(File photo)
The Drayton Valley Thunder were busy on the long weekend with three games, and they are coming home with two wins and one loss.
The first win came on Feb. 18, as they were up in Fort McMurray to face the Oil Barons. The Thunder beat the Oil Barons 5-4 in a shootout.
The Thunder were first on the board at 2:24, as Grayson Reid picked up assists from Daniel Kernaghan and Moe Hakim. The Thunder then got another one at 11:26, as Ethan Browne scored with assists coming from Jack Silverberg and Adam Oates. The Oil Barons got on the board while on the power play at 17:19, as Tristan Kimmen scored, thanks to an assist from Rider McCallum and Max McCoy. The first period ended with the Thunder holding a 2-1 lead.
The Oil Barons then went on to run the second period with three goals in a row. The first came at 1:42, as Ty Hipkin received assists from Aidyn Hutchinson and Brendan Wang. The next came at 6:33 from Danny Ciccarello, with assists from Lucas Jones and Dylan Clark. The third goal came from Ryder Matter at 8:26, with assists from Tyler Wallace and Rider McCallum. The Thunder struck back at 18:31, as Lucas Krol scored with an assist from Drew Sutton and Sammy May. The second ended with the Oil Barons with a narrow 4-3 lead.
The Thunder tied things up on the power play at 7:13 in the third, thanks to an unassisted goal from Rylan Brown. And that is the way it stayed for the rest of the third and through a scoreless overtime period, heading to a shootout. Brown scored the lone goal in the shootout to give the Thunder a 5-4 shootout victory.
The Oil Barons were more dominant in the game, outshooting the Thunder 42-27. The Thunder were 1 for 2 on the power play, while the Oil Barons were 1 for 3.
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The rematch came on Feb. 19, as the Thunder and Oil Barons finished off their two game set. This time, the Oil Barons came out on top with a 3-1 win.
The Oil Barons were first out of the gate, as Justin Ross picked up the assist from Ryder Matter at 18:01. The first period ended with the Oil Barons in a 1-0 lead.
That lead into a scoreless second period, as Thunder goalie Aiden Kruhlak held steady in net.
The Oil Barons scored at 7:15 in the third, as Ty Hipkin got the goal. Assists went to Justin Ross and Chris Kobelka. The Thunder finally got on the board at 7:46, as Andrew Larson scored unassisted. But the Oil Barons got onE more at 19:45, as Gabe Bratton scored unassisted on the empty net. Final score was 3-1 for the Oil Barons.
The Thunder were more dominant this time out, outshooting the Oil Barons 37-28. The Thunder had plenty of power play opportunities but none panned out as they went 0 for 5. The Oil Barons were 0 for 3 on the power play.
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After getting Sunday off, the Thunder were back in action on Family Day Monday, Feb. 21, as they went to Sherwood Park to face the Crusaders. The Thunder managed a 4-3 overtime victory.
The Crusaders were first out of the gate, as Logan Hauer scored on the power play at 3:53. Cade Christenson and Caelum Dick assisted on the play. The first period ended with the Crusaders leading 1-0.
The Thunder went on to score two unanswered goals in the second. The first was from Sammy May at 8:59, thanks to an assist from Lucas Krol. The next came from Stephen Kirkpatrick, who scored unassisted on the power play at 18:32. The second ended with the Thunder leading 2-1.
The Crusaders tied things up at 2-2 just 27 seconds into the third, as Mitchell Joss received assists from Evan Arnold and Austin Cook. The Thunder regained the lead at 14:40, as Kadyn Chabot scored with an assist from Jack Lambert to make it 3-2. But the Crusaders tied things up with 45 seconds left in the third, as Mitchell Joss got his second goal of the game. The assist went to Zac Maxwell and Cade Christenson. With a 3-3 tie, the game was going to overtime.
The game was all over 47 seconds in to overtime, as Kadyn Chabot scored for the Thunder. Chabot got the assist from Lucas Krol. Final score was 4-3 for the Thunder.
The Crusaders managed to outshoot the Thunder 26-20. The Crusaders were also better on the power play, going 1 for 1. The Thunder went 1 for 3.
The Thunder now return home to the Drayton Valley Omniplex for their final home games of the regular season. They end with a two game series against the Lloydminister Bobcats on Feb. 24 and 25.
The Thunder look poised to head into the playoffs in fourth place in the Viterra AJHL North Division, with 72 points and a record of 31-16-10.
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