The regular league games are winding up for Creston Valley Minor Hockey players as they head into their banner tournaments. This past weekend was a quiet one with no home games due to the “adults” using the ice for their annual tournament.
The atom Chiefs finished the regular season this past weekend with two away games. On Saturday, they travelled to Invermere and took along some atom Bruins players to fill the roster as they were down six of their own. Bruin players Denek Blackmore, Serge Chatwin, Merlin Blackmore and coach Hyrum Blackmore joined the Chiefs for the games, leaving the team only two players short.
Starting with only eight players and a goalie, the Chiefs jumped out to a 3-0 lead only to have Invermere answer back with two of their own goals. The score remained 3-2 for the Chiefs until the last five minutes of the game when the Chiefs added two more insurance goals for a win with a final score of 5-2. The Chiefs’ success was due to sheer determination and co-ordinated team play. Hats off to Ty Gudjonson and Kale Plotnikoff for playing solid defense. Bruins players were a real asset to the Chiefs with two goals and few assists.
On Sunday, the Cranbrook Ice 2 challenged the Chiefs in Cranbrook, and thankfully the Chiefs had a full team back on the ice. With two regular Chiefs players back and the same Bruins helping out, the Chiefs had a full team. Once again, the Chiefs jumped out to a 3-0 lead and had control of the first half of the game. Ice 2 pulled their act together to take control of the scoreboard in the second half, but thanks to the more than capable goaltending of Junior Porter, the Cranbrook Ice was held at bay. Creston’s team bent but never broke. Final score: Chiefs 5, Ice 3. This was a great weekend of hockey for the Chiefs to boost them into their banner tournament in Kimberley. The Chiefs would like to thank Bruin players Denek, Serge, Merlin and coach Hyrum for the help this weekend — they all played great.