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Rockies forward poised to be top scoring KIJHL rookie
KIJHL Notes
Unless Kent Moors of the Summerland Steam goes on an absolute offensive tear in their final 10 games, Keenan Ingram of the Columbia Valley Rockies will finish the 2022/23 season as the top rookie producer. Plus, Moors would need Ingram, his KIJHL Prospects teammate to slow down.
In 31 games, the Calgary product leads all rookies with 32 goals and is tied with his Rockies teammate Harrison Aldridge with 21 assists.
Moors, however, will finish as the top producing 17-year-old in the KIJHL. He currently has 32 points in 31 games. Jake Phillips-Watts of the Kamloops Storm, who was on the KIJHL Prospects team as well, leads all 16-year-olds with nine points in 32 games.
The top producing rookie defenceman in the KIJHL is Nicholas Hughes, 18, of the Sicamous Eagles with 24 points in 28 games.
In this week’s KIJHL Notebook, coaches in each division were asked about getting ready for the playoffs and what they want to see from their players to conclude the regular season.
Eddie Mountain Division
Kimberley Dynamiters
The Kimberley Dynamiters have won eight of their last 10 games. Defenceman Cam Reid led with three points in two games, including the game-winner in OT. Goalie Trystan Self played in both games they won last week and had a 15-save shutout against Nelson and stopped 48 of 50 shots for a 0.98 GAA and a .960 SP.
Columbia Valley Rockies
Like the Dynamiters, the Columbia Valley Rockies have won eight of their last 10, but earned a split in their last two games. Goalie Ewan McDevitt returned to stop 35 of 38 in a win over Princeton. He had a .921 SP. Kobe Mason led the Rockies with four goals and five points in two games.
Fernie Ghostriders
The Fernie Ghostriders clinched a playoff spot and have eight regular season games remaining. Head coach-GM Ty Valin said his team is coming together as a group of late.
“It’s a long season and you want to get the guys built together as quick as you can, but it does take time and you don’t want to peak too early,” he said.
He added that even though they are playoff-bound, they “don’t want to take their foot off the pedal.”
“You want to keep taking steps everyday and keep your group moving forward all the time,” said Valin. “As soon as you get complacent, get stale, that is when you start to lose chemistry and guys take their foot off the pedal and it’s something that sometimes you can’t just flip a switch.”
The Ghostriders are getting contributions from everybody and Valin noted with several players coming out of U18 programs and minor hockey age groups to junior, “it’s a wake up call for a lot of guys. Some guys get it right away, others it takes longer.”
“We are really patient with our young guys this year and now they are starting to contribute as well,” he said. “Even goaltending too, our goalies have battled some injuries, but they are both healthy now and are getting the job done.”
Goalie Rodney Hanson has won all three of his starts in January with a 2.33 GAA and a .917 SP.
Creston Valley Thunder Cats
The Creston Valley Thunder Cats have nine games remaining and are looking to clinch the final playoff berth. Head coach-GM Brad Tobin said in the past week his team has been putting in a good, consistent effort. They have the players feeling good about themselves.
“We want to go into the playoffs in stride,” he said. “We haven’t been able to get momentum and consistency to compete for a third or fourth position in our division. The way that we are playing, we think that we have a good opportunity, if the standings stay where they are, to compete against Grand Forks or Beaver Valley or Nelson in the other division.”
It’s about making sure that everything in their game is clicking. Tobin has been happy with the play of Stavros Koutsantonis. While not playing on the top line all season, he has continued to perform well on the second line with 13 goals and 12 assists.
“I think for us to have success, we need to have second and third line scoring and he’s one of those guys that contributes in that way,” said Tobin.
As per Instat, the KIJHL’s analytics and video partner, Koutsantonis averages 18:15 of ice time per game. On Wednesday night against the Columbia Valley Rockies, Luke Chakrabarti scored his 32nd goal of the season for his 100th career point in 66 games.
Golden Rockets
The Golden Rockets clinched a playoff berth and are two points ahead of the Fernie Ghostriders for the third spot in the division with eight games remaining. Head coach-GM Chuck Wight wants his team to focus on getting healthy as they are still dealing with illness. In terms of their play, the big keys are getting the consistency and discipline going.
“Going into the playoffs, you want to be ready to get the right execution,” he said. “When we start pressuring the other teams in all three zones, we start to see good things happen. We can force turnovers by playing a physical game and being impactful with our sticks. We’ve worked a lot at the transition game so those are some things I’ve seen big improvement in.”
Dominic Fiorentino and Kade Cochlan have stood out with their play lately. Wight says that Fiorentino has a great shot. He scored four goals in the first three January games.
“It’s great to see his game take up a step and Kade Cochlan as well has been someone who has battled through illness and is very effective at checking,” said Wight. “He’s also improved his numbers quite a bit from last year offensively. He’s a strong leader for us.”
Cochlan has 22 points in 31 games, while last season he had 18 in 42.
Read about the rest of the KIJHL.
KIJHL
