The bantam boys took on an array of northern B.C. talent to take the top spot in a tournament in Williams Lake last weekend.
“The boys played a strong team game throughout the weekend with all players stepping up to do their part,” Allan Slaney, the coach of the Thunder, said
The Thunder rolled into Williams Lake Friday evening to take on the hometown team in their first game of the tournament.
A hard fought game, the Quesnel boys kept their heads down and pounded out a 4-3 win over the Williams Lake Timberwolves courtesy of the quick skates and quicker sticks of Keith Redden, Brody Dale, Brant Powell and Cole Slaney, the goal scorers for the Thunder. The win started the Thunder off right, bolstering their spirits as the headed into a double-header Saturday.
Saturday morning the Thunder faced a difficult game against the Salmon Arm Silvertips.
Another close, hard-fought game, Matt Kuehn and Keith Redden each scored for the Thunder, but the team ended the game a goal short of Salmon Arm, to lose 3-2.
Despite the hard lose, the team didn’t get discouraged going into Saturday afternoon’s game against Prince George Tier two Cougars.
The Thunder regrouped and threw everything they had at the Cougars, netting them a 6-2 win over the northern boys.
The line of Redden, Kuehn and Hunter McSeveney were particularly prolific, teaming up for four of the Quesnel goals, with Brody Dale and Cole Slaney adding in a goal each to round out the Thunder’s scoring.
Buoyed by the Prince George win, the Thunder continued their run for gold on Sunday.
Early Sunday morning found the Thunder back on the ice to play their final round robin game of the weekend against the Vanderhoof Bears.
A one-sided game, the Thunder ran through the Bears handily, beating them 7-0 with the help of a couple goals from Myles Mattila.
Their third win of the tournament earned the Thunder a berth into the finals for a rematch against the lone team they lost against, the Salmon Arm Silvertips.
Facing off against the team that had previously had their number, the boys didn’t despair but doubled their efforts to take the tournament in a 6-2 win over the Silvertips.
Mattila pulled off another multi-point night, scoring a hat trick in the game, and Redden, Slaney and Powell adding a goal each to inflate the score to tournament winning levels.
The bantam bys are back in action Nov. 16 in Salmon Arm.Thunder rolls through Williams Lake
