For an Island championship series, the intermediate B battle between the Cowichan Valley Thunder and the Juan de Fuca Whalers was a mismatch of ridiculous proportions.
In sweeping the best-of-three series two games to none, the Thunder outscored the Whalers by more than a five-to-one margin, winning 18-3 at the Island Savings Centre last Friday and 25-5 at Colwood’s Q Centre on Wednesday night.
The Whalers jumped out to a two-goal lead last Friday, but it didn’t take long for the Thunder to put them in their place.
Cowichan got four goals from Colin Winship that night, three each from Tyson Black and Kyle Page, and two each from James Taylor, Brody Black and Brayden Zunti, while Mathieu Jung and Olin Webb added singles. Jung and Tyson Black each had five assists, Winship added four, Taylor had three, Zunti and Brody Black had two apiece, and Page, Liam Clinging, Travis Clark, Thomas Charlie and Dallas McLaughlin had one each. Kain Stewart earned the win in goal.
On Wednesday night, Jung and Winship each scored five times, James Taylor and Tyson Black had hat tricks, and Zunti, Kyle Page and Steven Robertson each had two, with singles from Brody Black, Clayton Vickers and Jacob Taylor.
Jung and Tyson Black added five assists apiece, James Taylor and Mitch Page each had four helpers, Kyle Page had three, Winship had two, and Zunti, Robertson, Jacob Taylor, Brody Black, Dawson Webb and Tyler Weidenfeld had one each. Stewart and McLaughlin split duties in net.
Combining regular-season and playoff results, the Thunder finished the Island season with 14 wins and two losses, scoring 248 goals and allowing just 78.
Next up for the Thunder are the provincial championships in Langley on July 31 to Aug. 3, where they will face the Ridge Meadows Burrards, Delta Islanders and the winner of the playoff series between the Coquitlam Adanacs and Langley Warriors. The Thunder haven’t played any teams off the Island yet, so they don’t know what to expect from the provincial tournament.
