Storm, Nitros to play for KIJHL Championship
By The Nelson Daily Sports
The Kimberley Dynamiters and Kamloops Storm will play for the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League after the two clubs won their respective Conference Final Series Tuesday.
The Nitros ousted the defending KIJHL champs from Beaver Valley 5-1 in Fruitvale to claim the best-of-seven Kootenay title 4-1.
In Osoyoos, the Bobby Kashuba scored twice as Kamloops shocked the Coyotes 2-1.
After losing Sunday in Kimberley, the Nitros rode on the coattails of netminder Tyson Brouwer.
The Kimberley goalie faced 40 shots through two periods, surrendering a single goal to Jacob Boyczuk in the second frame to cut the margin to 2-1 in favour of the road team.
But that would be as close as the Nitehawks would get as Kimberley scored three times in the third to seal the victory and the series.
Tyler Kinnon, Coy Prevost, Braden Saretsky, Keena Haase and Trevor Van Steinburg scored for Kimberley.
Beaver Valley out shot Kimberley 47-28 in the game and 195-118 in the series.
Brouwer has put together a remarkable playoff to date, winning 12 of 14 games including an 11 game winning streak as Kimberley eliminated Creston, Fernie and now Beaver Valley from post season.
Kashuba scored both goals as the Storm eliminated the Coyotes and advance to the League Championship series against Kimberley.
The Coyotes boasted the best regular season record in the entire KIJHL with a 42-7-2-0-1 record, 19 points ahead of Kamloops.
The KIJHL Championship series opens Saturday in Kimberley. Game two is Sunday, also in the Bavarian City before the series shifts to Kamloops for Games three and four, Tuesday and Wednesday.
The KIJHL winner represents the league at the Cyclone Taylor Cup, April 3-6 in Mission.
The KIJHL is the defending league champs.
