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Creston Valley Thunder Cats win one of three

The Creston Valley Thunder Cats kicked off a three-game weekend with a 6-2 win over the Columbia Valley Rockies on Oct. 13...
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Creston Valley Thunder Cat Jesse Gartland in Friday’s home game against the Castlegar Rebels

The Creston Valley Thunder Cats kicked off a three-game weekend with a 6-2 win over the Columbia Valley Rockies on Oct. 13.

“I’m really happy with how they played that game,” said Garth Ludwar, assistant coach of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey league team. “There were a couple of little mental mistakes, but all in all I’m happy with the team.”

Scoring started 30 seconds into the game when Jovi Fabbri scored on a power play, a few minutes before a Rockies goal. He scored a second power-play goal late in the first period. Trevor LeBlanc, Trevor Hanna and Brock Ward added goals in the second period, LeBlanc’s on a power play, and the visiting Rockies also netted a second. Andrew Hodder scored the Thunder Cats’ final goal of the game unassisted in the third period.

The team stuck to its systems, Ludwar said, and he was impressed by the performance of C.J. Caputo.

“He might not have scored, but his effort was definitely appreciated, and the rest of the team stepped up to match his effort,” said Ludwar.

The Thunder Cats continued to capitalize on power plays in Friday’s game against the Castlegar Rebels, which they ultimately lost 5-3. Brandon Formosa and Scott Swiston scored power-play goals in the first period, edged by three Castlegar goals.

“Defensively, our zone broke down and they scored two that shouldn’t have happened,” said Ludwar.

A lack of effort in the second period led to a fourth Rebels goal, but Jesse Collins managed a power-play goal for the Thunder Cats in the third before the Rebel scored an empty-netter.

“We definitely stepped it up in the third period,” said Ludwar. “We were a different team … but we dug ourselves into that hole and didn’t come back.”

On Saturday, the Thunder Cats travelled to Washington to take on the Spokane Braves, a game that ended in an unfortunate, but not unexpected, 3-2 loss.

“Its always tough to come out with a W in Spokane because they’ve got the hometown advantage.”

The game started with a Thunder Cats goal by Swiston 40 seconds into the period, with no Spokane response until there were four minutes left. The Thunder Cats could have dominated the period if the team had been more focused.

“I thought we should have had a fairly good lead by the end of the first if we’d been playing our game,” said Ludwar.

As with the night before, things broke down in the second period, when the Thunder Cats allowed two more Spokane goals due to penalty trouble — they racked up 38 minutes and two game misconducts in that period alone. Despite the discouraging second period, Formosa managed a single Thunder Cats goal in the third period.

“It’s pretty hard to come back when you’re shorthanded,” said Ludwar.

This weekend, the Thunder Cats travel to Kimberley on Friday night to take on the Dynamiters, who visit Creston on Saturday.

“We’re looking forward to it because last time they gave us a drubbing,” said Ludwar. “We’re looking forward to the games and rising to the occasion.”