The Quesnel Active Rent-All Peewee Thunder Rep team went undefeated to win gold during a tournament in Kelowna over the weekend.
The Thunder rumbled past their competitions early, defeating Penticton in their first game 8-5, Smithers in their second game 7-4, and the North Shore Winter Club in their third game 9-4.
Thunder head coach Mike Riley thought his team got off to a bit of a slow start but was able to recover quickly.
“We started off a bit slow, looked like we had some road legs, but we battled through it and gritted out wins in our Friday and Saturday games,” he said.
The Thunder were firing on all cylinders as they shut out Williams Lake 5-0 in the semi-finals and then defeated Smithers again, this time by a score of 3-1, in the gold medal match.
Riley says the team’s success is due to hard work being put in by every one of his players on and off the ice.
“I thought the team really came together on Sunday and played really well,” he said. “All three lines and six defenders contributed, and the goaltending was fantastic all weekend. Especially on Sunday, with Henley shutting Williams Lake down in the semis and Jackson making big saves in the final.”
Riley believes all the hard work the team has been putting in this year will pay off when Quesnel hosts the Provincial Championships in March.
“We keep improving and working on our game so that we can peak for the provincials at home during spring break,” he said.
READ MORE: Quesnel Thunder rumbles through the competition
editor@quesnelobserver.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
