Josh Lockhart
The Kimberley Dynamiters have a polarizing weekend ahead of them. Tonight, they host the Golden Rockets (5-29-1-3) who are in fifth place in the Eddie Mountain Division and 11 points back of fourth. The next night, they travel to Creston to play the Thunder Cats (27-8-1-1) who sit atop the division with a three-point lead over the Dynamiters.
This will be the fifth time the Nitros and Rockets meet this season. The Dynamiters lead the series 5-0, outscoring the Rockets 24-5, including three shutouts, for an average of 7.25 goals per game.
Back on December 3, head coach and general manager Derek Stuart said that the Dynamiters were “not in the position to take anyone lightly” no matter where an opponent is in the standings.
The Rockets are a young team, with only one ’96 born player, Austin Pulz, on the roster. Nic Lush leads the team in scoring, followed by Pulz, and then Kade Garritty and Owen Lee are tied for third in scoring. Jake Gudjonson has also returned to the team after playing in the KIJHL Top Prospects game last weekend.
The next day, the Dynamiters will try to catch the Thunder Cats in the standings in their seventh meeting of the year. The series is tied at three, with a slight edge to the Cats because of an overtime loss. The Cats have outscored Kimberley 28-20, which is an average of eight goals in each game. The Nitros will be looking to pay back the Cats for last weekend’s 5-2 home loss.
Creston remains a powerhouse in the KIJHL with 10 players averaging a point per game of more. THat’s to say that over half of a game day roster capable of getting on the scoresheet each game. Between the pipes, the Cats have two solid goaltenders: Brock Lefebvre and Patrick Ostermann.
The Dynamiters will have a full roster for this weekend’s game, barring illness. There are no listed injured players, all the players have returned from suspensions, and Harrison Risdon and Caige Sterzer have returned after playing in Kelowna at the KIJHL Prospects Game.
The Rockets fly into Kimberley tonight and arrive for a 7 p.m. faceoff at the Civic Centre. The Nitros will then be in Creston at the Johnny Bucyk Arena for a 7:30 p.m. start on Saturday.
For up-to-date Kimberley Dynamiter information visit: www.kimberleydynamiters.net/blog and follow Josh on twitter @joshuaklockhart.