The Kimberly Dynamiters defeated the league leading Nelson Junior Leafs 4-2 in Saturday night hockey action.
The Leafs came out strong early in the first period with several good scoring chances on home ice but it was Kimberley who tallied up the first point. At 5:27, Dynamiter Taylor McDowell scored with help from Sam Nigg and Connor Kutzner.
The Leafs evened things up late in the period as Colton McCarthy scored a power play goal off a pass from Matthew Naka. But the Dynamiters answered back fast. Dallin Wolf scored from Matt Gann with 2:18 left in the first.
Down 2-1 after the opening period, the Leafs put on some good pressure to start the second and by mid-point in the game, they’d outshot the Dynamiters 22 to eight. Kimberley’s goalie Matthew Mitchell was strong between the pipes for his team and in the end took home the games first star honors.
With 6:45 remaining in the second period, the Dynamiters built on their lead as Connor Kutzner scored capitalizing on a power play. The Leafs went to the dressing room down 3-1 at the end of the second.
The game was getting chippy and rough play from both sides continued into the third period. With Carson Wilans in the box for slashing, the Dynamiters Matt Gann bulged the twine off a pass from Sam Nigg making it 4-1 with 10:23 left in the game.
Keeping pressure on until the end, the Leafs’ Matthew Naka scored with under a minute left in the game. Teammates Matt MacDonald and JJ Beitel dug in for the assist.
The game ended 4-2 with the Eddie Mountain Division rivals taking home a win.
This week, the Leafs head to Spokane for a match-up against the Braves. They will return to Nelson Community Complex to take on Creston Valley Thunder Cats on Friday. The puck drops at 7 p.m.
