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Big division wins for Rockies before break
By Stephanie Stevens
Two games, two wins and four points up in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) standings.
The Columbia Valley Rockies made the most of their last two games before the Christmas break, taking on the Creston Valley Thunder Cats Dec. 20 and the Golden Rockets Dec. 21, both in the Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena.
“We played well over the weekend,” said associate coach Tucker Braund. “Those last two games before the break are always a crap shoot but we did a good job of staying focused and ready to go and getting four points.”
The Friday tilt against the ‘Cats saw the Rockies win 5-1, with Carter Velker (assists from Dylan Duzan and Paddy Donahue) opening things up in the first period, followed by Duzan (Velker and Noah Asmundson) in the second. The third period tally was courtesy of Carter Krause (Lukas Masters and Carter Tuplin), Duzan (Ethan Cerone) and Trae Lees (Tuplin and Jack Thorne).
Netminder Ryan Bain kept out 21 of 22 shots on net.
Saturday’s game was high energy, high scoring and high spirited, with a bit of a line brawl breaking out with less than a minute left in the game.
“Friday was a well-executed game plan,” said Braund. “We stuck to our points. Saturday was a good start and kind of a wild finish but our power play was really good and we took advantage of the opportunities that we were presented with.”
First period action saw Duzan (Masters and Asmundson) once again hitting the mark, with captain Kobe Mason (Bryan Kim and Tuplin) not far behind. Ashton Sledz (Teo Fath and Jack Hefferan) potted one more to close out the first period three-zip. The Rockets rallied back in the second but Cerone (Mason and Kim) added another of their own and third period action saw Asmundson add two more (Velker and Johnny Lozeman and then Duzan and Mason) and Masters (Kim and Wyatt Wurtz) brought the final score to 7-4.
Jaiden Jakubowski was between the pipes and stopped 31 of 35 shots on goal.
The penalty minutes were also on the high side for both teams, with Golden at 94 and the Rockies garnering 112.
The next game for the Rockies is New Year’s Eve, an away game this year in Creston.
“We hope everyone had a safe and fun holidays,” said Braund, “and we look forward to seeing everyone in the New Year back at the Eddie for a playoff push.”
Stephanie Stevens photos
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