With their home opener set for tomorrow night at the John Bucyk Arena, the Creston Valley Thunder Cats have been working hard to get ready for the 2012-2013 season.
The team has already played four exhibition games (a fifth runs tonight), winning two against the Glacier Nationals, a Montana team visiting Fernie for its training camp. The games followed the Thunder Cats’ own training camp from Aug. 30-Sept. 2, which had a few “decent surprises”, according to new head coach and general manager Josh Hepditch.
“A lot of the veterans returned and seemed like they had a very good summer of training,” he said. “They’re excited to be here and eager to get going.”
The roster is shaping up well, with a mix of newcomers — including a few Creston Valley players — and returning veterans lacing their skates. The defensive lineup includes Trevor LeBlanc, Jaiden Ward, Jesse Gartland, Ryan Murray, Jonathon Watt, Andrew Hodder, Matthew Sonntag and Matthew Murray, while Trevor Hanna, Darcy Flaherty, Tyler Akeroyd, Colby Livingstone, Nick Mottl, Brady Ward, Marcel Fuchs and Scott Butters are the team’s current forwards. Goalie Michael Hails is also returning to the team.
The Thunder Cats’ exhibition series started on Sept. 4 with a home game against the Nationals, which the Cats won 4-1.
“It’s always tough in the first game trying to get everyone on the same page,” said Hepditch. “We dressed a lot of veterans for that game and they seemed to click just like it was last year.”
On Friday, the Thunder Cats travelled to Kimberley, where they lost 5-1, partly due to having several newcomers on the ice.
“It was a typical training camp game for us,” said Hepditch. “It was fairly scrambly. The guys in there competed hard and did a good job.”
The next night was a similar result when the Thunder Cats visited the Columbia Valley Rockies, who beat the visitors 6-3.
“Our goalies played really well, actually,” said Hepditch. “We just weren’t good enough that night.”
For Sunday’s game in Fernie against the Nationals, most of the Thunder Cats veterans played in a game they won 8-0.
“It was nice to get them all back into the lineup and see them get rewarded for the work they’ve done in training camp,” said Hepditch. “The guys really came together as team.”
The games have been a good warm-up, and Hepditch is looking forward to tomorrow’s game against the visiting Kimberley Dynamiters.
“They want to put a good impression on for the fans and set the tempo for the year,” he said. “They’ve already been talking about it as a team.”
He’s been reminding them that early-season wins can have an impact on standings later in the season, so every game had to be played as if it counts.
“You can’t stress enough the importance of every single game,” he said. “We have to find a way to channel our energy on the road as we do at home.”
