By Stephanie Stevens

They say a change is as good as a rest and the Columbia Valley Rockies took that to heart last week.

The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) 2025 trade deadline ended January 10 with goaltender Jaiden Jakubowski going to the Osoyoos Coyotes and now former Coyote goalie Hunter Arntsen donning the orange and blue.

“We appreciate Jakubowski’s time playing for the organization and it was a tough decision to move him out for another,” said head coach Tayler Sincennes. “But at the end of the day we felt it was the right move for the team to bring in a fresh face to the position.”

The Rockies also got the playing rights for Columbia Valley born goaltender Ryan Tamelin from the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) Bonneyville Pontiacs, though he will not be joining the Rockies at this point.

January 11 saw the Rockies in Sicamous taking on the Eagles and while the game ended 8-3 in the Eagle’s favour, Sincennes said there was some good in the game.

“I thought there were some positives in Sicamous,” he said. “We played decently in the offensive zone and generated lots of opportunities, but that’s where it ends. We started slow and never got it on track. We mismanaged the puck early in the game and it cost us. We made a good push to show some life and discipline at the end of the game, but it was not good enough. We had too many players taking undisciplined penalties in the last half of the third.”

Goals for the local boys were courtesy of Jack Thorne (assists from Carter Tuplin and Paddy Donahue) in the second, with Teo Fath (Wyatt Wurtz and Donahue) and Wurtz (unassisted) adding two more to the tally in the third.

Netminder Ryan Bain kept 35 of 43 shots out of the net.

The Rockies are back in the Eddie this Friday, January 17 taking on the Fernie Ghostriders. They are back on the road Tuesday, Jan. 21 when they take on the Golden Rockets.

Lead image: Former Rockies goaltending tandem Ryan Bain and Jaiden Jakubowski.  Stephanie Stevens photo

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