The Kimberley Dynamiters and Columbia Valley Rockies clash in the Eddie Mountain Division Final on Monday for the start of the second round of the 2020 KIJHL Playoffs.
Earning spots in the Division Final last week, the Dynamiters edged the Creston Valley Thunder Cats in five games, while the Rockies swept the Fernie Ghostriders.
Derek Stuart, Head Coach of the Kimberley Dynamiters spoke to MyEastKootenayNow.com before the start of the new series, believing his team rebounded from their Game 1 loss to the Thunder Cats to really assert themselves.
“I thought we did a really good job of dictating the pace and then setting the tone for games and they just couldn’t keep up,” said Stuart. “I thought that it was a very good job of our guys by not just kind of squeaking past them, but after that first wake up call in Game 1 playing our style of hockey.”
Both Adam Andersen and Blake Pilon saw ice time for the Dynamiters in the series as Andersen won three games with a 1.69 GAA, a .926 SV%, and one shutout while Pilon won Game 4 with a 2.00 GAA and a .913 SV%. Stuart said both played extremely well.
“When you’re able to have two goalies that can win you games on their own and can definitely keep teams in games, it’s a definite advantage because you can go to the other guy if one of them is not playing well.”
For the Rockies, Bretton Park was sensational in the four-game sweep of the Ghostriders, posting a 1.75 GAA and a .952 SV% with one shutout as the 18-year-old rookie stopped 138 of 145 shots in the series.
Stuart believes they will be able to find answers and be able to continue rolling with their high-scoring offense, which averaged 4.2 goals a game against the Thunder Cats.
“We’ve watched some video with their goaltender and we’re just going to try and do to them what we did in the regular season.”
The KIJHL MVP, Brock Palmer leads the Dynamiters with 7 points (4G, 3A), while the Rockies are led by Connor Davison (1G, 4A), Hunter Rambow (1G, 4A), and Brennan Nelson (5A).
“I think the fans will definitely enjoy a younger, faster Columbia Valley Rockies team than they’re maybe used to and it should be a good series,” said Stuart. “I think you got two teams that are hungry to move on but that carrot at the end of the road there to be in the final four, I think is hopefully enough motivation for our guys.”
Kimberley will host Games 1 and 2 at the Kimberley Civic Centre at 7:00 pm on Monday and Tuesday before Games 3 and 4 shift to Invermere’s Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena, also at 7:00 pm.
The full head-to-head statistics heading into Monday’s Game 1, as well as the full series schedule, can be found below:
Head-to-Head Statistics
| (#1) Kimberley Dynamiters | (#3) Columbia Valley Rockies | |
| Playoff Record | 4-0-0-1 (W4) | 4-0-0-0 (W4) |
| Season Record | 40-6-0-3 (83 points) | 22-19-2-6 (52 points) |
| Head-to-Head | 6-0-0-0 (29-14) | 0-6-0-0 9 (14-29) |
| Top Scorers | Brock Palmer (4G, 3A, 7P) | Connor Davison (1G, 4A, 5P) |
| Beau Larson (1G, 5A, 6P) | Hunter Rambow (1G, 4A, 5P) | |
| Erik Delaire (4G, 1A, 5P) | Brennan Nelson (5A, 5P) | |
| Jett Saharchuk (4G, 1A, 5P) | Colby Phillips (4G, 4P) | |
| Top Goalie | Adam Andersen (1.69 GAA, .926 SV%) | Bretton Park (1.75 GAA, .952 SV%) |
| Goals For | 21 | 15 |
| Goals Against | 9 | 7 |
| Goal Differential | (+) 12 | (+) 8 |
| Goals For/Game | 4.2 | 3.75 |
| Goals Against/Game | 1.8 | 1.75 |
Eddie Mountain Division Final Schedule
| Series | Date | Teams | Location | Time |
| Game 1 | Mon. March 9th | Rockies @ Dynamiters | Kimberley Civic Centre | 7:00pm |
| Game 2 | Tues. March 10th | Rockies @ Dynamiters | Kimberley Civic Centre | 7:00pm |
| Game 3 | Thur. March 12th | Dynamiters @ Rockies | Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena | 7:00pm |
| Game 4 | Fri. March 13th | Dynamiters @ Rockies | Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena | 7:00pm |
| Game 5* | Sun. March 15th | Rockies @ Dynamiters | Kimberley Civic Centre | 7:00pm |
| Game 6* | Mon. March 16th | Dynamiters @ Rockies | Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena | 7:00pm |
| Game 7* | Tue. March 17th | Rockies @ Dynamiters | Kimberley Civic Centre | 7:00pm |