The Kimberley Dynamiters are coming home with a 2-0 series lead after claiming a 6-3 victory over the Beaver Valley Nitehawks in Game 2 of the best-of-seven Kootenay Conference final Thursday night.
“We were a little slow out of the gates and they scored early, but we didn’t stray from our game plan,” said Dynamiters head coach Jerry Bancks over the phone from Fruitvale Thursday night. “We stuck with it, got a power-play opportunity and scored. After that, I thought we played fairly even up. It was good.”
Spencer McLean opened the scoring, giving the hosts a 1-0 advantage 1:24 into Thursday’s festivities.
From there, forward Alex Rosolowsky provided the power-play tally Bancks was referring to, sparking four consecutive goals by the Dynamiters as they built a 4-1 lead by the midpoint of the second period.
“He’s been outstanding. He’s playing the best hockey he’s played since he’s been here,” Bancks said of Rosolowsky. “Last year in the playoffs he was a healthy scratch a few times and this year he’s a very valuable contributor.
“He’s always been really good on draws. You can put him out at anytime. That’s critical. A lot of people don’t realize how important that is.”
Rosolowsky’s power-play marker was one of three goals on the man advantage for the Dynamiters.
Jordan Busch registered the third power-play goal of the night, which in turn gave the Dynamiters a 4-1 lead and chased Nitehawks starting goaltender Carson Schamerhorn from the game.
The 17-year-old Schamerhorn saw his night come to a premature end after surrendering four goals on only 10 shots.
“He tends to overplay pucks and has a little bit of trouble with his rebound control,” Bancks said. “We took care of that tonight. We shot the puck a little more, got in his vision and scored on some rebounds.”
Reid Anderson pulled the Nitehawks back within two shortly after Busch’s marker, but Jared Marchi restored the three-goal advantage before the second period came to a close.
McLean added his second of the night on a power play early in the third before Coy Prevost iced the game with an empty-net goal.
The 17-year-old Eddie Mountain Division rookie of the year finished the night with two goals and an assist, building upon his already strong post-season performance.
“You know what you’re going to get from him every shift,” Bancks said of Prevost. “He just brings it all night, every game. Full effort. Fearless. He’s just the kind of player you have to have.”
Not to be forgotten was a three-assist performance from Braden Saretsky, who set up the goals by Prevost, Busch and Marchi.
Dynamiters goaltender Tyson Brouwer continued his outstanding playoff run with a 33-save performance in Game 2.
At the other end, Drake Poirier was good on six of seven shots, coming on in relief of Schamerhorn.
The two teams will take Friday off before returning to the ice for Game 3 Saturday night at the Kimberley Civic Centre.
With a 2-0 series lead and a return home, Bancks believes the hometown atmosphere and ice surface plays to his team’s benefit.
“We’ve got to protect the puck a little better, manage it better,” Bancks said. “I think the bigger rink [in Kimberley] will help us out. [The Beaver Valley Arena] is a hard rink to play in, for us. Early in both games we struggled with how quick everything happens.
“We can’t worry about them. We have to worry about ourselves. There’s room for us to be better, so hopefully when we get home we will be better.
After playing in front of crowds numbering greater than 1,000 through the six-game series with the Fernie Ghostriders, Bancks believes the smaller crowds in Fruitvale played a factor in his team’s slow starts in Games 1 and 2.
“You have to be intrinsically motivated because it’s not happening extrinsically,” Bancks said. “I think that’s part of the reason we were a little slow. I think when we get home we’ll be real quick out of the gate.”
Game 3 of the best-of-seven Kootenay Conference final is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Kimberley Civic Centre.
Game 4 goes Sunday at the same start time.
