The annual Christmas Classic is just around the corner, scheduled for Dec. 29 in Kimberley and on Dec. 30 in Fernie, but local fans were treated to a bit of a preview on Tuesday, Dec. 13 and the Dynamiters made out with a 5-1 win in a scrappy matchup with the Ghostriders.
“I think the Christmas Classic’s going to be a lot more intense and hopefully better hockey, that was kind of a weird game,” said Nitros head coach Derek Stuart. “I don’t think either team was necessarily at their very best, but we got the job done.
“That was our sixth game in 12 days, which included a long road trip. The guys are tired, but they managed to still work hard and find a way to get a win despite us not being very good. I am very proud of them.”
Also worthwhile to note: this was the Dynamiters twelfth straight at-home win.
Scoring began with a long bomb from Parker Konneke hallway into the first. Conner Furukawa would then score his first goal of the season in resounding fashion, blasting one in from even further out, nearly from the blue line.
As is tradition with games against their historic rivals, the game featured a lot of chirping back and forth between players, plenty of chippy moments and a few fights and misconducts handed out.
Kade Lesoksoky and Fernie’s Hudson Scrimshaw were hit with 10-minute misconducts late in the first and they wouldn’t be the last.
Konneke potted another big goal early in the second, his second of the night and eighteenth of the season. The crowd then gave a huge round of applause when local Justin Sommer scored his first of the season. Growing up in Kimberley, Sommer knows a thing or two about the rivalry with Fernie.
“I always remember coming here when I was a kid, hanging out with all your friends at the game and it’s always a big town even,” he said post-game. “I’m really looking forward to [the Christmas Classic] on the 29th. It’s always been a rivalry with Fernie. Growing up there was a couple good battles, I think that rivalry’s going to stay forever.
“I think it was a bit of a statement game, they know what we are now, so we’ve got to do the same thing on the 29th.”
READ MORE: Dynamiters dominate sold-out Christmas Classic with two wins over rivals Fernie
Stuart was very happy with the line of Furukawa, Sommer and Hayden Selin.
“They were hard to play against all night long,” Stuart said. “I thought that line really gave us a lot of energy. We had a couple lulls and that line got us going again, I thought they were our best line tonight.”
Tristan Weill would then score his thirtieth goal of the season, a milestone in and of itself, but added three total points to his total of 58 in 27 games played: a 2.15 points-per-game average.
Fernie’s Lucas Desjarlais scored his team’s only goal of the night, shorthanded early in the third, and after a few more fights and game misconduct calls, the Dynamiters emerged with a 5-1 win.
They will welcome the Ghostriders back to the Civic Centre on December 29 for the Christmas Classic. Get there early, it will not be a game to be missed.