The ever-improving Denny’s Lightning bowed 4-3 to host Lumby in Sunday’s A final of the Stars Atom Rec Hockey Tournament.
The first period featured fast and furious action with Lumby coming at the Lightning from every direction. Eric Foufoulas made many great saves to keep the period scoreless. Vernon came out flat in the second and fell behind 3-0 entering the third.
The Lightning came out flying in the third period. Chapperon Chillihitzia opened the scoring for the Bolts on a dogged effort in front of the net, banging the loose puck past the Lumby goalie.
Carter Morris made it a one-goal game after beating two Lumby players to go in one on one versus the last defender. Morris unleashed a terrific wrister high to the top shelf on the glove side.
Two minutes later, Lumby took a penalty and one minute into the powerplay, Kaden Doughty grabbed a loose puck in the left face off circle and ripped a shot high blocker side tying the game.
Lumby notched the winner 90 seconds later. Morris earned the nod as the Lightning’s player of the tournament earning the gold hard hat.
After finishing fourth in the recent Vernon Atom tourney, the Lightning were eager to hit the ice in Lumby and they delivered three round-robin victories over the Kamloops Yellow Jackets, the Kamloops Thunder and the Kelowna Greyhounds.
Carter Morris and Kaden Doughty pulled hat tricks and Tanner Witt scored once as the Bolts bounced the Jackets 7-4. Foufoulas was solid in net and took the Heart and Hustle award.
In Game 2, the Lightning got two goals apiece from Maisun Ang-Hamilton and Heart & Hustle winner Morris in a 6-2 win over the Thunder. Doughty and Ethan Vryenhoek-Frank supplied singles. Excellent defensive efforts were turned in by Jacob Baycroft, Derek Pereboom, Jackson Soucy and Nicholas Petty. Shaun Huizinga was a monster on the ice doing everything but getting a point.
The third game produced the Lightning’s most dominant effort of the season as they gonged the Greyhounds 13-0.
Foufoulas earned the shutout and multi-goal performances came from Ang-Hamilton (3+1), Doughty (2+2), Morris (2) and Chapperon Chillihitzia (2). Aaron Jodoin, Jacob Baycroft, Witt and Brady Horton, with his first career goal, led the Bolts. Pereboom and Vryenhoek-Frank each pocketed two helpers and the Heart & Hustle award went to Jodoin.
