Story: The Kimberley Dynamiters have traded Mitch Traichevich for Cody Call

On Sunday December 4, the Kimberley Dynamiters traded goaltender Mitch Traichevich to the Dawson Creek Jr Canucks (NWJHL) for Cody Call.

"He wasn't himself the past few weeks, and you could tell just by talking to him and watching him in practice." Head coach and general manager Derek Stuart said. "Those two games in Fernie he didn't play like he can. We could tell there were distractions."

For personal reasons, Traichevich returns to his home town to play for the Junior Canucks.

"He needed and wanted to go home for personal reasons. There are things in life more important than hockey. It is best for both sides the way it worked out"

Stuart concluded by saying "We wish Mitch the best of luck. It was a very mature decision on his part, it wasn't an easy one. He made the right decision, it is the right thing for him to do."

Call, from Williams Lake, BC, played in six games for the Junior Canucks before getting injured. In those games, he went 3-2 posting a 2.94 GAA and a .893 SV%.

Stuart is looking for Call to gel with the team immediately.

"I've heard rave reviews about his attitude and his team first mentality. We are hoping that he comes in and pushes Cody Campbell.

"We are looking for Call to come in and be the ultimate teammate that he is. Give it his all and play his best when he gets the opportunity to start."

Moving forward Stuart is comfortable with Campbell as the starter for the Dynamiters, "He has proved that he is an elite gaoltender in the league."

Call is expected to join the team for the road trip to Golden where he will serve as backup to Campbell.

The Kimberley Dynamiters squeeze out two points in an ugly weekend

The Kimberley Dynamiters faced two divisional rivals this past weekend, the Fernie Ghostriders and the Columbia Valley Rockies. One game was a collapse, and the other was ugly.

First up was the collapse. The Nitro’s had built a 3-1 lead over the Ghostriders in the first 40 minutes with goals from Connor Kendall, Nolan Kurylo and Chase Miller. But then things went sour for the Nitro’s in the last 20 minutes.

Starting at the 19:02 mark of the third until the 13:05 the Riders managed to score four unanswered goals to wipe out the Nitro’s two-goal lead and secure a two-goal lead of their own.

Head coach and general manager Derek Stuart summed it up: “The third period [against Fernie] was not good, it was a collapse.”

The Dynamiters had the edge in shots 40-34 in front of 528 fans in Fernie. Kurylo debuted against Fernie, and Stuart was pleased with his early performance.

“He’s a real smart player. He already does some things that we are trying to get the team to do just from his experience playing junior A for a year and a half.”

The Dynamiters then had to recalibrate and get ready for the Columbia Valley Rockies, who they bested 8-2 the game prior.

This was the ugly game in front of 626 fans in the Civic Centre. The Dynamiters struggled to make passes, appeared disorganized, and did not come to play their brand of hockey in the Civic Centre.

“It was definitely not one of our better games.” Stuart said. “For whatever reason, we didn’t come to play our game, we more tried to match Columbia Valley and they made it hard on us tonight. We were able to gut one out, but it was not pretty. It was definitely ugly.”

November Nitro’s Player of the Month, James Farmer, explained why the team wasn’t playing to their potential.

“I think we came out a little flat, that we were going to walk all over them. Obviously that didn’t happen. We can’t underestimate them. We have had three really close games with them.”

Through 40 minutes the Dynamiters were level at two with the Rockies, with goals by Drew Van den Bosch and Garreth Osmar. It was in the final 20 minutes that the Nitro’s began to pull away.

Brandt Bertoia gave the Nitro’s a one goal lead. Then it was Devon Langelaar with a break away short-handed goal with just under three minutes left that sealed the game for the Dynamiters.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a defenceman short handed breakaway goal.” Langelaar said, recalling the goal he scored. “We just had to get the puck out. Kind of a lucky bounce, it was right there for me. I just put it on net, I had no intention of scoring, really.”

While Langelaar provided the heroics, it was 16-year-old Adam Andersen from Kimberley, BC, that made his KIJHL starting debut, earning his first win with a 21-save performance, which stole the show.

“Adam was really good for a 16 year old and a home town kid. He was nervous all day.” Stuart said, “He made two highlight reel saves and then a bunch of key calm saves that we needed recently and he provided them tonight. I think there were times where he kept us in the game. It was nice to see. He’s really happy.”

Andersen was not just happy, but exhilarated with the win.

“It's the best feeling I have ever had in my life.” Andersen said. “The first one is always the hardest to get out of the way. I'm happy that I got to do it here on home ice in front of my family, my friends and my teammates. It was pretty awesome.”

While the Dynamiters earned two of a possible four points this weekend, Stuart has outlined a couple of things that his team needs to work on before tonight’s game against the Golden Rockets.

“We are going to have to figure out why it was a slow start.” He said, “We are not in the position to take anyone lightly. We have no right to take any team lightly. If that’s what is happening, we need to fix it right away.

“We are going to have to take shorter shifts and manage the puck better [against Golden]. We are going there to get a job done. Just manage the puck; it doesn’t need to be pretty. Keep the puck out of the danger zone.”

While Farmer added: “Get prepared, get rest, and come out hard. Don’t take them lightly. Play them physical and strong, and beat them down.”

The Dynamiters travel to Golden tonight to play the Rockets at the Golden Arena. Puck drop is 7:30pm.

MATCH STICKS: The Kimberley Dynamiters have traded Mitch Traichevich (’97) to his hometown Dawson Creek Jr Canucks for goaltender Cody Call (‘98). Korbyn Chabot has been held pointless in his four games with the Trail Smoke Eaters (BCHL). George Bertoia remains sidelined with injury.

Photos by Jonathan Righton

Check it out in the Kimberley Bulletin/Cranbrook Townsman

Kimberley Dynamiters November Player of the Month: James Farmer

James Farmer was selected as the Kimberley Dynamiters November Player of the Month.

Farmer said of the recognition: “It’s a great honor. It wouldn’t be possible without my teammates. It’s good to get it, hopefully I can do it again.”

During the month of November, Farmer registered three goals, six assists, two stars of the game, and blocked many shots.

If you are curious why Farmer blocks so many shots, well “it helps out the goalie and gets the boys going. It shows that you care about the team and will do anything for them.”

Great leadership by example.

Photo by Jonathan Righton.

It's Game Day! Kimberley Dynamiters vs Columbia Valley Rockies

Kimberley Dynamiters	vs	Columbia Valley Rockies
17-8-0-0	Record	6-15-0-3
34	Points	15
2nd	Division Standing	4th
5th (4.36)	Offence (GFA)	16th (2.63)
5th (2.88)	Defence (GAA)	18th (4.96)
0.904	Goaltending (SV%)	0.876
8th (20.72%)	Power Play	20th (3.60%)
5th (86.05%)	Penalty Kill	20th (74.05%)
5th	Power Ranking	18th
L2	Streak	L3
4-6-0-0	Last 10	2-7-0-1
Korbyn Chabot (18G-12A)	Top Scorer	Carter Beston-Will (5G-10A)
Franco Colapaolo (12G-12A)	2nd Top Scorer	Mike Dyck (3G-12A)
Chase Miller (8G-16A)	3rd Top Scorer	Ryan Skytt (7G-7A)
Brandon Langridge (81)	PIM Leader	Davin Burton (89)

It's Game Day! Kimberley Dynamiters at Fernie Ghostriders

Kimberley Dynamiters	vs	Fernie Ghostriders
17-7-0-0	Record	15-8-0-1
34	Points	31
2nd	Division Standing	3rd
4th (4.42)	Offence (GFA)	T-7th (4.13)
5th (2.79)	Defence (GAA)	6th (3.00)
0.907	Goaltending (SV%)	0.897
T-9th (20.00%)	Power Play	3rd (23.44%)
5th (87.20%)	Penalty Kill	10th (82.30%)
5th	Power Ranking	7th
L1	Streak	W1
5-5-0-0	Last 10	7-3-0-0
Korbyn Chabot (18G-12A)	Top Scorer	Mitch Titus (11G-19A)
Franco Colapaolo (12G-12A)	2nd Top Scorer	Justin Peers (15G-10A)
James Farmer (7G-17A)	3rd Top Scorer	Ryan Kennedy (11G-10A)
Brandon Langridge (81)	PIM Leader	Alex Cheveldave (79)

KIJHL Clutch Scorers: November 2016

It's that time of the month again... Clutch Scorers. It feels like the list is stabilizing in the top quarter, however, there was a lot of movement in other areas.

New to the list is:

• Justin Bond - 100 Mile House Wranglers
• Justin Peers - Fernie Ghostriders
• John Moeller - Castlegar Rebels
• Luke Gallagher - Spokane Braves

The Hottest players:

• Jason Village - Kelowna Chiefs +17
• Kaden Black - Chase Heat +15
• Brett Witala - Kelowna Cheifs +13
• Daniel Stone - Osoyoos Coyotes +12
• Chad Grambo - Grand Forks Border Bruins +11

Here is the complete list:

Nitro’s Add Jr A Talent prior to Division Rematches

The Kimberley Dynamiters have familiar foes again this weekend; same teams, same locations, just different dates.

First the Dynamiters head to Fernie on Friday to play the Ghostriders in a rematch of last Saturday’s game. The Riders are now winners of seven in their past 10 and sit three points behind the Dynamiters.

Head coach and general manager Derek Stuart said on Sunday in preparation for facing Fernie again, “the only thing we need to do differently [this weekend] is [manage our game] when there is adversity. When there was adversity last [Saturday] night we didn’t do a very good job at managing it. We have to [be better at that].”

Next the Nitro’s host the Columbia Valley Rockies in a rematch of last Friday’s game. Stuart said of the Rockies bench boss, former NHLer Wade Dubielewicz after Friday’s game: “They have a great coach over there in Columbia Valley. He is very knowledgable in the game, he has played at the highest level.” So be prepared for another heated rivalry between these two teams.

The Nitro’s added forward Nolan Kurylo (’98) to their roster this week; He comes to the team from the Canmore Eagles (AJHL). The Calgary, AB native played the full 2015-16 season with the Eagles, notching one goal and seven assists in his 43 game rookie campaign. He played 13 games this season with them, scoring one goal and four points.

Stuart is happy to have Kurylo in the lineup, “He is going to be a big part of our team moving forward offensively.”

“He’s going to add a lot of speed to our lineup. Which bodes well for us, [our speed] is one of the elements that makes us hard to play against.”

“With the experience at Junior A, he makes plays a little quicker and faster.”

Friday’s game in Fernie starts at 7:30pm at the Fernie Memorial Arena. Saturday’s puck drop is 7pm at the Kimberley Civic Centre.

MATCH STICKS: The Kimberley Dynamiters now have 23 players on their roster. George Bertoia and Cody Campbell are both listed as injured, but Campbell is expected back this weekend. Team leading scorer Korbyn Chabot made his Jr A debut Wednesday with the Trail Smoke Eaters.

Check it out in the Kimberley Bulletin/Cranbrook Townsman