Kimberley Dynamiters take their 6-game winning streak on the road

The Kimberley Dynamiters start off their 4-game road trip with two games this weekend. First, the Nitro’s head over the Kootenay Pass to Castlegar, to play the Rebels (3-4-0-0) on Friday. Then on Saturday, they return to the East Kootenay’s and play the Columbia Valley Rockies (1-5-0-1) in Invermere.

“Road trips are always fun,” Ryan Hozjan, Dyanmiters Captain said. “You get to bond with the guys.”

 “I think for this road trip, it is a good chance for us to prove that we are a good road team, having only played one game on the road so far.”

The Dynamiters lone road game this season was in Golden, and they won that match.

The Rebels currently sit fourth in their division, and are 1-1 at home. They have four players averaging at least one point a game (Styler, Moeller, Lindsey & Petten).

“Castlegar played us tough when they came here a few weeks back,” said Kimberley’s General Manager and Head Coach, Derek Stuart. “They have improved their team since then. They are right in the mix of things in their division. It will definitely be a hard game for our players. It will be a good test for us.”

The Rockies, however, are heading in a different direction in the standings. They are in last place in their division, currently on a five game losing streak, and are 1-3 at home.

But Stuart doesn’t want to focus on the standings, “You’re never as good as your record says and you are never as bad as your record says.”

“We are the defending Kootenay Conference Champions.” He said, “We have a target on our back. Now being 6-1, I’m sure that target is a little bigger.

“We are most likely going to see other team’s best games, and we need to be prepared to play our best game.”

The Dynamiters want to keep the winning streak going, but don’t want to focus on it. “It’s something we need to keep out of our minds,” Hozjan said. “Having a win streak is nice, but it’s definitely not going to be our focus this weekend.”

Stuart shared the same emphasis, “Hopefully we are not thinking too much about what we have done, and focus more on what we have learned and on what we are going to do.”

“We have a lot of confidence in our group. The players have a lot of confidence in themselves. That if we play our game the result should take care of itself.”

Puck drop for the Castlegar game is 8PM MST, and then 7:30PM MST in Invermere.

Check it out in the Kimberley Bulletin/Cranbrook Townsman