Taylor Rocca
The Kimberley Dynamiters continued to roll on home ice this weekend, grabbing a pair of victories over the Columbia Valley Rockies and the North Okanagan Knights.
The back-to-back wins saw the Dynamiters produce a whopping 18 goals on home ice coming on the heels of a 3-2 setback at the hands of the Rockies Friday night in Invermere.
“I didn’t say a whole lot [after Friday’s loss],” said Dynamiters head coach Jerry Bancks following Sunday’s 8-2 win over the Knights. “I think they were all really disappointed in their play in Columbia Valley. Anytime you lose to a team and then beat them 10-3, you obviously didn’t do something the night you lost.
“They didn’t need a lot of firing up. They knew how disappointed we were in their play.”
After losing to the Rockies in Invermere, the Nitros weren’t very welcoming at home, blowing out the visitors by a final margin of 10-3 Saturday night. It was the second time this season the Dynamiters found the 10-goal mark in a game, the first occasion coming Oct. 12 against the Kelowna Chiefs.
Forward Tyson Klingspohn turned in another hat-trick performance while Jason Richter (2G, 1A) and Jared Marchi (3A) also hit the three-point plateau.
After Liam McBain started his first KIJHL game in Friday night’s loss to the Rockies, Tyson Brouwer was back in the crease Saturday for a 21-save victory, his 10th win of the season.
“The first couple weeks, not being able to play, kind of hit hard,” McBain said Sunday afternoon. “It was nice to get out there and finally get some starts.”
After falling short Friday night, McBain was given a second go at his first KIJHL victory Sunday when the North Okanagan Knights visited the Kimberley Civic Centre. A five-goal first period all but ensured the 17-year-old native of Tualatin, Ore. earned his first-career KIJHL victory.
“It makes it hard and easy at the same time,” McBain said of the first period. “You don’t have the pressure on you to make those big saves, but at the same time it’s hard [to stay focused].”
McBain turned aside 41 of the 46 shots he faced over the weekend.
“He played really well in Columbia Valley and he was good tonight [against North Okanagan],” Bancks said of McBain. “He lost the puck a couple times, which cost us a couple goals.
“The guys really wanted to get him a win. The biggest thing when we lost in Columbia Valley on Friday was how disappointed they were that they didn’t let him get his first win because he played really well.”
If three goals Saturday night wasn’t enough, Klingspohn registered another pair against the Knights. The 18-year-old Penticton native has rattled off 15 goals in 15 games to lead the team in scoring so far this season.
Defenceman Jordan Busch led the way Sunday with a goal and two assists.
After scoring his first-career KIJHL goal Saturday night, Trevor Van Steinburg found the scoresheet once again Sunday, tallying a goal and an assist. Defenceman James Jowsey also scored his first goal as a Dynamiter in Sunday’s win over North Okanagan.
The Dynamiters will play their first mid-week game of the season Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. (MT) in Creston Valley against the Thunder Cats (5-6-1-2). With a road record of 3-3-0-0, life for the Dynamiters hasn’t been as easy in other barns as it has been in the safe and comfortable confines of the Kimberley Civic Centre.
“This is a great atmosphere with great fans. We love our fans here and [the guys] play hard here,” Bancks said. “They’ve got to be intrinsically motivated when they go on the road. They’ve got to get better at that.”
After Wednesday’s contest against the Thunder Cats, the Dynamiters return home for a Friday night Halloween face-off with the Osoyoos Coyotes (13-3-0-0).