Two games into a three-game mid-season series with the Kimberley Dynamiters, the Golden Rockets are split with one win and one loss.
The home-town boys were in Kimberley on Thursday to start it off. After falling behind in the first, from a goal off Kimberley’s Mitchel Gallegher, Golden came out strong in the second.
“We struggled in the first, but we came out stronger in the second,” said Head Coach Ty Davidson. The first goal came from newcomer Connor Beauchemin, with assists going to Kyle Garcia and Brett DeFrias. And a second goal scored by Bryden Marsh put the Rockets up 2-1 heading into the third.
Kimberley came back to tie it up in the final frame, but the Rockets managed to stave off overtime by getting the go-ahead goal with less than two minutes left in regulation time from Garcia, giving him a two point night, and his team a 3-2 victory. It also earned him a nod from the KIJHL website for his play.
“It was a good road win. We weathered the storm in the first period. We came out with a very strong second period. And we were able to bring it home for a victory there late in the third,” said Davidson.
The series continued in Golden on Saturday when the Dynamiters came to town for the rematch. A tight game in the first period, the Rockets took the lead with a goal from Keith Wake. But that would turn out to be Golden’s only goal of the night.
Kimberley tied it up in the late in the second with a goal from Mark Strachan, and the game headed into the third with a 1-1 score.
A power play goal by the Dynamiters early in the third set the tone for the period. Kimberley scored four unanswered goals by the halfway point, and five overall, ending the game with a score of 6-1.
“We just didn’t come with the same compete tonight (Saturday),” said Davidson. “We had a very tough time simply getting pucks out of our own end, and as a result they capitalized. They also got a couple power play goals on us.”
Golden gave up nine power plays during the game, two of which were scored on. And despite having the man-advantage seven times themselves, the Rockets were unable to score.
“I thought our power play was awful tonight, for lack of a better term. I thought early in the game when we had those power plays, we could have gotten the lead, and taken control of the game. And we failed to do that.”
The third consecutive game against Kimberley was played on Tuesday night. Go to www.kijhl.ca for results.
The Rockets travel to Invermere for their next game against the Columbia Valley Rockies on Friday, Nov. 18. But they will be back home for back-to-back games against the Creston Valley Thundercats (Saturday Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m.), and a rematch against the Rockies (Sunday Nov. 19 at 1 p.m.).
