Breanne Massey
breanne@invermerevalleyecho.com
The Columbia Valley Rockies lost 5-3 to the Creston Valley Thunder Cats in the last home game of the season at the Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena on Friday, February 19th.
“We played really well, but saying that, we fell asleep for three straight shifts in the third period,” said Rockies’ head coach Wade Dubielewicz. “And they’re too skilled of a team to let us do that so they made us pay for it.”
During the first, the Thunder Cats broke away with the puck during a power play and Logan Styler put the Junior B team in a 1-0 lead.
But Kellen Marchand quickly tied up the game 1-1 in the second, assisted by Nolan Menard and Ryan St. Jean. Micheal Cardinal promptly followed up with a power play goal, assisted by Doan Smith and Nick Hoobanoff, that put the Rockies briefly into a 2-1 lead.
During the third, the Thunder Cats proceeded to score three more goals before the Rockies managed another a point when Doan Smith scored during a power play, assisted by Kobe Eagletail and Micheal Cardinal.
The final blow to the Rockies came when Creston scored their final goal on an empty net, bringing the score up to 5-3.
Amanda Nason
advertising@invermerevalleyecho.com
The Columbia Valley Rockies showcased their offensive talent and gave the Thunder Cats a sound thrashing in their home rink the following night in Creston.
The game, played on Saturday, February 20th, was fast-paced and the Rockies got on the board very early on, just 55 seconds into the first period with a sweet goal from Nolan Menard (with assists by Harrision Davies and Doan Smith), giving the team a 1-0 lead. Shortly after, Doan Smith scored for a 2-0 Rockies lead, then the Rockies had a powerplay goal, scored by Nolan Menard (assisted by Quinn Sobus and Donoven Quintin) for a 3-0 Rockies lead.
The Rockies’ onslaught continued with another goal by Doan Smith (assisted by Harrision Davies and Quinn Sobus). Then, just before the first period ended, still another Doan Smith goal (assisted by a stealth pass from Harrision Davies) commanded a 5-0 Rockies lead.
A spluttering Creston managed to turn things around somewhat in the second and got on the board with a powerplay goal halfway through the second period. The Rockies answered back, however, with Harrision Davies scoring (assisted by Kobe Eagletail and Doan Smith), for a 6-1 Rockies lead.
Creston rallied in the third period and managed to score two goals, cutting the Rockies lead to 6-3, but the Rockies played very defensively from that point on and hung on for the win.