Josh Lockhart
The Kimberley Dynamiters were on the road Tuesday night as they visited the Golden Rockets.
For the first 10 minutes of the game, it was all Rockets.
“[Golden] definitely came out strong and took it to us at the start,” Dynamiters head coach and general manager Derek Stuart said. “They were moving pucks and they had three or four odd-man rushes in the first ten minutes of the game.
“Last night was not that bad of a start,” he continued. “It was a case of a team taking advantage of another team that was on the bus for three plus hours and using their rink to their advantage.
“After the first seven to ten minutes, we slowly started to take over the game, and got better and better as the game went on.”
What held the Nitros in the game, as the Rockets fired 14 shots on net, was the play of goalie Cody Campbell.
“When he had to make big saves, he did,” Stuart said of Campbell. “There were timely saves in the first six minutes that kept the boys positive and allowed us to get our legs underneath us and come back and start attacking Golden.”
The Dynamiters found their groove in the second and third periods as they outshot the Rockets 25 to 18.
Newcomer Nolan Kurylo had a three point night as he helped the Dynamiters score three of their four goals.
“[Kurylo] hasn’t disappointed — he has skill [and] his speed is very solid,” Stuart said “His goals with us have been within three to five feet of the net. It’s nothing flashy or pretty, he is getting the job done because he is working hard to get to the front of the net.”
Devon Langelaar continued his hot play notching a goal and an assist on the scoresheet. Garreth Osmar was the other goal-scorer for the Nitros.
By the end of the game, it was 4-0 and Campbell had earned a 32-save shutout in his first game back from injury — his first game since being given the starting job — and his first ever KIJHL shutout.
For Campbell, the shutout was ‘nice’ and a ‘bonus’ but it was getting the win in his first game back that he valued most.
“It was nice coming off my injury to get a win,” he said. “A lot of guys struggle after coming back from injury [so] it was just nice that my team was there in front of me and ready to play.”
The Dynamiters now focus their attention on their matchup Friday against the Creston Valley Thunder Cats (20-5-1-1) and then the Columbia Valley Rockies (6-16-0-3) on Saturday. Both games are at the Kimberley Civic Centre and start at 7 p.m.
“This is a really important week for us,” Campbell said. “Our goal is to get all six points so that we can catch up to Creston in the standings.”
For up-to-date Kimberley Dynamiter information visit: www.kimberleydynamiters.net/blog. Also follow Josh on twitter @joshuaklockhart.