The Kimberley Dynamiters blew a chance to take first place in the Eddie Mountain division on Friday night, dropping a 7-5 decision to the Creston Valley Thunder Cats.

Had the Nitros won, it would've set up a battle for divisional supremacy with the Fernie Ghostriders on Sunday, but alas, that loss denied Kimberley the necessary two points needed to catch up to the 'Riders.

Sunday's final regular season matchup, which the Nitros won at 7-2, was just a formality, as the 'Riders had a three point cushion going into the affair, meaning that even if they lost, they still clinched the division.

The Nitros scored twice in the first period against the Cats, but Creston roared back with two goals of their own to tie up the game going into the second period.

Dallin Wolf and Senate Patton scored within a minute of each other before the halfway mark for the Dynamiters, but Trevor Forward and Jordan Johnson answered for the Cats by the end of the frame.

Creston took the lead in the second period, off two more goals from Forward and Johnson before the Nitros responded with an unassisted effort from Mark Strachan.

The two teams traded goals before the end of the frame, as Brock Ward scored for the Cats, while Rylan Duley answered for the Nitros on the powerplay.

Riding a one-goal lead at 5-4 going into the third period, Forward struck again for the Cats to earn his hat trick.

Richard Hubscher responded just before the halfway mark of the game to keep the affair within one goal, but Jesse Collins scored the empty-netter with 53 seconds to go.

The Nitros had ample opportunity to score, with eight separate powerplays and converting only once, while the Cats had three chances on the man-advantage, striking twice.

The Nitros also got outshot in all three periods, as goaltender Jeremy Mousseau got replaced by Braedon Ostepchuk after Creston's fourth goal.

Mousseau made eight saves in 12 shots, while Ostepchuk turned away 20 of 22 pucks.

The Sunday game against the Riders, which didn't have any effect in the standings, was still a fierce affair, as the two clubs enjoy one of the best rivalries in the league.

The Nitros scored five unanswered goals in the third period to power themselves towards the win, even though the Riders nearly doubled them on the shot clock.

The Riders scored the first period's only goal with seven minutes left on the board on an effort from Matt Carr.

But the Nitros came back in the following frame, as Brennan Foreman and Olli Dickson scored within three minutes of each other to take a one-goal lead.

Alex Milhouse capitalized for the Riders early in the third on the powerplay to even up the game, but then the Nitros offense exploded.

Duley, Colton Vannucci, Hubscher, Jordan Revie and Talyor McDowell all scored over the next 15 minutes to lift the Dynamiters to it's 7-2 final.