The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s Eddie Mountain Division saw its top two teams lose their first games of the season over the weekend, although Kimberley and Creston remain red hot following the season’s first month.
Kimberley Dynamiters (5-0-0-1)
Riding a five-game winning streak entering their only game of the weekend, the Kimberley Dynamiters went head-to-head with the Princeton Posse on Friday at the Kimberley Civic Centre. Although Kimberley would outshoot Princeton 39-21 in the contest, the Dynamiters would end up losing their first game of the season. Tied 2-2 after the opening period, Princeton took a 4-3 lead into the third. Kimberley’s Austin Daniels would manage to tie the game with 3:38 remaining in the third period to force overtime, although the Posse would emerge ad the 5-4 victors following the game-winning goal from Bevis Chou. Brock Palmer led the Dynamiters with 3 points (1G, 2A) while Cam Reid had 2 assists in the loss. Still atop the Eddie Mountain Division, and yet to lost in regulation, the Dynamiters split their upcoming weekend. Kimberley clashes with Columbia Valley on Friday at Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena before returning home to the Civic Centre on Saturday to entertain the Golden Rockets. Friday’s contest in Invermere gets underway at 6:30 pm while Saturday’s matchup is at 7:00 pm in Kimberley.
Creston Valley Thunder Cats (5-1-0-0)
Entering the weekend on a four-game winning streak, the Thunder Cats have found great success on the road, winning three of those first four games away from Creston’s Johnny Bucyk Arena. Creston would suffer their first loss of the season and their first road defeat on Friday however as they got blown out 7-1 against the Kamloops Storm. Harrison Ewert would net a hat-trick for the Storm in the opening period as Kamloops had a commanding 5-0 lead after 20 minutes and never looked back. Corbin Cockerill had Creston’s lone goal in the loss. Looking to bounce back on Saturday, the Thunder Cats continued their road swing in 100 Mile House. Battling the Wranglers, Creston would take a 4-3 lead off the stick of Aiden Szautner late in the third period, tacking on three empty-net goals, two of which were shorthanded to secure the 7-3 victory. Carson Small had a big game for the Thunder Cats, finishing with 4 points (1G, 3A) in the win. Sitting one point back of the Dynamiters for the lead in the Eddie Mountain Division, Creston gets back on the road this weekend as they take on the Golden Rockets and Spokane Braves.
Golden Rockets (4-2-0-0)
Off to one of their best starts in recent memory, the Golden Rockets extending their winning streak to three games before a loss on the road to split their pair of games over the weekend. Starting at home on Friday, the Rockets would shutout the Castlegar Rebels 5-0, outshooting the club 49-24 in the win. Ryan Baker picked up his first career shutout in the KIJHL and his first win of the season while Dominic Turner (1G, 2A) and Parker Laughton (2G) led the way for the Rockets offensively. Hot of their recent win, the Rockets travelled to Sicamous on Saturday. Although they outshot Sicamous 42-25, Golden would fall 3-2 on the road as Koltin Dodge stood strong between the pipes for the Eagles. Dominic Turner and Evan Angus both scored in the loss for the Rockets. Golden will now split their upcoming weekend at home and on the road. The Creston Valley Thunder Cats roll into Golden Arena on Friday for 7:30 pm before the Rockets faceoff with the Kimberley Dynamiters at the Civic Centre at 7:00 pm on Saturday.
Fernie Ghostriders (3-2-0-1)
The Fernie Ghostriders won both of their games over the weekend to improve from last weekend’s losses to Kimberley and Creston. Finding themselves on the road on Friday in Invermere, the Ghostriders would defeat the Columbia Valley Rockies 4-3. Chance Griffith had a strong outing in goal, turning aside 36 shots in the victory. Meanwhile, three Ghostriders had multi-point games as Johnny Elias (1G, 1A), Seamus Keith (1G, 1A), and Andrew Bonham (2A) led Fernie to the win and snapping the team’s three-game losing streak. Hoping to keep their momentum alive, Fernie returned home on Saturday to the Memorial Arena for a head-to-head meeting with the Princeton Posse. Outshooting Princeton 47-33, the Ghostriders crushed the Posse 9-3. Eight Ghostriders had at least two points each in the victory while Dylan Defosse (1G, 2A) and Aiden Gleisner (1G, 2A) led the team with three points. Chance Griffith would again get the win for the Ghostriders as rookie improved his stat-line with a 2.39 GAA and a .929 SV% through four games of action. Next up for Fernie, the team travels this coming Friday and Saturday as they take on a pair of teams from the Doug Birks Division in the Okanagan/Shuswap Conference. The Ghostriders first battle the Chase Heat before taking on the 100 Mile House Wranglers on Saturday to round out the weekend.
Columbia Valley Rockies (2-3-0-0)
On a two-game slide from last weekend, the Columbia Valley Rockies were looking to bounce back with back-to-back games at home. Setting up shop at Invermere’s Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena, the Rockies would first faceoff with the Fernie Ghostriders on Friday. In a close matchup, Fernie would hold on to a 4-1 lead midway through the third period, as the Rockies attempted the comeback but came up short, eventually falling 4-3. Gavin Fleck scored a pair of goals for the Rockies in the loss, one of which came on a first period power play. Now having lost three straight games, the Rockies looked to get back in the win column on Saturday against the Castlegar Rebels. Already getting shutout by Golden earlier in the weekend, the Rebels would yet again get blanked by the Rockies, as Columbia Valley skated to a 6-0 victory. Casey James Thomson made 22 stops for the shutout as the 17-year-old got his first KIJHL shutout and his first victory in the league. Colby Phillips had 3 points (2G, 1A) in the win while Khale Skinner (2G), Jonathan Milligan (1G, 1A), Kyle Boudreau (2A), and Tristan Lambert (2A) all had multi-point games for the Rockies. Columbia Valley will take a bit of a breather this coming weekend as they have just one game on the schedule, hosting the Kimberley Dynamiters on Friday at Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena at 7:30 pm.
Eddie Mountain Division Standings:
| TEAM | GP | W | L | T | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | DIFF | STR |
| Kimberley Dynamiters | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 24 | 17 | 7 | L1 |
| Creston Valley Thunder Cats | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 30 | 18 | 12 | W1 |
| Golden Rockets | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 22 | 14 | 8 | L1 |
| Fernie Ghostriders | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 22 | 20 | 2 | W2 |
| Columbia Valley Rockies | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 15 | 2 | W1 |