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Posted 2010-09-02 by Webmaster. - Nitros kick off exhibition play with a bang
Nitros lose pair to Riders with same script
Kimberley Dynamiters’ forward Mike Nelson (far right) proceeds to swat the puck into the Fernie net Friday night as Ghostrider goalie Jason Greenwell looks on.
Nitros lose pair to Riders with same script
Courtesy of Matt Coxford - Bulletin / Townsman Sports
On consecutive nights last weekend, the Kimberley Dynamiters and Fernie Ghostriders played near-identical games.
Unfortunately for the Nitros (10-9-1-3), they came out on wrong side of 2-1 scores each time.
“It was almost the same game, back-to-back, just a different building,” said Kimberley head coach and general manager Kevin MacKay.
“It was the same sort of formation; in Fernie, it just got a little bit more nasty to say the least. But it was almost the same script.”
On both occasions — Saturday in Fernie and Friday in Kimberley — the Nitros had slow starts, scored in the second period, and had good chances to score in the third to force overtime.
“We’re pretty happy with the way we played overall,” said MacKay. “Again, we’re getting a little frustrated with maybe a lack of scoring, but we battled hard. We got behind both games after slow starts, but halfway through both Saturday night and Friday night we really competed hard right to the end. We got the opportunity to tie it and just couldn’t get it done.”
Both games ended with a bit of nastiness — Jason Greenwell blockered Kimberley’s Mason Spear in the back of the head in the last minute Friday, before the Fernie goalie earned a roughing major with time expired on Saturday.
However, the worst of it occurred mid-way through Saturday’s game when Zach Fridella made a “vicious” hit to Nitro Ryan Georgopoulos’s head.
Georgopoulos had to spend the night under observation in the hospital, with a concussion and a suspected broken jaw.
“It wasn’t an accident. It was a pretty hard hit to the head, and I think George was out even before he hit the ice,” said MacKay. “It was a pretty scary moment for us at the time.”
Fridella was tossed from the game, but MacKay wasn’t sure if there were grounds for a suspension.
In any case, he said Kimberley responded well to the incident.
“They started to try to be a little more physical on us, and we pushed back quite hard on them. We were pretty happy with that,” said MacKay. “It seemed like we generated some momentum after that.”
Fernie didn’t get out of the period without injury, as Matt MacDonald left with a separated shoulder after falling during a board-side battle with Trevor Grier.
Kimberley had managed only two shots (officially, anyway) in the first period on Saturday.
MacKay said they were hurt by a couple of quick penalties.
In fact, the Dynamiters started the game on the penalty kill when a couple of non-starting skaters weren’t on the bench by the time the pre-game clock had counted down.
“We really pushed it right to the end, and I don’t really understand that,” said MacKay. “Everybody on the team knows you’ve got to be off. It was just a lack of focus, and that showed up in the game to start with.”
James Werner scored 15 minutes into the game, and added the winner at 5:24 of the third.
Kimberley’s Matt Foster had tied the game early in the second.
“In the first period, we were kind of on our heels. We got to the second period down only 1-0, and felt that we had a good opportunity. We got our feet moving, moved the puck and just simplified things a little bit. We started winning a few more puck races and the momentum shifted a little bit.”
Kimberley got a late power play in final minute and, after pulling goalie Michael Smith for an extra attacker, defenceman Logan Gutfriend’s shot hit the outside of the post.
Fernie improved its record to 17-3-1-1.
Smith made 38 stops for Kimberley, a night after Tory Caldwell put up a 33-save effort at home.
“They were both outstanding,” said MacKay. “They’ve got a job to do: they’ve got to keep us in the games early, until our legs get going, and that’s seems to be our pattern. They’re doing the job that’s expected of them.
“What can you say? They both gave up only two goals. If we can score any goals, we could have almost swept that weekend.”
On Friday the 13th, Bond Hawryluk scored 13 minutes in put the Riders up. Werner added another goal early in the second.
“We’ve got to come ready to play a little better, and jack the intensity from the drop of the puck,” said MacKay. “We kept battling back, but we can’t let teams get the opportunity to get some momentum on us.”
Kimberley got on the board with 36 seconds left in the middle period, off a rush. Mike Nelson hammered a shot off the post, and Brett Richards followed up. His diving shot attempt hit a stick and fluttered across the net where Nelson — now stationed in the crease — gloved it down and popped it in.
“(Assistant coach) Jordan Foreman mentioned it — it takes good concentration to knock that puck down and then put it in,” said MacKay, who liked the play of Nelson and linemates Liam Jeffries and Chad Filatoff.
“They gave us some energy, some momentum shifts. They were going hard, trying to finish some checks.”
Illness kept Jeffries from Saturday’s game, causing a bit of a shift in the lines.
Among Kimberley’s best chances to extend Friday’s match came in the 52nd minute, when Grier’s shot through a crowded slot spilled just past an unguarded post.
As for any bad blood spilling over into next Saturday’s rematch in Kimberley, MacKay’s not sure what to expect.
“It could, but there again these are important games,” he said. “We’ve got to start putting some pucks in the net and worrying about that. From our standpoint, it’s done. It’s in the past.”
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