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Eddie Mountain Division update
KIJHL Notebook
Before getting into the KIJHL Notebook, we want to give you a couple of facts about player and team performances.
Three players in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) have earned a first star three times this season – they are Reed McLennan of the Fernie Ghostriders, Jordan Lario of the Golden Rockets and Ethan Shebansky of the Grand Forks Border Bruins. McLennan and Shebansky are both goalies. McLennan and Lario have also earned second stars once, giving them a total of four.
Six players have earned two first stars as well as one second star.
There has yet to be a three-on-five goal scored this season. It would be interesting to see if one does eventually come. According to league data from HockeyTech, one wasn’t scored last season.
Eddie Mountain Division
Kimberley Dynamiters
The Dynamiters travelled to the Okanagan for a three-game road trip in which they won one of three games and earned three points. Defenceman Cam Reid led the team with four points, including a goal. Cash Regan had three points. Regan and Matt Saretsky led with two goals and Regan leads the Dynamiters with 17 points in 13 games. Trystan Self has five wins in nine games with a 2.58 GAA and a .919 SP.
Fernie Ghostriders
The Fernie Ghostriders picked up wins in the Okanagan on the weekend and were led offensively by Ethan MacDuff, who had three goals in three games. Kaden Slobodian, Jack Karpyshyn and Kort Kisinger each had two points. MacDuff leads the Ghostriders with 21 points in 14 games, while Slobodian leads their defence with seven points. Goalie Reed McLennan has four wins in 10 games with a 2.25 GAA and a .922 SP.
MacDuff said the group is happy with how they are playing as they have only gone four games without a point.
“The league is pretty tight this year,” he said. “We’re only two points out of first and we have improved as the season goes on and we are looking forward for what’s to come.”
MacDuff added they have been very good defensively and their penalty kill is picking it up again. He added that McLennan is playing well. The areas they want to improve their offence and power-play needs work. They have changed things which resulted in a power-play goal by Dayton Nelson.
Columbia Valley Rockies
The Rockies won both their games last weekend to improve to eight wins on the season. Rookies Riley Cormier and Lucas De La Salle led with three points each. Rookie Keenan Ingram leads the Rockies with 15 points in nine games, while Harrison Aldridge is their top offensive defenceman with nine points in 12 games. Ewan McDevitt has five wins with a 2.24 GAA and a .936 SP.
Golden Rockets
The Rockets won both their games on the weekend and earned a 5-3 win over Fernie on the road Tuesday, with Liam Furlong netting the winner. They are currently on a three-game win streak. Levi Hall earned his sixth win of the season, while Levi Lamotte racked up five assists in two games and leads the team with 18 assists. Lamotte has already set career high in points 20 in 14 games. Last season split between Osoyoos and Kelowna, Lamotte had 14 points in 31 games.
Rockets Head Coach and GM Chuck Wight said they are starting to come together and play a full 60 minutes.
“There were a lot of games where we’ve had some difficulties, you kind of lose focus and then you get back on. Recently we have been a lot more focused with more attention to detail every shift and that’s a big part of the improvement this season,” said Wight. “The discipline as well goes with that. Discipline for positional play and staying out of the penalty box.”
Wight added when they play at even strength, they are able to put a lot of pressure on teams and either get counter attacks or create turnovers.
“Levi Hall has been very solid in net and the D around him are doing a good job as well,” he said.
Creston Valley Thunder Cats
The Creston Valley Thunder Cats won one of three games last week after losing both weekend games. Luke Chakrabarti led the team with three points and his brother Max had a goal and an assist in three games. Max scored his first KIJHL goal against Fernie and has five points in 12 games. Luke leads the Thunder Cats with 13 goals and 21 points in 10 games. Parker Forrest earned their lone win, making 68 saves on 71 shots on two games for a .958 SP. Parker has three wins on the season.
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KIJHL
