The Kimberley Dynamiters left the Okanagan with three of a possible four points, after tying the Osoyoos Coyotes Friday night and defeating the North Okanagan Knights Saturday.
“[The Coyotes] came out pretty quick, and you wonder as a coach whether you can keep up,” said Nitros head coach Jerry Bancks Monday. “We just jumped right in and it was a really good game.
“It was lots of fun. It’s very physical over there [in the Okanagan Division] so it’s good we adapted to it.”
The Nitros opened the road trip by playing to a 3-3 draw against the KIJHL’s top team — the Osoyoos Coyotes.
Jesse Wallace, who stepped his game up in the eyes of Bancks, tallied two goals to pace the offense in Osoyoos, including the tying tally with 6:28 to play.
Tyson Brouwer was solid in facing 47 shots from the Coyotes, turning aside 44.
“He did what he always does — he made saves when he needed to,” Bancks said of his goaltender. “He controlled rebounds well and made some huge saves, especially early, like he always does, to keep us in the game.”
The tie in Osoyoos provided a strong start to a successful weekend as the Dynamiters moved on to knock off the North Okanagan Knights 6-4 Saturday.
In all, the Nitros registered five power-play goals in a crazy affair that saw both teams combine for 79 minutes in penalties. The Dynamiters were tagged with 25 minutes worth of infractions, while the Knights were slammed with 54.
Spending so much time on the man advantage provided plenty of offensive zone time for the Dynamiters, leading to an astounding 68 shots sent towards Knights goaltender Mitch Profeit.
“We got up 4-0 fairly early and I think the guys thought it was going to be an easy game,” Bancks said. “We started taking some penalties and [the Knights] capitalized on at least one power play. They worked their way back in it.”
Jason Richter continued his strong play, keeping pace in the KIJHL scoring race by tallying a goal and two assists Saturday. The performance gave the Nitros captain 34 goals and 55 points on the season, leaving him one point behind Fernie Ghostrider Doan Smith for the league lead in scoring.
“There isn’t a better captain in the league, in my opinion, just because of the effort he puts into it,” Bancks said of Richter. “When you have him as a teammate, you better jump on board or you look pretty silly.
“Without his leadership, I don’t think we’re where we are.”
Bordy Nelson had the start in net Saturday and weathered some early breakdowns, making 23 stops to earn his ninth victory of the season.
Next up, the Dynamiters host the Columbia Valley Rockies Friday night at 7 p.m.
