The Kimberley Dynamiters and Creston Valley Thunder Cats rule the roost in the KIJHL’s Eddie Mountain Division as both teams extended their respective winning streaks over the weekend.
Kimberley Dynamiters (12-1-0-1)
Entering the weekend on a three-game winning streak, the Dynamiters swept their western road trip to stretch their streak to five games. Taking on the Kamloops Storm on Friday, Kimberley would earn a 4-1 victory, led by Brock Palmer (3A) and Josh Makarchuk (2G) while Blake Pilon would stop 30 of 31 shots between the pipes. On Saturday, the Dynamiters enacted revenge from last season’s loss in the KIJHL Championship, defeating the Revelstoke Grizzlies 6-1. Adam Andersen was lights out in goal, stopping 35 of 36 shots while Brock Palmer (2G, 3A) and Ryan Piva (1G, 3A) would lead the offensive charge for the Dynamiters. Kimberley can now stake claim to the best record in the entire KIJHL with 25 points, which is two points up on Nelson Leafs, three up on the Kelowna Chiefs, and five points up on both Revelstoke and Creston Valley. The Dynamiters will look to keep their engine rolling as they get set for another road trip, battling the Grand Forks Border Bruins Saturday night before a Sunday matinee with the Spokane Braves south of the border.
Creston Valley Thunder Cats (9-2-0-2)
The Creston Valley Thunder Cats remain on Kimberley’s tail in the chase for the Eddie Mountain Division lead as the Cats took care of business over the weekend, winning back-to-back games. Creston first welcomed the Princeton Posse to Johnny Bucyk Arena on Friday, winning 5-3 as the Thunder Cats scored three goals in the third period to fend off the Posse’s attempted comeback and put the game away. Carson Small (1G, 1A) and Kyle James (1G, 1A) each netted a pair of points in the victory. The Thunder Cats then hit the road on Saturday, venturing into Fernie for a meeting with the Ghostriders. Maintaining a lead from the game’s opening goal, the Thunder Cats would skate to a 4-3 win as Small (2G) yet again led the team to their third-straight victory. Five points back of Kimberley for the Eddie Mountain Division lead, Creston will now host the Fernie Ghostriders this coming Friday at Johnny Bucyk Arena at 7:30 pm before entertaining the Columbia Valley Rockies at 7:30 pm on Saturday.
Fernie Ghostriders (7-5-0-2)
Taking a bit of a breather, the Fernie Ghostriders had just one game on their schedule this past weekend. Matching up with the Creston Valley Thunder Cats at Fernie Memorial Arena on Saturday, Fernie would fall 4-3, setting themselves further back as they’ve now dropped two straight games. Firing 39 shots on goal to Creston’s 40, the game was evenly matched, although Fernie would fall behind early in the first period allowing two goals and trailing 2-1 entering the second. Both teams would then trade goals to close out the game, ending with another loss for the Ghostriders. Chance Griffith made 36 stops in the loss as the Ghostriders continue to work the 18-year-old netminder alongside Ethan Fitzgerald, a former Moose Jaw Warrior from the WHL. The Ghostriders will have to get-right this coming weekend as they head into Creston on Friday looking for revenge, before hosting the Beaver Valley Nitehawks in Elkford on Saturday. Friday’s contest goes at 7:30 pm from Creston’s Johnny Bucyk Arena while Saturday’s game will drop at 7:30 pm from Elkford Arena.
Columbia Valley Rockies (5-6-0-1)
The Columbia Valley Rockies took an unfortunate 180-degree turn this past weekend. After winning their last three games, the Rockies dropped both of their games this weekend to fall back in a tie for last place in the Eddie Mountain Division. Like many teams in the division, Columbia Valley went head-to-head with both the Grand Forks Border Bruins and the Princeton Posse. At Invermere’s Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena, the Rockies would fall 6-5 to Grand Forks before a 2-1 overtime loss to Princeton. Columbia Valley would outshoot the Border Bruins 37-34 on Friday but it wouldn’t matter as Grand Forks would pull out the victory with just eight seconds remaining. Caileb Berge (2G, 1A) led the Rockies with three points in the crushing loss. On Saturday, Casey James Thomson would make 30 saves for Columbia Valley, but it wouldn’t be enough as Princeton would score the game-winner in the first overtime period after tying the game with just 3:24 left in the third. Being handed a pair of crushing losses in the close minutes, the Rockies will hope to bounce back on the road as they take on the Spokane Braves this coming Friday at 7:00 pm south of the border before Saturday’s contest against the Creston Valley Thunder Cats at 7:30 pm at Johnny Bucyk Arena.
Golden Rockets (5-8-0-1)
After being .500 just two weekends ago, the Golden Rockets have lost four straight games to fall down the Eddie Mountain Division standings. Stationed at home for their matches with Grand Forks and Princeton, Golden would drop both games to the Border Bruins and the Posse. Outshot 44-31 on Saturday, the Rockets fell 5-2 to the Border Bruins before losing 3-1 to Princeton Sunday afternoon. Golden would outshoot the Posse 40-30 in the loss but couldn’t manage to solve netminder Jaysen MacLean while Bryce Trimmer scored Golden’s lone goal of the contest. Losing four straight games, Golden has a chance to turn things around in Castlegar. The Rockets are set to play just one game this upcoming weekend, as they faceoff with the Rebels at 7:00 pm on Saturday from the Castlegar and District Recreation Centre and get back in the win column.
Eddie Mountain Division Standings
| TEAM | GP | W | L | T | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | DIFF | STR |
| Kimberley Dynamiters | 14 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 59 | 36 | 23 | W5 |
| Creston Valley Thunder Cats | 13 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 54 | 41 | 13 | W3 |
| Fernie Ghostriders | 14 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 53 | 44 | 9 | L2 |
| Columbia Valley Rockies | 12 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 37 | 39 | -2 | L2 |
| Golden Rockets | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 44 | 50 | -6 | L4 |