After shutting the Columbia Valley Rockies out of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League playoffs in four games, things are a bit slower for the Creston Valley Thunder Cats, who are down 2-1 in the second round.
The Thunder Cats won the series’ first game against the Kimberley Dynamiters on Friday, but the Dynamiters won in Creston on Saturday, and again yesterday.
“Kimberley’s always been a tough opponent,” said Thunder Cats head coach Josh Hepditch. “They’ve got a hardworking team that just doesn’t quit.”
Friday’s 4-1 victory, played in Creston, went well, said Hepditch.
“We came out with a fast start and got to the heart of it,” he said.
Matti Jmaeff and Carson Cartwright each scored in the first period, with Brandon Formosa and Seth Schmidt capitalizing on power plays to each score in the second period.
“That was really the key in game one,” said Hepditch. “That was definitely the start we were looking for in the series.”
The Dynamiters scored their only goal on a power play in the third period.
The contributions of goaltender Brock Lefebvre and forward Logan Styler significantly helped the Creston team toward the win.
“[Styler] was one of our energy guys,” said Hepditch. “He created lots of chances.”
Things didn’t go as well on Saturday, when the Thunder Cats suffered a 4-2 loss. A power-play goal by Formosa was the only goal in the first period, but the Thunder Cats’ lack of discipline allowed three Dynamiters goals in the second period.
“In our second period, we kind of came off track a little bit and took some penalties,” said Hepditch. “They capitalized on those. We dug a hole too deep to get out of in the third period.”
Jmaeff scored a single third-period goal for Creston, with Kimberley finishing the night with a shorthanded empty-netter at 0:55.
Things could have been much worse if not for the line of Marcel Fuchs, Connor Ward and Marshall Sidwell, who helped kill several penalties.
“They followed that right in to game three,” said Hepditch. “They’ve been good all series.”
Monday’s game in Kimberley wasn’t much better, with the Dynamiters scoring on a power play early in the first period, with a second goal later. Kimberley scored once in the second period, but Tyler Podgorenko scored one for the Thunder Cats early in the third. The Dynamiters scored the final goal, again shorthanded on an empty net in the last minute.
“Their goalie just stood on his head,” said Hepditch. “We just couldn’t find a way to score, which is uncharacteristic of us, but it happens.”
He hopes to even the series up with a Tuesday win, which, after a game in Creston on Thursday, would see the teams return to Kimberley on Friday. (If needed, a seventh game will be played in Creston on Saturday.)
“It’s definitely going to need some effort, for sure,” said Hepditch. “A lot of people felt us to be the giant, but we knew it was going be a long series because of the way they work.”