The Creston Valley Thunder Cats found no success on a weekend road trip to the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s Doug Birks Division, losing 7-3 to the 100 Mile House Wranglers, 3-0 to the Kamloops Storm and 1-0 to the Revelstoke Grizzlies.
Third-period power-play goals by Alec Wilkinson and Carson Cartwright made the score 4-2, but the Wranglers scored three more to win the game.
“I don’t think we were ready to compete at the level 100 Mile House was,” said head coach Jeff Dubois. “We knew going in they a strong physical team where you have to be willing to pay the price to compete with them. And we cam out flat. …
“We didn’t have any business being in that game and got what we deserved.”
Three players were injured in that game, and McConnell Kimmett was suspended for a week after checking a 100 Mile House player. He “made a real good, hard, clean hit”, shoulder to chest, that a referee called a check to the head. Hard hits, Dubois said, are often overcalled by referees.
“It’s unfair that a bad call cost him the rest of his weekend,” he said.
With a forward filling an empty defense position, Saturday’s Kamloops and Sunday’s Revelstoke games showed better, but unrewarded effort, Dubois said.
“You go through stretches in a season where you don’t feel you’re getting the rewards you deserve and Saturday and Sunday was definitely an example of that,” he said.
In Saturday’s 3-0 loss, the Storm outshot the Thunder Cats 43-32, with Creston trying hard to keep up.
“After being pretty lacklustre on Friday night, I think the guys understood we were holding ourselves back with our work ethic,” said Dubois. “I thought we were right there with them in the second and third period. We had a couple of real good scoring chances we didn’t convert on. … I’m proud of how we bounced back as a team.”
The team struggled again on Sunday in Revelstoke, but was outshot 47-21, with goalie Brock Lefbvre keeping the score that close.
“For a game where the guys are tired and you’re just hoping to do enough to get a win, it was certainly a frustrating game,” said Dubois. “We worked hard and the guys weren’t getting rewarded for their work.”
This weekend, the Thunder Cats host the Golden Rockets Friday, and visit them Saturday. The Rockets are currently at the bottom of the Eddie Mountain Division with two points, 19 behind the Thunder Cats who have fallen to third place a point behind the Fernie Ghostriders. The Kimberley Dynamiters lead the division with 32 points.
“They’re still looking for their first win,” Dubois said of Golden. “I’m sure from their end, with every game there’s more urgency and more effort to get that first win. From our standpoint, coming off our first real losing streak of the season, we’re motivated to get back in the win column.”
