Taylor Rocca
If the Kelowna Chiefs net was a turkey, the Kimberley Dynamiters stuffed it plum full on Thanksgiving Sunday and fans at the Kimberley Civic Centre were appreciative of the spread put forth.
The Dynamiters unloaded on a tired Kelowna Chiefs squad — playing its third road game in as many nights — by scoring six goals in the third period en route to a 10-3 triumph.
The offensive outburst marked the first time the Dynamiters scored 10 goals in a game since Jan. 11, 2012 — a 10-3 demolition of the Columbia Valley Rockies. It was also the most goals the Nitros had scored since an 8-3 home-ice victory over the Golden Rockets Dec. 21, 2013.
“It’s good for the kids to be rewarded for the hard work we do,” said Dynamiters head coach Jerry Bancks following the win. “This team works really hard. They go for runs on their own…our Monday and Tuesday night practices are as hard as any. It’s nice to see they get rewarded for it.”
While Austin Hancherow’s second-period marker stood as the eventual game-winner, it was Coy Prevost who made his impact felt from start to finish.
The 17-year-old forward found himself pressbox-bound as a healthy scratch Saturday night in the team’s 7-1 win over the Beaver Valley Nitehawks. After the victory over Beaver Valley, Bancks said he felt Prevost could benefit from a night watching from above.
“It was a good learning experience,” Prevost said of sitting out Saturday following Sunday’s win. “It helped me develop, I think.”
Prevost responded Sunday by ringing up two goals and an assist while playing alongside Tyler Garcia and Tyson Klingspohn, a pairing that haunted both the Nitehawks and Chiefs this weekend.
“They’re in the right places,” Prevost said of playing alongside Garcia and Klingspohn. “It was good to get them the puck and they also look for you, too. It was good burying two here tonight.”
After tallying four goals and an assist Saturday, Klingspohn continued to roll, grabbing two more goals and another assist Sunday against Kelowna. As for Garcia, the 19-year-old forward grabbed two helpers Sunday afternoon following a one-goal, two-assist performance Saturday.
Dynamiters goaltender Tyson Brouwer started his 10th game of the season, earning his eighth win of the campaign with a 23-save performance. He kept the fate of the game in his team’s hands with a handful of big saves as the Chiefs only trailed 4-2 heading into the final period.
“Great goaltending again,” Bancks said of his puck-stopper. “Tyson Brouwer, once again, when the game was close [made] some amazing saves and that’s what he does.”
The Dynamiters third-period offensive outburst is nothing new. Saturday night against the Nitehawks, Kimberley exploded with a four-goal third period. In fact, of the team’s 53 goals this season, 24 have come in the final period of play. That’s good enough for 45.3 per cent of the Dynamiters offensive output. Since the start of the season, Bancks has attributed the team’s strong third periods to its dedication in practice, including a gruelling weekly bag skate on Monday nights.
“The good ol’ bag skates get the boys going,” Prevost said. “[They’re] enough to make some kids vomit.”
Special teams did the trick for the Nitros Sunday afternoon as well. The Dynamiters went 2-for-3 on the man advantage, getting power-play tallies from Jared Marchi and Jordan Busch in the third period. On the penalty kill, Jason Richter and Klingspohn burned the Chiefs for two short-handed markers.
“We designed an offensive play off the face-off [on the penalty kill early in the third period] but it didn’t go the way it was supposed to,” Bancks said with a laugh. “But I think it set the mentality that it’s okay to go for it. With the speed we’ve got, we need to do that a little bit more.”
Defenceman Mitchell Walters turned in a two-goal afternoon while Dylan Jamieson rounded out the scoring for the Chiefs. Chris Turner earned the start in net, allowing three goals on 16 shots before leaving the game after an incidental collision while chasing down a loose puck. Josh Shank entered the game cold in relief of Turner, making nine stops on 16 shots.
The win boosted the Dynamiters record to 8-2-0-0, leaving Kimberley one point behind Fernie for the Eddie Mountain Division lead. Through 10 games, the Ghostriders are 8-1-0-1, good enough for 17 points in the standings.
The Chiefs fell to 4-6-1-1 following the loss.
The Dynamiters next action comes Oct. 17 when they travel to Golden in search of revenge against a Rockets squad (7-4-0-1) that fired Kimberley its first loss of the 2014-15 campaign back on Oct. 4. The Nitros return home Oct. 18 to host the Creston Valley Thunder Cats (4-5-0-1).