The Kimberley Dynamiters had twice faced elimination and won, but they weren’t able to do it a third time.

The Creston Valley Thundercats won 4-2 on Friday night in Kimberley, taking the Eddie Mountain Division semi-final series by the same margin.

“I’m very proud of the guys — they hung in right to the very end,” said Nitros’ head coach and general manager Kevin MacKay. “They could have packed it in when it was 3-0 (in the series) but the character of the team showed up and I’m pretty happy with that.”

MacKay said the team didn’t give in because they weren’t ready to go.

“Some of the 20-year-olds took charge in the room and kind of settled things down for us. For the next couple of games we were very good.”

He said they probably shouldn’t have been down 3-0 to begin with, losing Game 2 in overtime and getting a bad case of nerves in Game 3.

“They could have shut it down in the last game at home (Game 4), but they competed quite hard and (Game 5 on Thursday night) as well.”

The coach said Kimberley’s lack of players might have been a deciding factor in the series, having played for long stretches with just nine forwards and six defencemen.

“That’s the bottom line: they maybe were a bit fresher than us (Friday),” said MacKay.

The Dynamiters held a 1-0 advantage after the first period, thanks to Matt Foster, but Sean Maktaak and Travis Ludwar scored in the second to give the Thundercats a lead.

MacKay said that, after Kimberley’s early jump, Creston played smart in the latter two-thirds of the game and got some breaks.

“We kind of got on our heels a little bit and got running around our defensive zone and started to struggle,” he said. “We maybe got a little bit tired in certain spots and unfortunately they came out with the victory. The guys played right to the end.”

Creston got up 3-1 thanks to Jordan Johnson’s blast from the top of the slot at 6:52 of the third.

Kimberley got back within one after pulling goalie Tory Caldwell in the last couple of minutes, when defenceman Ryan Georgopoulos pounced on a rebound in the low slot.

They took Caldwell off for the extra attacker again with a minute left, but couldn’t beat Sunny Gill again.

With eight seconds left, Ludwar threw a long shot into Kimberley’s empty cage to erase any doubts.

Caldwell made 27 saves for the Dynamiters, while Gill turned aside 21.

Friday’s game marked the last in the junior careers of Foster, J.T. Ward and Adam Taylor.

Taylor didn’t join the Nitros until late January, while Ward and Foster were with the club from Day 1. MacKay said they all brought their experience to bear on the club.

“Matt Foster was just incredible for the last half of this year. I know Joe Martin (Creston’s coach) just said he’s probably the best player in the league. Without a doubt. He was a man among a lot of boys,” said MacKay.

“J.T. was a calming influence, playing forward and defence. He was very versatile in that roll, and a great, great young man who’s very dedicated...

“(Taylor) brought us some toughness that we were lacking. All three guys really elevated what we needed from them, and they’re all quality individuals and I wish them well.”

Those three won’t don Dynamiters uniforms next year, but MacKay expects still more will move on.

While Matt Foster’s 40 goals will certainly be missed, MacKay said he’s happy with the team character that was revealed by the playoffs.

“We’ve got some holes, obviously,” he said. “There’s some work to do, and we’ve got to maybe try to find some more scoring ability somewhere.”

The Nitros scored an average of 3.5 goals per game, just below the league average of 3.7.

With midget provincials fast approaching — Cranbrook is hosting the Tier II championships starting next Sunday — MacKay won’t get much time away from the rink.

“This is actually a pretty busy time. I guess if there is a positive to (losing in the first round), you get a jump on recruiting a little bit.”

Last season, he joined the Dynamiters in late May, meaning a lot of recruiting had already been done.

In short order, he’ll be scouting and meeting new players, and talking to midget and junior coaches.

“You have to get out and see those kids,” he said. “You can always take somebody else’s word for it but... I like to see things for myself.”