Creston Valley Thunder Cats began 2017 in much the same fashion as they ended 2016, by winning.
The Cats added four more points to their season total by beating Spokane and Nelson on the weekend. With 54 points, Creston has a two-point lead over the Kimberley Dynamiters the KIJHL Eddie Mountain Division. Beaver Valley continues to be the league’s dominant team, with 59 points and a five-point cushion over Creston.
The Thunder Cats proved to be rude guests on Friday night’s visit to Spokane, where they poured 60 shots on goal and cruised to an 8-2 romp over the Braves.
Grant Iles (Liam Plunkett and Luke Kalenuik) and Sebastian Kilcommons (Liam Miller-Jeannotte and Aiden Wong) gave the Cats a quick two-goal lead less than five minutes into the game before Elliot Piourde narrowed the margin.
Five goals by the swarming Canadian side put the game away in the second period, though. Iles (Kalenuik and Plunkett), Thomas Cankovic (Cole Arcuri and McConnell Kimmett), Brodie Smith, (Tyler Severson and Paxton Malone), Smith, again (Arcuri and Julian Benner), and Arcuri (Plunkett and Iles) put Creston into a 7-1 lead. The second and fourth goals were power play efforts.
Chase Smith scored in the third period for the Braves before Smith’s hat-trick goal (Iles and Acuri) finished the scoring.
Patrick Osterman back-stopped Creston to the win, turning away 16 of the 18 shots he faced.
Saturday’s visit to Nelson proved to more of a challenge. Smith (Malone and Liam Rycroft), Benner (Ronnie Wilkie and Cankovic) and Justen James (Wong and Miller-Jeannotte) had Creston up by three only 10 minutes into the game, but they would not score again in regulation time.
A power play marker by Andy Fitzpatrick put Nelson on the scoreboard before the first period ended. Nicholas Wihak, also with a man advantage, narrowed Creston’s lead to one in the middle frame and then Colum Mcgauley sent the game into overtime with only 1:35 left in regulation time.
Cankovic (Benner) finally gave the Thunder Cats the win with 44 seconds remaining in overtime.
Osterman was solid in goal, stopping 27 shots, while Billy Gorn faced 34 shots, with four getting past him.
Malone now has a two-point lead in the league scoring race and Plunkett has moved into 10th place. Cankovic is also in the top 20.
Creston hosts Columbia Valley Rockies on Friday night before heading to Kimberley for a Saturday night tilt against the always tough Dynamiters.
Creston coach Jeff Dubois was unavailable for comment prior to press deadline.