Two levels of Thunder hit the Prince George T3 Cougars, creating shock and awe that sent the peewee and midget Thunder on to the playoffs.
Both peewee and midget teams played a double header Saturday, with peewee teams leading off at 9:30 a.m.
The Thunder took off as soon as the whistle blew in their first game, netting a trio of goals within the first period, putting them three points out in front of the P.G. team.
In the second, the Cougars tried to pull themselves together, cracking the ice at the mid-point of the period with a goal. The Thunder made the goal moot five minutes later with one of their own, finishing the second still three goals ahead.
In the third, the Thunder hit the score board at the midpoint, to which the Cougars responded seconds before the end of the game, with a final of 5-2 in favour of the Thunder.
The midgets took to the ice next, at noon.
The Cougars opened up the scoring, but the Thunder responded quickly and then doubled it in the dying seconds of the first.
The Thunder did one point better in the second, putting three past the Cougars goaltender, while the Cougars reprised their first period performance with a single goal midway through the period.
The pattern continued into the third, with the Thunder doing one better than their performance in the second, with four points and the Cougars adding a single point to their tally, to finish the game, 9-3 for the Thunder.
The peewees took back to the ice hours later.
The Thunder got off to a slower start, with a single goal in the first two minutes of the period the only mark on the score sheet through twenty minutes.
The game picked up in the second, with the Thunder hardly letting three minutes get by without availing themselves of another goal, with the Cougars netting their lonely point half way through.
The third was placid as a lake on the scoreboard, the Cougars hampering themselves with penalties and the Thunder content to sit back and win the 7-1 game, putting them in the championships.
“We have been in a bit of a slump the past five games, so it was good to see the kids come out and rise to the occasion and clinch a spot at provincials,” peewee coach Dustin Peacock said.
The midget Thunder finished their double header in the evening.
The game got off to a slow start, with the Thunder posting the only goal in the first.
In the second the Thunder found their legs and netted three goals in six minutes. The Cougars only found a single point in the second, as the seconds counted down they made their impact on the scoreboard.
The Thunder continued to make headway in the third, scoring early at 18:51. The Cougars responded three minutes later, but the Thunder were having none of that, putting in another to finish 6-3.
“Our guys kept their composure and once we were able to finally get a couple past the P.G. goalies you could feel the energy come out of them and we cruised on to win both games,” midget coach Rick Izzard said.
Midgets are off to Port Alberni and Peewees are off to Creston for Provincial Championships during Spring Break, with the Quesnel Bantam Tier 3 Thunder competing in Dawson Creek for their championships during the same week.
