An overtime loss and a tie gave the Creston Valley Thunder Cats two points over the last week, helping them maintain their fourth-place position in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s Eddie Mountain Division.
But those results won’t help the team get ahead.
“Overall, I’m not happy with where we’re at,” said head coach Jeff Dubois. “The effort level has been inconsistent. There are games and points within games where we’re working hard and doing the right thing, and the effort level seems to lapse. … If we’re not outworking our opponents, it’s going to be tough.”
The Creston team started its week with a 5-4 overtime loss to the Columbia Valley Rockies on Oct. 21, coming off a Saturday loss that Dubois said was “a bit of a struggle.”
The game started with goals by Alec Wilkinson and Connor Ward (shorthanded) in the first period, followed by a goal by Connor Kidd early in the second — but the Invermere tied the score by the end of the period.
“There were some bright spots,” said Dubois. “There were some good signs offensively, but at the same time, we didn’t respond the way we needed to once we had the lead and that cost us. …
“We just let our guard down defensively. … We thought it was going to be easy the rest of the way. Columbia Valley pushed back and we let our foot off the gas a little bit.”
A goal by Tyler Fyfe late in the third period gave the Thunder Cats the lead, but the Rockies again tied the score, sending the game into overtime, which lasted just over a minute before Kyle Becker scored the game-winner for the Rockies.
On Friday, the Thunder Cats hosted the North Okanagan Knights, to whom they previously lost 3-1 on a September road trip. The Knights scored twice in the first period before Fyfe scored on a power play, and the same thing happened in the second period, this time with Carson Cartwright scoring a power-play goal.
“Once we were down four-one, we kind of found our game and were the stronger team for the second half,” said Dubois.
Lien Miller-Jeannotte scored twice for the Thunder Cats in the third period to tie the score 4-4. After two periods of overtime — five minutes of four-on-four and five minutes of three-on-three — the score was unchanged.
“We were disappointed not to win,” said Dubois. “We scored three goals to come back and tie it. That’s a positive, but it was a game we outshot them (50-29) quite badly.”
On Saturday night, the Thunder Cats visited the Beaver Valley Nitehawks for a 2-1 loss. Beaver Valley scored once in each of the first and second periods, with Ward adding the Thunder Cats’ only goal in the third.
“We struggled to really generate much in the offensive zone,” said Dubois. “Beaver Valley plays in a small rink so you don’t have a lot of time and space with the puck.”
Dubois credits the positive aspect of that game’s outcome to goalie Brock Lefebfre, who stopped 43 Beaver Valley shots.
“He gave us a chance to come back,” he said.
He’s also pleased with the recent acquisition of Wilkinson, who scored in his first game with the team, and is part of a line with Cartwright and Kidd.
“He’s certainly generating his share of chances,” said Dubois. “The points will keep coming from him.”
This week is a busy one for the Thunder Cats. They hosted the Kimberley Dynamiters last night (after press deadline), will visit the Castlegar Rebels on Friday and the Spokane Braves on Saturday, and host the Osoyoos Coyotes on Sunday.
All of those teams are doing well so far this season, so Dubois expects those four games in five days to be a good test.
“It’s going to be mental and physical test for the guys in terms of what they’re able to accomplish,” he said.