After a tricky bounce put them down 1-0 after two periods, the Kimberley Dynamiters bounced back with a five-goal closing period to win their only game of the weekend Saturday.

The shorthanded Dynamiters got three-point nights from Matt Foster and Brennan Romanovitch, and a couple from new addition Adam Taylor, in a 5-2 win over the visiting Chase Chiefs.

“I thought it was a great character win for only having 14 skaters. The guys battled through and nobody got down the whole game,” said head coach Kevin MacKay.

The Nitros had been solid at even strength all game, but found themselves down 1-0 near the game’s midway point. Kimberley defenceman Dany Oslund tried to play a puck at centre ice, but it bounced between his legs. Chase’s David Harrison picked it up and scampered in for a breakaway goal on Tory Caldwell.

The Nitros cranked the offence dial in the final frame, with Foster leading the way.

He scored at 2:27 after stripping the puck from one Chief, powering past another and deking forehand.

Taylor, signed last week after half a season in Alberta, got into the act a minute later. He fired a rocket from the point that got past a crowd of players and goalie Jordan Bytelaar.

In four previous seasons in the KIJHL, Taylor had averaged 0.23 points and 3.77 penalty minutes per game.

“I don’t know if we really picked him up for his offensive skills,” joked MacKay, who likes Taylor’s big shot from the point.

“For the most part, we don’t get that puck away hard enough and quick enough. Adam brings that to us, and he brings a lot of experience. Even on the bench late in that game when we got the lead, he was trying to calm things down. Some guys were getting a little excited. He’s taken a leadership role. I didn’t know him before he came in, and that’s a great thing to see.”

Taylor also showed his strength during a kill early in the third, knocking a Chief onto the ice before clearing the puck.

“I just went out there and kept it simple,” he said. “We were down after the second and kind of just pulled it together in the third. Tory made some big saves and the team just did it all together.”

Kimberley’s first lead lasted a couple of minutes before Mike Misener stationed at the post and jammed a loose puck past Caldwell.

Foster put Kimberley back in front for good with a hard wrister low in the Chase zone. It was the 35th goal of the season for Kimberley’s top scorer.

“When he’s got the puck, he’s kind of deceptive,” said MacKay. “He doesn’t look that quick, but he’s strong on his feet and it takes a lot to knock him down... He gets in tight and he can put it anywhere. The last couple of months, he’s been outstanding for us.”

Captain Corey Allen made it 4-2 on a power play at 14:08, while Foster set up the final goal at 18:14. Heading behind the net on a rush, he backhanded a pass out front to Romanovitch, who chipped in his 13th of the season.

Caldwell made 28 saves to improve to 17-13-1 on the year. Bytelaar turned 32 shots aside for the Chiefs.

Taylor had briefly been a teammate of Caldwell’s last year, before the Fernie Ghostriders traded the goalie to Kimberley.

For three seasons prior to that, Taylor had patrolled the Creston Valley Thundercats’ blueline.

“I understand that lots of people probably don’t like that I’m here maybe right now, but I’m happy to be here,” said Taylor “The first time I put on the jersey, I might have felt a little out of place, but I played in Fernie last year and I played in Creston — I might as well make it all of the rivals.”

Taylor admitted it was a little awkward making nice with someone like Allen, against whom he’d clashed so many times over the years.

“I think there was a little bad blood there at the start, but I think we’re over it now. I think we got past it,” he said, after helping set up Allen’s goal. “Everyone’s going to get over it; we’re going to be a team and hopefully go as far as we can together.”

Kimberley exits the weekend in fourth place in the Eddie Mountain Division, two points behind the Creston Valley Thundercats, and one back of Golden.

The Rockets have five games left to play. The Nitros and Thundercats will too, once they clash Tuesday in Creston.