The Creston Valley Thunder Cats added two wins to their record on the weekend, visiting the Spokane Braves for a 6-2 win and shutting out the visiting Golden Rockets 3-0.
Creston is holding on to its second-place ranking in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s Eddie Mountain Division, with its 38 points placing it nine behind the Kimberley Dynamiters, and three and five points ahead of, respectively, the Fernie Ghostriders and Columbia Valley Rockies.
The Thunder Cats led the scoring in Spokane on Friday, with goals by Colby Livingstone, Carson Cartwright (power play) and Logan Wullum giving them a 3-0 lead.
“We kind of laid off in the second, the way teams do when you build a quick lead,” said head coach Jeff Dubois.
Ian Desrosiers and Cartwright (power play) each scored in the second, with Spokane matching the goals. In the third, Dubois said, the Thunder Cats controlled the game, with Spokane making only four shots and Liam Plunkett scoring for Creston with 0:05 remaining.
The 5-2 victory was a far cry from the shutout Creston suffered when they visited Spokane last year.
“This year was one where we wanted a good start, and we got up early and played through highs and lows, but ultimately got the job done,” said Dubois.
The game also marked the return of Livingstone, who last played for the Thunder Cats in 2014, before spending time with BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters, the Maritime Junior Hockey League’s Amherst Ramblers and, most recently, the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies.
“Being a hometown guy, I think he’s excited to get back in,” said Dubiois. “He certainly was a top guy on Friday night.”
He also praised the effort of Thomas Cankovic, acquired in a trade for Austin Dean to the Princeton Posse, where he was the rookie of the year last season and the second-leading scorer this year. Cankovic earned an assist on Desrosiers’s second-period goal.
This weekend, another newcomer will join the Thunder Cats when Grant Iles, acquired Sunday, arrives. The former captain for the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League’s Comox Valley Glacier Kings has been earning a point a game.
“He brings a lot of leadership and grit,” said Dubois.
On Saturday, the Thunder Cats hosted the Golden Rockets — at the bottom of the Eddie Mountain Division with nine points — but didn’t score until the middle of the second period.
“Their goalie made a number of real good stops in the first half of the game,” said Dubois. “We had some real good opportunities we didn’t convert on.”
Desrosiers scored the game’s first goal with 8:39 left in the second period — and because it was Teddy Bear Toss night, that first goal led to about 200 stuffed toys being thrown onto the ice to donate to the Creston Ministerial Association’s Christmas hampers. Nicholas Kovacik followed with a goal about five minutes later, and Cartwright scored in the middle of the third period.
Dubois credited 16-year-old affiliate goalie Ben Kelsch — who plays for the Nelson-based Kootenay Ice in BC Hockey’s Major Midget League — with much of the success, stopping 30 Golden shots.
“For him to get the shutout is a pretty cool accomplishment,” said Dubois. “Not many guys get to say they got their first shutout in their first-ever junior game.”
This weekend, the Thunder Cats play a single game, visiting the Kimberley Dynamiters after hosting them yesterday.
“Kimberley’s the team to beat in our division,” said Dubois. “We’ve dug ourselves a bit of a hole. It’s really a chance for us to step up and narrow the gap on them.”