After two recent wins, the Creston Valley Thunder Cats pulled farther ahead of the Golden Rockets, who hold fourth place in the Eddie Mountain Division of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League.
With 41 points, the Thunder Cats are 11 points ahead of the Rockets, eleven behind the Kimberley Dynamiters and 13 behind the Fernie Ghostriders, whom they beat in two successive games on Dec. 28 and 31.
In their first game after a Christmas break, the Thunder Cats visited Fernie for a game that they won 5-3.
“We were able to come out and play a solid 60-minute game,” said head coach Brent Heaven. “We were quite disciplined and didn’t allow Fernie to get under our skin.”
At 5:53, Mark Ferguson scored the game’s first goal for the Thunder Cats, with a Fernie goal following with 23 second left. Trevor Forward and Trevor LeBlanc (power play) gave the Thunder Cats a 3-2 lead heading into the third period, which saw one Fernie goal and Thunder Cats goals by Jesse Collins and Scott Swiston (empty net).
On Saturday, the Ghostriders visited Creston, and “we came out a little bit slow,” said Heaven. “They came out to an early lead on us.”
With only a single Thunder Cats goal by Formosa, Fernie had a 3-1 lead after the first period.
“I had a good chat with the boys about consistency and what we expect of them,” said Heaven. “They they played our best period of hockey this season.”
Second-period goals by Brock Ward and Jovi Fabbri tied the score 3-3, which lasted through the third period.
The first overtime period was scoreless, but the Thunder Cats victory was earned by Jordan Johnson, who “pretty much dominated the whole shift,” and scored the game-winner.
This weekend, the Thunder Cats host Spokane on Friday, before heading to Golden on Sunday. Both games will give the Thunder Cats a chance to prove themselves.
“We’re looking forward getting right at it,” said Heaven. “We feel we can win on any given night.”
And that will bode well for their post-season presence.
“We’re just looking to get better and better every week and get ready for playoffs,” said Heaven.