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Big division wins keep Rockies in mix
By Stephanie Stevens
What do you get when you mix two wins, one double overtime and a hattrick?
You get a weekend of excellent hockey courtesy of the Columbia Valley Rockies.
The Junior A team is sitting three points behind the Kimberley Dynamiters, tied with the Fernie Ghostbusters in the Eddie Mountain Division of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) after last weekend’s play. Of note, Fernie has four games in hand on both Kimberley and Columbia Valley.
Friday, Dec. 6 saw the Creston Valley Thundercats in town at the Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena. The first period ended with the Rockies down 2-0, but Dylan Duzan (assists from Noah Asmundson and Jack Hefferan) opened scoring up for the boys in the second, followed by Carter Tuplin (Chance Cole and Carter Krause).
The third period saw Peter Godley live up to his Pistol Pete moniker and make it a hattrick affair with assists from first Tuplin and Paddy Donahue, then Bryan Kim and Carter Velker and finally an unassisted goal to seal the deal for a 5-3 win.
Goalie Ryan Bain was between the pipes and stopped 18 of 21 shots on goal.
The next night in Golden saw the Rockets give the Rockies a run for their money, but ultimately that run fell short.
First period scoring was thanks again to Duzan (Cole) and then Ethan Cerone (unassisted). The second period saw Trae Lees (Johnny Lozeman and Tuplin) step up but the game ended tied at three.
The first overtime saw no scoring, sending the teams into a second overtime shootout. Netminder Jaiden Jakubowski kept the Golden shooters at bay while Velker and Godley both beat the Golden goalie for the 4-3 victory.
“Our weekend was really good, it’s nice to string a few wins together and get back on track,” said associate coach Tucker Braund. “We have a lot of divisional games this month, so we want to make sure we aren’t giving any points away to teams we are chasing or to the ones behind us.”
Braund added the fans in the stands bring an energy to the games that is invaluable.
“We are really happy to have all the fans come out. It’s obviously not free to come to the games so we really appreciate the support from everyone and we want to use that to fuel us to play great at home in front of those fans,” he said.
“We want them to be really proud of our team and know if they come to a game they are going to get a great effort and watch an exciting brand of hockey.”
Friday, Dec. 13 will see the Ghostriders in town, as well as the return of the Panorama Mountain Resort staff members that add extra spice to the energy in the stands.
“The Pano staff coming back is awesome,” said Braund.” “It’s a different feel with more people for sure but the energy, excitement and noise they add is super fun for our players. The chants they bring with them are very reminiscent of European hockey… I think a lot of those Pano guys are from the UK. They watch a lot of soccer over there and the chants are just endless. It makes you want to play better so they really get going. It’s just always fun to play in front of fans.”
Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
Lead image: Rockies sniper Peter Godley celebrates his hattrick goal with the bench. Stephanie Stevens photos
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