Grand Forks dumps coach, wins first of the KIJHL season in dramatic style Friday against Columbia Valley
By The Nelson Daily Sports
Break out the champagne; the Grand Forks Border Bruins won for the first time in the 2011-12 Kootenay International Junior Hockey League season.
And the Bruins achieved the victory in dramatic style.
Five different players scored to rally the Bruins from a 3-1 deficit en route to a 5-4 win over the Columbia Valley Rockies Friday in Invermere.
And Grand Forks achieved feat minus popular head coach Brent Batten, relieved of his duties earlier in the week.
Behind the bench for the Bruins was Batten’s assistant Matt Zamec.
Tyler Wagner pulled the Bruins even and Brendan Jackson scored the winner with 5:34 remaining in the game to seal win number one of the KIJHL season.
Grand Forks, winless in 23 previous games, was the only winless team in the KIJHL before Friday’s monumental victory.
Mitchell Nishimura, Austin Lee and Nathan Corey also scored for Grand Forks.
Jeremy Mandoli was in goal to record the win for Grand Forks.
Saturday, the Bruins were brought back down to earth as Fernie routed Grand Forks 9-1 before suffering a 14-3 shellacking Sunday at the hands of the Golden Rockets.
The game concluded a three-game road trip through the Eddie Mountain Division for the Boundary City squad.
