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Creston Valley Thunder Cat’s quest for four-win streak sputters at hands of Rockets

Next home game will feature the Cats versus Castlegar on Saturday, Feb. 5
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The Thunder Cats defeated the Castlegar Rebels 6-1 on Jan. 22. (Photo © Brandon Shaw/analogdog.ca)

By Eric Blow

Three’s lucky, four’s a streak. A common hockey superstition that the Creston Valley Thunder Cats have heard one too many times this season. On the heels of their fourth three-game winning streak of the campaign, Creston put up a valiant effort against the Golden Rockets on Saturday, Jan. 29 but ultimately fell short, still searching for those elusive four straight W’s.

It was a back and forth game that saw three separate lead changes after the Cats struck first early on. Just 92 seconds in Liam Hennessy managed to deflect a Denon Bamber pass past Rockets goaltender Levi Hall. Golden came storming back with a pair of goals from Kade Cochlan and Will Vernon in the final 12 minutes to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

The second period started with a bang as the Cats scored a pair of their own in five and a half minutes to retake the lead 3-2. First was Adam Redding tying the game up with perfectly placed shot over the shoulder of Hall, and three minutes after that, Bamber tucked in a loose puck at the side of the net. The Rockets stuck around and Vernon managed his second of the night as the teams skated to a 3-3 tie after 40 minutes of play.

The third started with a flurry of goals. Golden scored two with the man advantage just 12 seconds apart, including Vernon notching his first KI hat trick. Hassen Himour netted his seventh of the year at 16:15 of the period making it three goals in 3:45. He managed to get his stick on a Stavros Koutsantonis shot, giving the former Revelstoke Grizzlie his first point as a Thunder Cat. That would be as close as they would come. The Rockets would add another on the powerplay, going 3 for 3 in the period, and 3 for 5 on the night, taking it by a score of 6-4. It was their first win of 2022, they were 0-11 in that span.

Overall, General Manager and Head Coach Bill Rotheisler wasn’t upset with the way his team played, just frustrated with how they got to the end result.

“It was just one of those games we outplayed them by a large margin in all metrics except the one that counts, and that’s goals for and against,” he said.

The Cats out shot the Rockets 49-33 in the game with 22 of those shots coming in the third. There were lingering frustrations, as giving up late powerplay goals isn’t a new occurrence for the team.

“One thing we’ve been battling all year is timely penalties,” Rotheisler said. “There are still things we can do better, like being more disciplined at the right times and being more emotionally in control.”

The Cats surrendered three powerplay goals in the final frame and have given up the sixth most powerplay goals in the league over the course of the season.

As of Jan. 31 with the season beginning to wrap up, Creston finds themselves locked comfortably in the final play-off spot in the Eddie Mountain Division five points behind the Fernie Ghostriders in third with eight games remaining, two of which are against Fernie. Other remaining games include the three against Kimberley, and one each versus Golden, Castlegar, and Columbia Valley.

The next home game at the Johnny Bucyk Arena will feature the Cats versus Castlegar on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m. Proof of vaccination is required for admittance.

For more updates on the Thunder Cats, check out Eric Blow’s blog “Above the Ice” at aboveice.wordpress.com.

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