The quest for success came to an abrupt end for the Rockies last Saturday night, when the Junior B team’s season came to a close.
The Creston Valley Thunder Cats finished a four-game sweep against their opponents, the Columbia Valley Rockies, at the Kootenay International Junior League (KIJHL) playoffs last weekend.
“We made two mistakes in the first period and they both ended up in the net because Creston finishes well,” said Rockies’ coach Wade Dubielewicz after his team lost 4-2 against the Thunder Cats at the Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena on Saturday, February 27th.
“If you make a mistake, Creston is a team that will make you pay for it and, all in all, they played well. I have to give Creston a lot of credit.”
Sebastian Kilcommons and McConnell Kimmett set up Carson Cartwright for a goal in the first, pushing the Thunder Cats into a 1-0 lead. Then, Cartwright scored a shorthanded goal before the end of the first.
There was no scoring done by either team during the second.
During the third, the Thunder Cats came out strong with another goal from Cartwright, which the Rockies answered back with their second goal by Cole Richardson during a power play, bringing the score to 3-1.
Rockies forward Micheal Cardinal tried to salvage the game with a late goal with assists from Nolan Menard and Colton Sandboe.
But Cartwright wrapped up the game with an unassisted shorthanded goal, pushing the Thunder Cats into a 4-2 victory in the Columbia Valley.
However, Dubielewicz was ultimately “pleased” with this year’s performance by the Rockies.
“It was a really successful season,” he explained, noting the Rockies ranked third out of five teams, with 32 wins and 22 losses (no ties) in the regular season standings. “We had a lot of really positive things happen. We improved our image in the community and we got a new bus, so there were a lot of positive things. It’s just too bad it had to end like this.”
He added the Rockies worked hard to impove their skills, both in and out of the arena, all season.
“I’m really proud of the guys,” concluded Dubielewicz, while stating that recruiting for next season begins this weekend. “We had a great group of kids.”
