The Kimberley Dynamiters have caught fire, winning both their weekend games and their last five in a row.
On Friday, they faced the Columbia Valley Rockies for the first time since they lost to them on November 10. This time, the Dynamiters left the Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena victorious with a 9-3 win.
“We were determined and prepared to play this time,” said head coach and GM Derek Stuart. “We haven’t faced them in three months so it was sort of an attitude of we want to show them who we are now, not the November team. The guys came out and were determined to play proper hockey and they worked hard and did a great job.”
The team made some trades in January, including the acquisition of 2004-born Riley Langille. Because he was, at the time, playing in Serbia in the Tier 2 World Championships for his home country of Australia, he wasn’t able to join the team until later than the other new players. While Stuart knew this was a bit of a gamble, the results are already speaking for themselves.
In his first game with the Dynamiters on Friday, Jan. 26, Langille had three assists, helping propel the team to their 6-4 win over the Golden Rockets.
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In Friday’s game against Columbia Valley, Langille got himself a hat trick and two assists.
“He’s fit in great, he’s had a great start with us and he’s definitely a difference maker and real, real good with the puck,” Stuart said.
Tristan Weill, who like many of the team was very sick for a good chunk of January, is still the KIJHL’s leading scorer. He scored the first of the Nitros’ nine goals on Friday and got the assist on Langille’s first of the night.
Unfortunately, he was injured that same game. Stuart says they won’t know how hurt he is or if he’ll need to miss any games until he sees the doctor on Monday.
The balance of Friday’s goals came from Conner Furukawa (who scored two), Nicholas Hughes, Tyler Lindal and Jackson Murphy.
On Saturday, Feb. 3, the Dynamiters played the Golden Rockets and shut them out for the second time in the last three games they’ve played against them.
Newly acquired Liam Furlong got the first goal on a power play late in the first. After a scoreless second period, Billy Kiray scored his eighth goal of the season midway through the third and Langille got his fourth in three games with his new team.
“The whole team’s turned around, I mean we’re a completely different team right now than we were even two and half, three weeks ago,” Stuart said. “Everyone’s turned around and started going in the same direction again.”
The Dynamiters return to the Civic Centre on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 9 and 10 to take on the Grand Forks Border Bruins and Columbia Valley Rockies, respectively. This will be a welcomed change of pace: of the 10 games the Dynamiters have played so far in 2024, only one of them has been at home.
“I definitely think for any team having that many games on the road isn’t ideal,” Stuart said. “We’re all sick of the bus for sure, but we’re definitely excited to get back home and play in front of our home crowd for three in a row, three of our last four at home. Everything looks like it’s falling into place for us right now.”