The Kimberley Dynamiters continued their
polarizing play this past weekend.
Heading into the weekend, the Dynamiters
have been winners and losers in lopsided affairs, with at-least four goal
differentials in each of those games. The pattern continued as the Nitro’s were
downed 7-2 by the Creston Valley Thunder Cats on Friday and then won by the
same score Saturday in Kimberley against the Grand Forks Border Bruins.
“It’s been a weird month” head coach and
general manager Derek Stuart said.
The game in Creston is a result that the
Kimberley Dynamiters want to forget. Starting goalie Mitch Traichevich was
chased from the net after surrendering four foals. Cody Campbell came in as
relief, but the Cats attack just kept coming, clawing in another three goals.
The Dynamiters could only muster two goals,
one on the power play from Chabot and the other unassisted by Ketola.
“We got embarrassed last night.” Stuart
said. “Straight up, last night we got our butts kicked and we deserved to lose
7-2, if not even worse. That was definitely what we deserved last night.”
After such a loss, the Dynamiters did their
best to keep the game out of the front of their minds.
“We tried not to focus on the loss last
night, kind of keep it in the back of your mind, don’t want it to happen again,
use it to play our best.” James Farmer said.
“Tried to forget about last night, at the
same time used it as motivation to bounce back to make sure we are hard to play
against. We were just trying to focus on our actions,” added Franco Colapaolo.
The lines for Saturday’s match against
Grand Forks also changed.
“We changed the lines up a bit. We had
fresh lines.” Colapaolo said.
His new linemates, Farmer and Korbyn Chabot
started the game and got the Nitro’s on the board in the first period, with
Colapaolo getting the first goal and Farmer and Chabot both getting helpers.
The night just kept getting better for
Farmer and Colapaolo, as both would add another goal and assist each to their
game totals, as they lead the Dynamiters to a 7-2 victory over the Border
Bruins.
“My linemates, Chabot and Farmer really
helped me out tonight and made it easy for me. It was a great night.” Colapaolo
said.
Campbell made 24 saves, doing his part to
help the team win.
“I thought we were pretty solid in all
areas.” Stuart said. “The work ethic was definitely there from the get-go. Once
we established our work ethic we were able to do the systems we wanted for the
most part. We were able to capitalize on some scoring chances. I thought the
guys worked extremely hard tonight.”
For the team, it was a welcomed home
victory.
“Obviously, it felt really good to bounce
back from last night.” Colapaolo said.
“We are doing pretty good at home. It’s
just great to play in front of our fans, we get really good support from them.
And everyone seems to love playing at home.”
Stuart added, “we were a pretty angry
hockey team,”
With that victory the Dynamiters are now
10-1 at home, while they are 6-5 on the road.
Farmer said that: “On the road you have to
build your own energy, and that can be hard sometimes. At home you can use the
energy of the crowd.”
“I know everyone likes playing at home,
whether or not they are working harder at home as opposed to the road, I
certainly hope that’s not the case.” Stuart said. “I don’t think that’s the
case. I think that we talked about getting back on track and the first thing we
have to do is to work hard.”
As for Farmer and Colapaolo, they both
continue to lead the team by example. Farmers performance stood out on
Saturday, earning him the Home Start of the Game.
“We just stuck to our systems.” Farmer said
“I got a lucky bounce there and managed to put it in. On the PK, I just
sacrificed the body for the boys. I know they would do it for me too. I’ll take
[being black and blue] for a win.”
New to the lineup on Saturday was Connor
Kendall. He suited up earlier in the year but was injured on his second shift
with the team.
“Unfortunately, Kendall has had some injury
problems last year in Jr A and his second shift with us in September he got
hurt.”
“He came back, and he is fully ready to go.
He played well. He’s a physical kid, he’s a big kid. He’s very experienced and
smart with the puck. He moves his feet. He’s good at placing pucks. His
experience and strength is a big help to our team, especially along the walls.”
The Dynamiters now prepare for their last
two games in the weird month of November. At home Friday against the Columbia
Valley Rockies, and then on the road against the Fernie Ghostriders.
MATCH
STICKS: Garreth Osmar and James Rota are both
listed as injured with undisclosed injuries and timelines.
Check it out in the Kimberley Bulletin/Cranbrook Townsman
Photo by Jonathan Righton
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