.48%)
T-1st	Power Ranking	T-9th
W6	Streak	L4
8-2-0-0	Last 10	3-6-0-1
Eric Buckley (24G-46A)	Top Scorer	Cole Keebler (27G-31A)
Jared Marchi (28G-38A)	2nd Top Scorer	Justin Peers (21G-32A)
Jordan Busch (8G-58A)	3rd Top Scorer	Zach Befus (25G-28A)
Eric Buckley (100)	PIM Leader	Coleton Dawson (96)

HEAD-TO-HEAD RESULTS
DATE	AWAY		HOME	SCORE	TYPE
06-Nov-15	Kimberley Dynamiters	@	Fernie Ghostriders	4 - 3	RS
20-Nov-15	Fernie Ghostriders	@	Kimberley Dynamiters	3 - 2 OT	RS
28-Dec-15	Fernie Ghostriders	@	Kimberley Dynamiters	2 - 3	RS
29-Dec-15	Kimberley Dynamiters	@	Fernie Ghostriders	2 - 3 OT	RS
05-Feb-16	Fernie Ghostriders	@	Kimberley Dynamiters	4 - 2	RS
08-Feb-16	Kimberley Dynamiters	@	Fernie Ghostriders	2 - 0	RS
13-Feb-16	Fernie Ghostriders	@	Kimberley Dynamiters	1 - 3	RS
20-Feb-16	Kimberley Dynamiters	@	Fernie Ghostriders	5 - 2	RS

HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORDS
TEAM	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA
Kimberley Dynamiters (H)	2	1	0	1	10	10
Kimberley Dynamiters (A)	3	0	0	1	13	8
Fernie Ghostriders (H)	1	3	0	0	8	13
Fernie Ghostriders (A)	2	2	0	0	10	10

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

Also give Taylor Rocca's article a read.

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.

Kimberley Dynamiters 8 vs Golden Rockets 0

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
#	Player	G	A	PTS	+/-	SH	PIM
2	George Bertoia	0	0	0	E	0	0
6	Devon Langelaar	0	1	1	E	0	0
8	Trey Doell	0	1	1	E	0	0
9	Tanner Wit	2	0	2	E	0	0
10	Jordan Busch	0	3	3	E	0	2
11	Justin Meier	0	0	0	E	0	2
12	Eric Buckley	1	0	1	E	0	0
14	Franco Colapaolo	1	0	1	E	0	0
15	Jared Marchi	0	3	3	E	0	0
16	James Rota	0	0	0	E	0	0
18	James Farmer	0	0	0	E	0	0
19	Graham Dugdale	0	0	0	E	0	0
21	Trevor Van Steinburg	0	0	0	E	0	2
22	Sawyer Hunt	0	3	3	E	0	0
24	Brodie Buhler	0	0	0	E	0	2
26	Korbyn Chabot	1	0	1	E	0	0
27	Keenan Haase	1	1	2	E	0	0
40	Jason Richter	2	1	3	E	0	0

KIMBERLEY DYNAMITERS GOALIE STATS
#	Player	MIN.	SH	SV
1	Tyson Brouwer (W)	60:00	24	24
33	Mitch Traichevich (Backup)	0:00	0	0

Kimberley Dynamiters 5 at Fernie Ghostriders 2 in Sparwood

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
#	Player	G	A	PTS	+/-	SH	PIM
2	George Bertoia	0	0	0	E	0	2
3	Lucas Purdy	0	0	0	E	0	2
5	Chase Leroux	0	0	0	E	0	0
8	Trey Doell	0	0	0	E	0	4
9	Tanner Wit	1	0	1	E	0	0
10	Jordan Busch	0	1	1	E	0	0
11	Justin Meier	0	1	1	E	0	2
12	Eric Buckley	1	2	3	E	0	0
14	Franco Colapaolo	0	0	0	E	0	0
15	Jared Marchi	1	1	2	E	0	0
16	James Rota	0	0	0	E	0	0
18	James Farmer	0	0	0	E	0	2
19	Graham Dugdale	0	1	1	E	0	4
21	Trevor Van Steinburg	0	0	0	E	0	0
24	Brodie Buhler	0	0	0	E	0	14
26	Korbyn Chabot	0	0	0	E	0	2
27	Keenan Haase	0	2	2	E	0	0
40	Jason Richter	2	0	2	E	0	2

KIMBERLEY DYNAMITERS GOALIE STATS
#	Player	MIN.	SH	SV
33	Mitch Traichevich (W)	60:00	33	31
30	Adam Andersen (Backup)	0:00	0	0