By Josh Lockhart
The Kimberley Dynamiters finished the preseason with a 4-1 home loss to the Creston Valley Thunder Cats after beating the Cats a week prior 7-5 in Creston.
To say the game for the the home fans was unimpressive, would be an understatement. Even head coach and general manager, Derek Stuart was not pleased with the result.
“We were lacking the urgency, intensity, and emotion. I don’t think we had much pressure, except for maybe two or three shifts,” Stuart said.
The Dynamiters were out played, and out shot 41-22, as local goaltender Adam Andersen did his best to keep the team in it.
“When the team doesn’t have energy, it’s hard to get in the game,” Andersen said. “It’s hard to win a game when you only put up one goal, and give up a lot of shots.”
Despite the team’s lackluster performance, Stuart was pleased with three players: Andersen, Derian Bamber and Lucas Chilton.
Andersen made 37 saves in the loss, and several of them were spectacular.
“He calmed down in the second and third,” Stuart highlighted, “and he showed us what he can do.”
“It’s hard getting back in the game,” Andersen said. “I haven’t played a game since March. It’s hard to get back into the speed of the game.
“I was sloppy in the first period…I felt that the last two periods were a lot better”
Bamber, a rookie defender from Grand Prairie put in a good outing, that caught Stuart’s attention.
Chilton showed well despite playing little hockey the past two seasons. He is currently returning from injury, and he is evacuated from his house in Moyie.
“For the way he performed with all that going on,” Stuart said, “I was really impressed with him.”
Even though Stuart said that the roster in Tuesday’s match would be closer to the opening day roster, that actually was not the case. He said fans should not be worried by the performance because the roster was not close to the opening day roster, as six returning players were sitting in the stands.
“The players sitting out are important regular players. Fans should not be concerned with what they saw Tuesday night,” he said.
Andersen added, “when we add the veterans in, we are a whole different team. They have been huge contributors for the team in the past.”
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Now going forward, the team looks forward to building chemistry and starting off on the right foot with the regular season home opener on Friday at 7:30 p.m. against the Columbia Valley Rockies. The Nitro’s then hit the road on Saturday, traveling to Nelson to faceoff against the Leafs.
Match Sticks: Forward Matt Davies has returned from Junior A tryouts. August Demaere and Johnny Elias were released. This leaves the Nitro’s with 14 forwards, eight defenders and two goalies.
