The Kimberley Dynamiters won both games at home over the weekend, narrowly defeating Creston Valley 3-2 on Friday and then soundly beating Grand Forks 5-1 on Saturday.
Head Coach Derek Stuart said he felt like his team started out well enough on Friday, but went into a bit of a lull after their opponents made it a 1-0 game, before coming roaring back for a solid last two periods and a sensational final five minutes.
“We dominated the second and the third by the shots and the scoring chances,” Stuart said. “It took a little while to get our first goal, but we got a lucky break to get it and it seems to have I guess focused the guys a little bit harder and they went at it for the last two goals.”
The Dynamiters were down 2-0 with about five to play in the final period of the game, and Creston Valley could certainly just about taste the win.
They got their first goal of the game thanks to a very lucky bounce, and the Thunder Cats goalie being too tangled up with the puck to prevent it from creeping across the line. Then CV player Campbell Mclean was hit with a four minute penalty for kneeing and a 10-minute misconduct.
Kimberley was able to capitalize with a goal from Austin Daniels. Then with just over a minute left in the game, Christian Mealey got his 19th goal of the season and that at would be enough to do it, and the Nitros came away with the win.
“In terms of entertainment value that was a pretty entertaining night for all the fans I’m sure as it was for all the players,” Stuart said. “But it was a good finish and I thought we deserved the win and it was good to see the guys finally pull it out in the last five minutes.”
Saturday’s game saw the Nitros come out hot with a “phenomenal start,” according to Stuart, however he added the guys put in cruise control after their strong start, which he doesn’t like to see.
“I thought the third was much better,” Stuart said. “But we played well, it wasn’t our best game, but we played well enough to win and the guys deserve a lot of credit.”
At Saturday’s game, Kade Leskosky, the 2003-born Forward from Calgary, Alta. was named Player of the Month.
“Kade’s been fantastic all year to be honest with you,” Stuart said. “He went on a bit of a scoring streak there in November and December and he’s usually contributing points wise every game, or close to it. So he’s doing a great job offensively and I think he’s starting to play a bit more physical which is creating space for him and definitely helping his overall game too.”
Leskosky has average 1.15 points per game in his 27 games played this season, with a total of nine goals and 22 assists.
The Dynamiters only have four games left in the regular season and at present are sitting in second place in the Eddie Mountain division, three points behind Columbia Valley. The Nitros set a goal after Christmas to finish first in the division, and Stuart is fairly certain they need to win these last four goals to achieve that.
They take on the league-leading Rockies on Friday in Invermere.
“Our focus is on doing the right things and letting our actions take care of the results,” Stuart said. “We need to win on Friday if we want to get first place, so our focus is going to be winning this game on Friday.
“We’re three points behind them with a game in hand, so technically if we win all four of our games we will get first, but Friday’s a must win if we want to achieve that goal for sure.”
The Dynamiters’ next home game, and their last home game of the regular season, is on Friday, Feb. 18 against Creston Valley.
It’s also Fan Appreciation Night, so one lucky fan will win a 55” Samsung 4K UHD TV courtesy of The Brick, so make sure to get out and show the Dynamiters some hometown support and cheer them on to victory.
paul.rodgers@kimberleybulletin
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