Josh Lockhart
The Kimberley Dynamiters played another weekend on the road, beating the Spokane Braves and the Grand Forks Border Bruins, each by a score of 7-2.
Head coach and general manager Derek Stuart felt that there was excitement about crossing the border into the United States and that the short stop at the border allowed them to be prepared for the Spokane Braves.
“We started out really well, I think that was a big boost to our guys.”
The Dynamiters took a quick 2-0 lead but the pesky Braves wouldn’t go away as they tied the game by the midway point of the second.
Then after that, the Nitros turned it on, scoring five goals in the remaining 30 minutes of the game.
“The guys overpowered Spokane as a team as the game wore on. They took over the game halfway through the second period.
“I think in the end our depth and our speed was just too much.”
What helped launch the Dynamiters past the Braves was their power play.
“Our power play was really great in Spokane. We were moving the puck well.
“We were not just standing around watching, but moving around without the puck, which was a big key as well.”
Stuart was also pleased with the defensive effort of his team. “For us to hold them to two goals with such a high scoring first line and a really good power play. We did a really good job defensively against their top line.”
The Dynamiters then had to cross the border back into Canada after spending the night in Spokane to face-off against the Grand Forks Border Bruins.
Heading into the game, Grand Forks was leading the league in penalty minutes, and Stuart wanted to make sure the players didn’t get drawn into a penalty-filled match.
“We addressed that before in the meeting: stay out of the stuff after the whistle, play with our speed and depth, and they will eventually take penalties — which is what happened.”
By the end of the game, the Bruins collected 88 minutes worth of penalties.
This gave the Dynamiters ample chances on the power play and a lot of ice to work with. Eleven different Nitros had at least one point as they went on to beat the Bruins 7-2.
All in all, Stuart was really impressed with his squad’s performance.
“For us the stat we like to pride ourselves on is goals against, and to hold two teams with offensive threats to two goals, speaks to how committed we were to playing defense.
“On the attack, we just kept coming. It was good to see in both games we went on the attack until the end of the game, we didn’t slow up or let down. We had a lead and kept attacking.”
MATCH STICKS: The Kimberley Dynamiters have added goaltender Cody Campbell (’98). Campbell started the season with the Canmore Eagles (AJHL). Ruslan Katsnelson (’97) is being moved, but details were not available at time of print.
For up-to-date Kimberley Dynamiter information visit: www.kimberleydynamiters.net/blog. Also follow Josh on twitter @joshuaklockhart.