By Stephanie Stevens

It’s getting down to the nitty gritty and the roster is nearly complete.

Last weekend was a busy one for the Columbia Valley Rockies, with the annual golf fundraiser on Friday, Sept. 5 (pictured above) and exhibition games Saturday and Sunday against the Kimberley Dynamiters.

The two Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) teams went head-to-head, with the Nitros taking the Saturday game in Kimberley and the Rockies taking the Sunday game at home in the Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena.

“It’s a good mix of new guys and returners,” said associate head coach Tucker Braund. “We wanted to see how our new guys fit in with our signed and returning guys and they did a good job fitting in and contributing. We have some work to do as always. I think Saturday in Kimberley was a big surprise for a few guys but they played better in the second and third periods. They played great Sunday afternoon.

“Our goalies looked really good, I thought they were our best players overall all weekend.”

Saturday’s away game ended 4-1 for Kimberley with the Rockies lone goal courtesy of three new kids on the block, Declan Kinch assisted by Chase Syal and Jacob Demers. Goalie Carter Bergstrom kept 24 of 27 shots on goal at bay.

Sunday’s game in The Eddie saw the boys come out on top with a 5-4 final score.

Opening it up in the first was Cohen Carlson (assist by Cole King), followed by Carter Velker (King and Carter Hensch), then Lukas Masters (Velker and Hensch).

The Nitro gained a little ground in the second, but third period action saw Jake Gramlich (Chance Cole and King) and Kaiden Day (Peter Godley) bring in the win. Returning goalie Ryan Bain kept 34 of 38 shots on goal out.

The boys will be back at it this weekend with the Fernie Ghostriders in the Eddie Friday night (Sept. 12) and the Rockies in the Fernie barn Saturday. Puck drop is 7 p.m.

Photos by Stephanie Stevens

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