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Rockies start KIJHL season undefeated
By Stephanie Stevens
It was a strong start to the 2024-25 season for the Columbia Valley Rockies last weekend, with the boys proving their mettle both home and away.
The Rockies took on the Golden Rockets in the Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena for the season opener Sept. 20 and despite a few nerves, won the game in overtime.
First period scoring opened up with Carter Krause beating the Rockets goalie (assists from Teo Fath and Jaxon Sperling), followed by Carter Hensch (assists from Carter Tuplin and Wyatt Wurtz).
Golden managed to tie it up with a couple of third period goals, but overtime saw Bryan Kim (assist from Carter Velker and Lukas Masters) find the target for the win.
Returning goalie Jaiden Jakubowski stopped 29 of 31 shots on goal.
The following night saw the Rockies in the Kimberley Civic Centre facing off with the Dynamiters.
Velker started things off in the first (assists from Kim and Masters), with Kim following suit (assists from Jack Thorne and Wurtz). Second period play saw Ethan Cerone put one in (assists from Wurtz and Sperling) and Ashton Sledz potted a fourth (assist from Sperling).
Jakubowski kept the Dynamiters at bay to secure the win, stopping 34 of 37 shots on goal.
Head coach and general manager Tayler Sincennes said he and his coaching team are feeling confident in the team they put together this season.
“There are a lot of moving parts that go into selecting a final roster, especially this year,” he said. “We tried to add as much young talent as we possibly could while also looking to add some veteran presence into the lineup.”
Of the 26 players on the team, 10 are returning and 14 of the remaining 16 are rookies. Kobe Mason is among the returning players, still working on his recovery from injuries sustained in a brutal hit during the playoffs last season.
“I feel like Friday night we played a little nervous having a handful of guys playing their first junior games and others their first with the Rockies, so it was nice to find a way to win when we didn’t have our best game.”
Sincennes said that nervousness carried into Saturday “a little bit.
“But we slowly built momentum and started to loosen up and I thought we did an excellent job closing a road game out to finish the weekend with all four points.
“Wins early in the season are important so getting off to a good start is something we can be happy about.”
Associate coach Tucker Braund is also feeling good about this season’s roster.
“I think we have a very deep team with lots of talent and it bodes well for a long season with injuries and such,” said Braund. “Having Kobe back will be huge. He’s a hard worker and a good leader in the room and on the ice.
“Having Jako back is also big for us. He’s got a year of junior hockey under his belt and can play a lot of games for us. He’s a guy who battles every game and gives us a chance to win.”
This weekend is back-to-back home games at the Eddie, with the Chase Heat in town Friday (Sept. 27) and the Nelson Leafs on Saturday.
Puck drop is 7 p.m. both nights.
Stephanie Stevens photos
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