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Hit the open road

The Kimberley Dynamiters set out on a three-game road trip through the Interior in KIJHL action this weekend
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Kimberley Dynamiters

Taylor Rocca

The Kimberley Dynamiters are hoping a little road trip will help them get back into the win column this weekend.

After dropping consecutive games to the Fernie Ghostriders and Princeton Posse last weekend, the Nitros hit the highway for a three-game swing through the Interior, beginning Friday night in Kelowna, before moving along to Princeton and wrapping up Sunday afternoon in Summerland.

The Dynamiters will make the trip without their bench boss Jerry Bancks, who will miss the weekend festivities due to personal reasons. He will be back behind the bench when the Dynamiters return home to host the Spokane Braves Thursday, Nov. 20. In the meantime, assistant coach Jeff Keiver will take over.

“We have to have everyone playing to the best of their ability, especially when you play three [games] in three [nights],” Bancks said Thursday afternoon. “We’re going to be short a few players this weekend, so it’s going to require other players stepping up. Some players are going to get a chance to play a bigger role and they need to step up to the plate.”

While it remains to be seen who will be the one to grab the proverbial bull by the horns this weekend, goaltender Tyson Brouwer returns to anchor the Dynamiters between the pipes. He is expected to start Friday night against the Kelowna Chiefs.

Brouwer last played Oct. 29 in Creston Valley where he suffered an MCL sprain in overtime against the Thunder Cats. The 19-year-old Lethbridge native posted stellar numbers prior to getting hurt, going 10-4-0 with a 2.98 goals-against average and one shutout in 14 games.

While Brouwer returns, it appears as though defenceman James Jowsey (undisclosed) and forward Jesse Wallace (strep throat) will join forward Jordan Roy  (collar bone) and defenceman Tristan Pagura (shoulder) on the shelf this weekend.

“The biggest thing is staying focused and taking it shift by shift,” Bancks said of the challenges his team will face this weekend. “If you show up on Friday and you look at the big picture and you look beyond your next shift, you’re probably going to find yourself in trouble.

“You just have to get yourself focused for every shift, know what your responsibilities are and go out there and do your job. If we get everybody doing that, it tends to lead to success.”

The last time Kimberley and Kelowna met, the Dynamiters spanked the Chiefs 10-3 Oct. 12.