The shots on goal were a decisive 47-29 in Creston’s favour, but the home team’s Friday win over the Kimberley Dynamiters was a nail-biting 3-2 win.
Let’s just say the Thunder Cats were deserving of the two points against a team they have been chasing all season but had yet to face until Friday night.
“It was the opener of our season series against Kimberley and it took till November 10th to finally get it going, which was exciting,” Creston coach Brad Tobin said on Sunday. “Our guys were mentally prepared for this game as we’ve been playing some of the top teams in recent weeks, so we knew what was needed on our part to put a good effort in.”
Creston’s captain and leading scorer Liam Plunkett opened the scoring with an assist from Justen James halfway through the first period, but Kimberley’s Brock Palmer tied the game late in the period.
The Dynamiters took a 2-1 lead in the middle frame when Brandt Bertoia scored, but Ronnie Wilkie (Plunkett and Kason Furukawa) drew the T-Cats back into a tie after 40 minutes.
Creston outshot the visitors 17-9 in the final 20 minutes, but it took a Tyler Witzke goal with 6:15 remaining to put his team back into a lead it would not relinquish. Furukawa added his second assist on the goal.
“I thought the James, Wilkie and Plunkett line were controlling their shifts well. They got opportunities to sustain pressure in the offensive zone for extended periods of time,” Tobin said. “The Jellis, Sturm and McGuire line was working hard all night and, although they didn’t get rewarded on the scoresheet, they brought the energy when we needed it. Levi Mitchell again had another strong performance in goal for us.”
An unusual penalty summary shows that each team drew two penalties in each period, the only variation from the string of minors being Ronnie Wilkie’s 10-minute misconduct in the second.
After Saturday night’s play (Creston was idle that night) Kimberley led the KIJHL’s Eddie Mountain Division with 31 points, with a 15-4-1 (overtime loss) record after 20 games. The Thunder Cats were in second place, with an 11-6-1 (tie) record with 18 games played. Columbia Valley Rockies sat in third, having earned points in five games that went into overtime. They had 7 wins, 9 losses, 3 ties and 2 overtime losses.
The Thunder Cats and Dynamiters were scheduled for a rematch in Kimberley on Tuesday, after press deadline. On Friday, the T-Cats visit Grand Forks to take on the Border Bruins and on Saturday they return home to face the Spokane Braves.
“Kimberley will be ready and waiting for us on Tuesday night,” Tobin said. I know that head coach Derek Stuart will make the necessary adjustments needed for his team to give us another tightly contested game.”