The Kimberley Dynamiters took their winning streak on the
road to Castlegar on Friday, and then Saturday in Invermere.
On Friday, Ryan Hozjan, captain of the Kimberley Dynamiters,
said he wanted the team to show that they are a road team; and they did just
that.
Outside of being scored on first, it was all Dynamiters in
Castlegar.
The game was knotted for 40 minutes, and then saw an
offensive burst by the Nitro’s in the third.
“The first nine minutes of the third period was our best
attacking hockey,” said head coach and general manager Derek Stuart. “They showed
their potential as a team, I hope the players realize that.”
Matt Davies gave the Nitro’s a 2-1 lead early in the third
period. Brandt Bertoia followed that up 90 seconds later with a goal of his
own. Then Korbyn Chabot’s individual effort two minutes put the Nitro’s up 4-1.
Seventeen seconds later, Davies added his second, and the Nitro’s fifth of the
game.
Chabot then added the exclamation mark, sixth goal, as he
scored his second of the game with 56 seconds left to play.
At the end of the night, two Nitro’s had a four-point game:
James Farmer (one goal, three assists) and Chabot (two goals, two assists).
In net, Mitch Traichevich, the Away Star of the Game, made
34 saves for the win.
“Mitch gave us a chance to win, just as he has done before.”
The Dynamiters returned home around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday
from Castlegar. Slept, and then went at it again that night against the
Columbia Valley Rockies.
“We told the players to not let their minds tell them that
they are tired.” Stuart said. “Give us one good shift at a time, and rest while
on the bench, then give us another good effort.”
For the Dynamiter fans, the expectations were high heading
into a game against the lower seeded Rockies.
“As a coaching staff we prepare the team the same regardless
of who we are playing.”
However, maybe it was the bus legs, maybe it was the mental
fatigue, or maybe it was the desire to be flashy against a team lower in the standings,
but the winning streak came to an end in Invermere, as an elated Rockies downed
the Nitro’s 3-2, with three unanswered goals in a short window of time.
The Kimberley Dynamiters did have an over abundance of
opportunities to change the outcome of the game, “but we didn’t finish our
chances,” said Stuart. “Yes, we had 50 shots. But by my count we had 16 scoring
chances and didn’t finish them.”
Stuart also felt that the team didn’t play a full
60-minutes. “A lot of the goals scored against us came on mistakes and
lackluster play.”
California native Ruslan Katsnelson was in net for the
Nitro’s and made 17 saves in his first, and the Dynamiters second, loss of the
season.
Despite scoring eight goals in the two games, the Dynamiters
power play, the once deadly and staple of the Dynamiters attack, continues to
be a struggle this season. They scored one out of nine Friday, and were one for
six Saturday. Currently it sits 15th in the league at 14%.
Stuart is optimistic, “our power play is still working on
knowing what options are available.”
All things considered, Stuart feels that this weekends
results are to be expected from such a young squad (13-rookies), and that it is
a learning experience.
The Dynamiters took Monday, Thanksgiving, off from practice,
as they rest up for another two-game out-of-division weekend road trip to
Spokane on Friday and then Grand Forks on Saturday.
MATCH STICKS: Bryce
Salverda and Connor Kendall remain sidelined from injuries.
Check it out in the Kimberley Bulletin/Cranbrook Townsman
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