The Creston Valley Thunder Cats have turned a corner, now sitting on a five-game winning streak.
READ MORE: Creston Valley Thunder Cats lose out on first games of the season
After a rocky start to the season, with four straight losses, Head Coach Brad Tobin said his players are growing as a team.
“There are a lot of rookies who are slowly starting to get the grasp of the league,” he said. “I just think everybody’s kind of buying into the system now, and it’s starting to feel more like a team than it did at the start of the year.”
The energy in the stands was palpable on Friday, Oct. 21, with a loud crowd of 650 people.
“It was awesome to see,” said Tobin. “Especially for the veterans who haven’t had that crowd in the last couple of years. We’re happy to see the fans back in the rink, and our players thrive off that.”
Cheers from the crowd certainly helped the Thunder Cats along, defeating the Kimberley Dynamiters 3-2. It was a big win for the team, as they weren’t able to beat them once in eight games last season.
“We were down to nothing going into the third period, but there was still motivation that we could get the job done,” said Tobin. “And we did.”
Friday night’s victory was followed by another, 7-4 against the Golden Rockets on Saturday.
The Thunder Cats have a few outstanding players leading to their success.
In the last two weeks, Luke Chakrabarti and Jacob Burnside have both been recognized as “Stars of the Week” by the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League.
Forward Chakrabarti, #14, was acclaimed for two weeks in a row. Against the Dynamiters, he assisted on the winning goal and added two assists. With the Rockets, Chakrabarti enjoyed a four-goal night, also scoring the winner. He leads the Thunder Cats with 12 goals and 18 points in seven games.
Goaltender Burnside, #31, earned his first junior hockey wins earlier in the season against Osoyoos and North Okanagan. He has a save percentage of .899 with 151 saves in five games played.
Going into their next set of games, Tobin said the team will be working hard at practice.
“We’re going over our systems and making sure that everybody knows where to be on the ice in certain situations,” he said.
To cheer on the team, come out to the next home games on Friday, Oct. 28 and Saturday, Oct. 29 at the Johnny Bucyk Arena at 7:30 p.m.