Monday 30 January 2017

Difficult January ends for the Kimberley Dynamiters


The Kimberley Dynamiters completed their first three game weekend. The results were much the same as they have been for entire month of January: a win bookended by two losses. The Dynamiters lost 5-3 to the Fernie Ghostriders on Thursday, then won in over-time 6-5 against the Columbia Valley Rockies, before losing 4-3 to the Creston Valley Thunder Cats on Saturday. Giving the Nitro’s a record of 3-6 for the month.

“We are happy January is over, that's for sure. It wasn't the ideal month. Basically, it boils down to inconsistency.” Head coach and general manager Derek Stuart said. “Even with the inconsistency, five of the six games we lost were close games that we had a chance to win.

“That is encouraging as a coach. We weren't playing our best hockey but still had opportunities to win games against top teams”

Following the loss on Thursday to the Ghostriders, the Dynamiters travelled to Invermere to face the Rockies. The first 20 minutes was a nightmare for the Nitro’s as the Rockies took a commanding 3-1 lead. The lone goal was a flutter point shot by George Bertoia.

“They are a lot harder to play in their arena then they seem to be in ours.” Stuart said. “They have definitely improved [since the start of the season].

“They came out hard in the first period and we did the opposite. After the first 20, we were really good.”

The Dynamiters began righting the ship as Chase Miller and Cody Lassiter, his first as a Nitro, would chip in goals. But the Rockies would hold onto a 4-3 lead after 40 minutes.

The Nitro’s came soaring out in the third scoring two quick goals by Nolan Kurylo and Brandt Bertoia, edging themselves a 5-4 lead. But with exactly eight minutes left the Rockies tied it at five.

It took 3-on-3 overtime for the teams to solve the game, as Joe Karpyshyn would score the winner.

The Cody’s shared the net, with Call making eight saves, and Campbell making 17 stops.

The Dynamiters then focused their attention the eighth and final meeting against the Thunder Cats, a last attempt to try to inch closer to top spot in the Eddie Mountain Division.

The Dynamiters would learn quickly in this game, that it was Creston Valley Thunder Cats Paxton Malone’s night. Malone opened the scoring, then Karpyshyn tied it. Malone scored again, and then Franco Colapaolo tied the game.

It would be in the second period that Cats Malone wasn’t in on a goal, to take a 3-2 lead – and the Nitro’s did not have a response, until the third period.

Brandon Langridge would tie the game with 4:47 left in the third, and everyone felt the game was going to overtime, except Malone, who would score his third goal of the game 42 seconds later. The Dynamiters would pull out all of their tricks, but to no avail, as the Cats would hang on to their 4-3 lead and win the game.

Campbell made 21 saves in front of the 614 in attendance.

After the game, Stuart felt that the Nitro’s need to cash in on their chances, “We need to bear down on our chances. We had many opportunities to score more goals than we did.”

With January ending, Stuart feels his squad is beginning to focus more because the playoffs are closer to today then the holiday break. It’s important to remember that the Dynamiters had a second 10-day break after the Fernie series.

“We are getting better,” he said, “I believe the way we are playing is becoming more consistent.

“The guys are starting to buckle down. We can now focus on our next opponent.”

The Nitro’s next opponent is the Fernie Ghostriders, this Friday, followed by a trip to Golden to face the Rockets on Saturday.


MATCH STICKS: Chase Miller, Garreth Osmar, and James Rota are all listed as day-to-day. Tyler Van Steinburg is only available now for home games due to a full course schedule at College of the Rockies. Chase Miller registered his team leading 50th point.

Photo by Jonathan Righton
Check it out in the Kimberley Bulletin/Cranbrook Townsman

Saturday 28 January 2017

It's Game Day! Kimberley Dynamiters vs Creston Valley Thunder Cats


Kimberley DynamitersvsCreston Valley Thunder Cats
28-12-0-1Record30-8-1-1
57Points62
2ndDivision Standing1st
5th (4.44)Offence (GFA)1st (4.85)
6th (3.05)Defence (GAA)4th (2.63)
0.877Goaltending (SV%)0.906
3rd (22.80%)Power Play7th (21.35%)
5th (85.85%)Penalty Kill4th (86.74%)
6thPower Ranking3rd
W1StreakW4
5-4-0-1Last 109-1-0-0
Chase Miller (19G-31A)Top ScorerPaxton Malone (22G-35A)
James Farmer (11G-27A)2nd Top ScorerLiam Plunkett (16G-31A)
Nolan Kurylo (13G-18A)3rd Top ScorerThomas Cankovic (15G-29A)
Brandon Langridge (120)PIM LeaderLiam Rycroft (119)

Friday 27 January 2017

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


Kimberley DynamitersvsColumbia Valley Rockies
27-12-0-1Record11-25-0-3
55Points25
2ndDivision Standing4th
5th (4.40)Offence (GFA)16th (2.79)
6th (3.00)Defence (GAA)19th (4.79)
0.899Goaltending (SV%)0.880
3rd (23.66%)Power Play18th (9.89%)
5th (86.00%)Penalty Kill19th (77.07%)
6thPower Ranking19th
L2StreakL2
5-4-0-1Last 105-5-0-0
Chase Miller (18G-30A)Top ScorerMike Dyck (7G-21A)
James Farmer (11G-27A)2nd Top ScorerRiley Knott (15G-9A)
Franco Colapaolo (13G-17A)3rd Top ScorerTyler Bordt (10G-10A)
Brandon Langridge (120)PIM LeaderDavin Burton (121)

Thursday 26 January 2017

It's Game Day! Kimberley Dynamiters at Fernie Ghostriders


Kimberley DynamitersvsFernie Ghostriders
27-11-0-1Record21-14-1-2
55Points45
2ndDivision Standing3rd
5th (4.44)Offence (GFA)8th (3.84)
5th (2.95)Defence (GAA)9th (3.18)
0.901Goaltending (SV%)0.900
3rd (23.91%)Power Play8th (20.41%)
5th (85.79%)Penalty Kill16th (79.89%)
6thPower Ranking10th
L1StreakW1
6-3-0-1Last 104-5-0-1
Chase Miller (16G-29A)Top ScorerMitch Titus (17G-25A)
James Farmer (11G-27A)2nd Top ScorerJustin Peers (18G-16A)
Franco Colapaolo (13G-17A)3rd Top ScorerAlex Cheveldave (13G-19A)
Brandon Langridge (120)PIM LeaderAlex Cheveldave (118)

Wednesday 25 January 2017

The KIJHL rejects expansion, now what? (Opinion Included)

On January 22nd, 2017 the KIJHL held a special meeting to deal with the expansion requests that Quesnel and Williams Lake submitted to join the league. Both communities have supported Junior A hockey teams in the past.

In the 2015-16 season a regular season game was played in Williams Lake and was well supported, so this seemed like an opportune time to join the KIJHL.

However, in a secret ballot cast during the special meeting, which it's only item of business was expansion, 75% of the membership rejected expansion. "Bottom line... 75% did not want to expand" said KIJHL President Bill Ohlhausen.

In his pithy manner, Ohlhausen suggested the league would "certainly" consider expansion in the future, adding, "I think when the membership is in a position to accept it. I don't know all their reasons, but they were not prepared at this time to expand."

This certainly puts to rest the idea of expanding this season so the league can focus on the playoffs; however it it seems to have poked the Williams-Lake-Quesnel-bear and it is arising from its hibernation and will hunt down anyway to get hockey back, and they have several options to chew on: remain focused on expansion, start their own league, or relocation.

At the start of this current season, the league discontinued cross-conference play and shortened the season to help teams budgets; essentially splitting the league in two, in which neither conference will see each other until the KIJHL finals.

The splitting the conferences appeared to create some ambivalence about expansion because it would not impact the Kootenay Conference as much as the Okanagan Conference.

Those two communities could become creative and form a league of their own. It is important to note that the KIJHL sports 20 teams, the VIJHL has nine and the PJHL has ten. The KIJHL is currently bigger than the other two Cyclone Taylor Cup participant leagues combined, making the KIJHL final a mini pre-Cyclone Cup competition. So creating a league that is similar in size and schedule to the VIJHL and PJHL looks appealing.

Another option besides expansion, or creating their own northern league, Quesnel and Williams Lake could be considered as communities for teams to relocate to.

Either way, the Williams Lake and Quesnel communities want in, and they want hockey back. It's just a matter of when and how.

Risdon & Sterzer enjoyed their time at the KIJHL Prospects Game

Harrison Risdon and Caige Sterzer from the Kimberley Dynamiters participated in the KIJHL Prospects Game on Saturday January 14. Both Risdon and Sterzer were held off of the scoresheet as the Okanagan and Kootenay teams skated to a 3-3 draw.

I was able to catch up with Risdon and Sterzer and asked them each the following questions.

1. What are one (or two) highlights of playing in the prospects game? 

Sterzer: My highlight from being at the prospects game was just being able to play with my old teammates that I played spring hockey and minor hockey with. Also being given the opportunity to meet great guys that I have never met before, was another highlight of mine.

Risdon: Highlight from the game definitely had to be being able to play with/against all the top 00's/99's in the league. I also had the chance to play with a few former teammates of mine, which was really awesome. It was just an all around amazing experience.

2. Did any family or friends come to watch? If so, what was that like? 

Sterzer: My mother, father and step father came to watch me which was really exciting. But I also  had family and friends watch me from back home on the TV. It felt great to have a lot of support from back home. It gave me that extra push to work as hard as I can to represent the Dynamiters and the great town of Kimberley that much more.

Risdon: Yes I did, my mom got the chance to travel down from Cranbrook and watch the game. Wish my dad could have been there as well but he was stuck at work watching it through the broadcast. But having my mom there to watch the game was awesome! It's always a great feeling to have family there to support you.

3. What does this experience do for you going forward?

Sterzer: This experience shows the type of players that I will be competing with for the rest of my hockey career. I got to watch some of the top midget players from my age group and also the competed with some of the top from the KIJHL. It gave me a look at where I am with my age group.

Risdon: I think going forward this experience helped be seen by the Junior A and WHL teams who attended the Prospect game. It also has helped me see what I need to adjust in my game to play at the next level.

Tuesday 24 January 2017

KIJHL Power Rankings - January 24, 2017

It's amazing to think that this is the second last Power Ranking for the season, a month from now we will be in the playoffs.

Just as a refresher, this power ranking looks at the current standings of: goals against average, goals forced average, special teams (Scotty Bowman style, adding together PP and PK), and save percentage.

Before we get to the full ranking, here are this months biggest movers:

  • Hot in the KI are the the 100 Mile House Wranglers and the Revelstoke Grizzlies, both improving 12 points from last month.
  • Heading in the other direction are three teams, Princeton Posse (down 10 points), North Okanagan Knights (down 9 points), and the *insert sad face* Kimberley Dynamiters (down 9 points).
The Osoyoos Coyotes continue to hold on to the #1 spot, with the Beaver Valley Nitehawks closely behind. The Creston Valley Thunder Cats and Summerland Steam are tied for third.

Here is the full ranking of the KIJHL:

Sunday 22 January 2017

Kimberley Dynamiters split weekend games

January continues to be a difficult month for the Kimberley Dynamiters as their record sits at 2-4 for the month after this past weekend’s games. For head coach and general manager Derek Stuart, he is pleased with how is team is performing.

“We are in the right direction,” he said. “There are other ways to win than just on the scoreboard. I thought for our group it was a big step forward getting to the place that we need to be in terms of playing well come playoff time.”

Heading in the right direction started Friday with a convincing 6-2 victory over the Golden Rockets at the Kimberley Civic Centre. Thirteen different players would register a point, including goaltender Cody Call who earned an assist. Five of those players would have a multi-point night, including penalty minute leader, Brandon Langridge.

“It was nice, got a few lucky bounces. Teammates put it on my tap, big credit to them.” Langridge said after the game. “It was good bounce back game. It was good for the confidence.”
Stuart was impressed by Langridge’s performance: “He was excellent. It was good to see him have a good, hardworking, gritty game. We will need that going forward.”

Many of the Dynamiters goals just squeezed through the Rockets goaltender, barely crossing the line at times.

“As a coach, I was glad that we got the goals the way we did tonight.” Stuart said “It was very nice to see them score those kind of goals, and get some greasy goals instead of just the nice ones.”

Cody Lassiter was given more ice-time due to scratched players, and Stuart was impressed with how he invested his time, “He was excellent on the backend getting a lot of ice time filling in on the powerplay. He did a great job.”

Call would make 20 saves for his third win of the season.

This was also the first game that the Nitro’s had their participants in the KIJHL Top Prospects game back, Caige Sterzer and Harrison Risdon were in the lineup. However, Sterzer was ejected by just after the eight-minute mark after he took the teams first and second goalie interference penalty. The second goalie interference penalty comes with a game misconduct and a one game suspension. As a result, Sterzer would not participate in the Saturday game against the Creston Valley Thunder Cats.

The Cats were relentless against the Dynamiters, always having an answer, but at the same time the Nitro’s were ready.

“I thought [that] was the closest we have been to playing a full 60 minutes. [It] was a good indication of our players sticking with the game plan and focusing on what they had to do for the majority of the game.”

Assistant captain, Franco Colapaolo added: “I'm proud of how hard we battled back every time we fell behind even though we didn't end up with the result we wanted, it really shows our resiliency.”

The Dynamiters resiliency showed through as they would level the score four times before eventually falling to the Thunder Cats 6-5 with under four minutes left.

“The winning goal [for Creston] was a misplay by our goaltender, and bad luck at the same time, I guess you could say the bounces didn't go our way.”

Nolan Kurylo did his part, along with his line, Chase Miller and Brandt Bertoia, to make sure the Dynamiters stayed in the game.

“Kurylo played really really well, especially offensively. He was going to the front of the net again, as he has been when he gets most of his goals.

“His linemates were very good last night, Bertoia and Miller, they were a big part of his goals. That line was our best line offensively.”

The line would accumulate nine points by the end of the night, scoring four of the Nitro’s five goals.

There were players, though, that did not get on the scoresheet that stood out. Forward turned defenceman James Farmer made great strides.

“He took a giant step as a defenceman without the puck.” Stuart said “he's learning to do things he didn't normally have to do as a forward”

Colapaolo also put in a great game while being kept off the scoresheet. “It was Franco's best game in a while. He probably could and should have been rewarded with a point. His work ethic and his desire last night was phenomenal”

Colapaolo added: “I try to contribute to my team anyway I can and one thing I can always bring is my work ethic and I let the rest of my game build off that.”

The team now prepares for three games in a row, the first time this season. Thursday they travel to Fernie to play the Ghostriders (21-14-1-2), then Friday they are in Invermere to play the Columbia Valley Rockies (11-25-0-3), before bringing the third game home on Saturday against the Creston Valley Thunder Cats (29-8-1-1).


“This is our first three game weekend of the season and it'll be a good test for us.” Colapaolo said, “We'll make sure we do what we need to do to be prepared starting with practice on Monday.”

Saturday 21 January 2017

It's Game Day! Kimberley Dynamiters at Creston Valley Thunder Cats


Kimberley DynamitersvsCreston Valley Thunder Cats
27-10-0-1Record28-8-1-1
55Points58
2ndDivision Standing1st
5th (4.42)Offence (GFA)1st (4.84)
5th (2.87)Defence (GAA)4th (2.63)
0.906Goaltending (SV%)0.906
3rd (23.20%)Power Play6th (22.09%)
5th (85.42%)Penalty Kill3rd (87.36%)
3rdPower Ranking4th
W1StreakW2
7-2-0-1Last 108-2-0-0
Chase Miller (15G-27A)Top ScorerPaxton Malone (21G-34A)
James Farmer (11G-25A)2nd Top ScorerLiam Plunkett (15G-30A)
Franco Colapaolo (13G-17A)3rd Top ScorerThomas Cankovic (15G-27A)
Brandon Langridge (118)PIM LeaderLiam Rycroft (102)

Friday 20 January 2017

It's Game Day! Kimberley Dynamiters vs Golden Rockets


Kimberley DynamitersvsGolden Rockets
26-10-0-1Record5-29-1-3
53Points14
2ndDivision Standing5th
6th (4.38)Offence (GFA)20th (1.79)
5th (2.89)Defence (GAA)17th (4.37)
0.906Goaltending (SV%)0.877
2nd (23.86%)Power Play18th (9.04%)
5th (85.48%)Penalty Kill14th (80.92%)
3rdPower Ranking18th
L2StreakL4
7-2-0-1Last 101-6-0-3
Chase Miller (15G-26A)Top ScorerNich Lush (9G-6A)
James Farmer (11G-25A)2nd Top ScorerAustin Pultz (3G-12A)
Franco Colapaolo (13G-17A)3rd Top ScorerKade Garritty (7G-6A)
Brandon Langridge (118)PIM LeaderBrendan Sime-Vivian; Sam Rousseau (78)

The Kimberley Dynamiters look to get back in the win column

The Kimberley Dynamiters have a polarizing weekend ahead of them. Tonight they host the Golden Rockets (5-29-1-3) who are in fifth place in the Eddie Mountain Division and 11 points behind fourth place Columbia Valley Rockies. Then the next night, they travel to Creston to play the Thunder Cats (27-8-1-1) who sit on top of the Eddie Mountain Division with a three point lead on the Dynamiters.

This will be the fifth time the Nitro’s and Rockets meet this season. The Dynamiters lead the series 5-0, outscoring the Rockets 24-5, including three shutouts, for an average of 7.25 goals per game.

Back on December 3rd, Head coach and general manager said in referring to a team’s position in the standings, “We are not in the position to take anyone lightly. We have no right to take any team lightly.”

The Rockets are a young team, with only one ’96 born player on the roster, Austin Pulz, the rest are ’98 born or later. Nic Lush leads the team in scoring, followed by Pulz, and then Kade Garritty and Owen Lee tied for third in scoring. Jake Gudjonson has returned to the team after playing in the KIJHL Top Prospects game last weekend.

The next day, the Dynamiters will try to catch the Thunder Cats in the standings, as they face the Cats for the seventh time this season. The series is tied at three, with a slight edge to the Cats because of an overtime loss. The Cats have outscored Kimberley 28-20, which is an average of eight goals in each game. The Nitro’s will be looking to pay back the Cats for last weekend’s 5-2 home loss.

Creston remains a power house team with 10 players averaging a point per game, that’s over half of a game day roster capable of getting on the scoresheet each game. Between the pipes, the Cats have two solid goaltenders, Brock Lefebvre and Patrick Ostermann.

The Dynamiters will have a full roster for this weekend’s game, barring illness. There are no listed injured players, all the players have returned from suspensions, and Harrison Risdon and Caige Sterzer have returned after playing in Kelowna at the KIJHL Prospects Game.

The Rockets fly into Kimberley tonight and arrive for a 7pm faceoff at the Civic Centre. Then the Nitro’s will be in Creston at the Johnny Bucyk Arena for a 7:30pm faceoff.

Thursday 19 January 2017

KIJHL Goaltender Rankings - January 2017

The last time I did the goaltender rankings it was October 2016, and many goalies had not met the minimum 10 games. Now it is January 2017, and while there have been roster moves 38 goalies have appeared in 10 games or more. Only the top 20 will be shared.

Goalies are ranked according to their:

  • Win percentage
  • Goals against average
  • Save percentage
Points are awarded by being the leader in each category. 20 for 1st, 19 for 2nd, etc.

Brief observations:
  • Osoyoos Coyotes have goalies ranked 1 & 3 on this list.
  • Creston Valley Thunder Cats have goalies ranked 4 & 5 on the list
Here is the full list, click to make larger:


KIJHL Goalie Workhorses

It's time to feature some of the workhorses in the KIJHL. I have broken the workhorses into two categories. The first is minutes played, the second is the amount of shots faced every 60 minutes. Only the top 20 goalies in each category will be presented.

First up is the total number of minutes played so far this season:

Next is the number of shots faced per sixty minutes. I have also included save percentage. All of the goalies listed will face one shot every other minute, while some approach nearly a shot a minute, which is a lot of rubber.


Sunday 15 January 2017

The Kimberley Dynamiters can't keep up with Thunder Cats and loose ground in standings

The Month of January has not been friendly to the Kimberley Dynamiters so far, as they have started the month with a 1-3 record. Outside of a monstrous 11-2 victory, they have been unable to get past scoring two goals.

This past weekend, the Dynamiters hosted the Creston Valley Thunder Cats. The two teams are close in the standings, and the Cats having a slight edge for first place. Head coach and general manager Derek Stuart has frequently said that the battle for first place in the Eddie Mountain Division will come down to the games between the Nitro’s and the Cats.

At puck drop on Saturday the Dynamiters hoped to be able to leap frog the 2017 Cyclone Hosting Thunder Cats for first place in the standings.

The Cats, without their head coach Jeff Dubois who was away coaching at the KIJHL Top Prospects Game, however, were quick to get on the board, scoring a power play goal.

“We didn’t have any energy in warmup and it led to us coming out flat” assistant captain James Farmer said after the game.

The Dynamiters would later tie the game at one, with forward turned defencemen Farmer scoring. Farmer is familiar with the role: “The adjustment from forward to defence hasn’t been too hard for me. I’ve played some defence growing up so I’m doing my best to remember how to react and to be in the correct position.”

The game didn’t remain tied for long as the Cats responded with their second power play goal of the game. Though as the second period wound down, George Bertoia would get the Nitro’s tying goal.

“I thought at times we did a good job of controlling the puck in their zone and creating issues for their defence.” Captain Ryan Hozjan said, “We did well with taking there goalies eyes away and creating traffic in front.”

As the clock began to tick down in the third period, it began to feel more and more like overtime, and with 7:42 the Cats took a 3-2 after the Nitro’s turned over the puck.

The Cats would then pad their score with two empty net goals to make the final tally a 5-2 victory over the Dynamiters.

It was Cody Campbell’s first game back since the 9-2 loss to the Beaver Valley Nitehawks, and he impressively made 32 saves to keep the Dynamiters in the game.

After the game, both Hozjan and Farmer could identify what the team needed to improve on.

“We just have to be more ready as a team and be ready for whatever team we are playing,” Farmer said “if you come out that flat in playoffs you will not win so hopefully we have learned what we can’t do and not do it again”

Hozjan added: “One thing we need to improve this weekend is our urgency to win for a full 60 minutes, instead of just glimpses throughout the game.”


MATCH STICKS: Harrison Risdon and Caige Sterzer were both held pointless in the KIJHL Top Prospects Game held this past weekend in Kelowna, the Kootenay Conference would tie 3-3 with the Okanagan/Shushwap Conference.

Saturday 14 January 2017

Full KIJHL Prospects Game from January 14, 2017 in Kelowna

If you missed catching the game on YouTube or Shaw, you can rewatch the full game on YouTube:

It's Game Day! Kimberley Dynamiters vs Creston Valley Thunder Cats


Kimberley DynamitersvsCreston Valley Thunder Cats
26-9-0-1Record26-8-1-1
53Points54
2ndDivision Standing1st
4th (4.44)Offence (GFA)1st (4.83)
5th (2.83)Defence (GAA)4th (2.67)
0.905Goaltending (SV%)0.904
2nd (24.28%)Power Play8th (20.83%)
5th (86.34%)Penalty Kill4th (87.75%)
3rdPower Ranking4th
L1StreakL1
8-1-0-1Last 106-4-0-0
Chase Miller (15G-26A)Top ScorerPaxton Malone (20G-34A)
James Farmer (10G-25A)2nd Top ScorerLiam Plunkett (14G-30A)
Franco Colapaolo (13G-17A)3rd Top ScorerThomas Cankovic (15G-25A)
Brandon Langridge (118)PIM LeaderLiam Rycroft (100)

Thursday 12 January 2017

The Kimberley Dynamiters prepare for weekend after losing in OT

On Wednesday night the Kimberley Dynamiters traveled over the Salmo-Creston Pass to get to Nelson to face the Leafs.

However, the bus was not carrying a full roster. The Nitro’s have three suspended players, George Bertoia, Brandon Langridge, and Garreth Osmar; there were several out with the flu; and lastly, some had school commitments. As a result, Dynamiters head coach and general manager called up two affiliate players, Johnny Elias (00) and Quaid Anderson (01) to fill the space. However, this still left the Nitro’s with only 17 skaters and no backup goalie.

The Nitro’s started out great, with Nicholas Ketola, a former Leaf, getting revenge against his former team by giving the Dynamiters a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.

“It felt good to get that first goal.” Ketola said, “I had been in a slump and to get it against my former team, it felt really good.”

In the second period the Nitro’s lost traction.

“In the second we took our foot off the gas.” Stuart said, “We seemed a little bit complacent and satisfied with our first period.”

The Leafs outshot the Dynamiters 19-10 while taking over the game with a 2-1 lead.

In the third Brandt Bertoia, who was named the Away Start of the Game, would level the game at two to force overtime.

But in the same fashion of how the game started with Ketola getting revenge against his former team, Leafs captain, Sawyer Hunt a former Nitro, would score the overtime winning goal against the Dynamiters.

“It was one of those games where we deserved to win,” Stuart said. “But you are not going to win every time that you deserve to win. The first time we played Nelson in Kimberley, they probably deserved to win, things evened out in the end.”

Goaltender Cody Call was the victim of the ‘evening out’ as he made 30 saves in the loss.

Coach Stuart, overall, was really pleased with his team’s performance, and in particular Ketola, B. Bertoia and Devon Langelaar:

“Ketola and Brandt Bertoia were excellent last night. They were the best two forwards for our team. Langelaar was fantastic was last night as well, two excellent assists.”

The Dynamiters now shift their focus to Saturday’s game when they play the Creston Valley Thunder Cats (26-7-1-1). The Cats bolstered their lineup with Junior A talent at the KIJHL roster deadline, adding defenceman Austin Anselmo (97) from the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners (NOJHL), and forward Michael Spenrath from the Calgary Canucks (97).

To prepare for the game, Stuart gave his team the day off on Thursday to rest up and get healthy for Friday’s practice where they will “prepare for Creston by watching video.”

“By now, our players know what to expect, and [Creston] knows what to expect from us.” Stuart said, “come Saturday it is just going to be which teams execute their systems the best and which team is more disciplined.”

As for Ketola, “I'm looking forward to getting the guys back from their suspensions and our guys getting healthy again. That will really help out … and playing dynamiters hockey.”


Puck drop is 7pm at the Kimberley Civic Centre on Saturday.

Wednesday 11 January 2017

It's Game Day! Kimberley Dynamiters at Nelson Leafs


Kimberley DynamitersvsNelson Leafs
26-9-0-0Record16-16-0-4
52Points36
2ndDivision Standing4th
4th (4.51)Offence (GFA)13th (3.03)
5th (2.83)Defence (GAA)11th (3.36)
0.905Goaltending (SV%)0.894
2nd (24.55%)Power Play17th (10.43%)
5th (86.03%)Penalty Kill6th (85.56%)
3rdPower Ranking14th
W1StreakL1
9-1-0-0Last 106-2-0-2
Chase Miller (15G-25A)Top ScorerDale Howell (17G-19A)
James Farmer (10G-25A)2nd Top ScorerSawyer Hunt (13G-22A)
Franco Colapaolo (13G-17A)3rd Top ScorerAndy Fitzpatrick (11G-5A)
Brandon Langridge (118)PIM LeaderMichael LeNoury; Brent Headon (102)