The Fernie Ghostriders played against arch rivals the Kimberley Dynamiters on Friday night for a sold out crowd.
Both Fernie and Kimberley fans fiercely cheered the players on as they fought for dominance during the game.
Although the Dynamiters came out ahead with a score of two to one, Ghostriders head coach Jeff Wagner said, “I thought it was a really good game overall, a playoff style atmosphere and a tight checking game.”
With so many people packing the Fernie Memorial Arena, Wagner noted that “there aren’t many teams in this league that have the luxury of playing in front of the amount of fans we saw tonight.”
Ghostrider fans may have been disappointed with the loss but that feeling certainly didn’t last long as the two rival teams met back on the ice the very next day.
Saturday saw the Ghostriders and the Dynamiters battle it out once again, this time in Kimberley. Fernie came away with the win, scoring two goals to Kimberley’s zero.
When speaking about the winning Saturday game, Wagner said “there were a lot of factors that played a role in our success tonight. Most importantly, Ethan Fitzgerald was exceptional in net for us. We did a good job of clearing the front of the net and avoided giving up high quality second and third chance opportunities.”
As it currently stands, the Kimberley Dynamiters are in first place in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League Eddie Mountain Division, with the Fernie Ghostriders right behind them in second place. The two teams will face off once again on January 21 in Kimberley.
