The Drayton Valley Thunder are looking to bounce back this week after two losses over the Thanksgiving weekend.
On Saturday, Oct. 11, the Bonnyville Pontiacs took the Thunder 4-1, and on Sunday, the Drumheller Dragons came out on top with a 5-4 overtime win.
Saturday’s home game saw Colson Ganser score the Thunder’s only goal just 3:35 into period one for a 1-0 lead. The powerplay goal was assisted by Dryden Tomkow and Taynton Lavender after Pontiac Alex Coventry went to the box for tripping.
Bonnyville’s Christophe Lussier tied it up 1-1 with about 1:30 left in the period, with the helpers going to Ben Costantino and Gavin Harrison.
In the second, the Thunder were down two players after 6:06, when both Colson Ganser and Loughlan McMullan took minors for hooking and roughing, respectively. That gave the Pontiacs a shot at a powerplay goal, sending them into a 2-1 lead.
Bonnyville’s Ryder Naim then notched a solo goal to bump that to 3-1 before the end of the frame.
Then, with just 40 seconds left in period three, Grayson Niehaus secured the 4-1 victory for the Pontiacs with an empty-netter. He was assisted by Maxwell Pendy and Liam Reed.
It was a closer game for the Thunder on Sunday, with the Drumheller Dragons narrowly coming out on top.
Once again, Colson Ganser started Thunder action off less than four minutes into the game thanks to a powerplay. He was assisted by Daniel Zhou and Taynton Lavender.
Drayton’s Dryden Tomkow then skated to the box for tripping near the end of the frame, giving the Dragons a chance to fire back and tie it up 1-1 heading into period two.
Drumheller gave itself to a 2-1 lead just 2:20 into the second, but the Thunder’s Caedem Emmett fired back to tie it 2-2 less than two minutes later. It was Daniel Zhou’s eighth assist and Will Jamieson’s first.
Dryden Tomkow kept the momentum up for Drayton Valley and propelled the team to a 3-2 lead at 6:05 after Dragon Luca Defour was sent away for interference. Jack Sears and Taynton Lavender got the helpers.
Drumheller was able to notch two more goals, however, and jumped to 4-3 lead just before a fight broke out at the end of the frame. The Thunder’s Breken Northgrave and Dragon Noa Halat both earned fighting majors and 10-minute misconduct penalties for a total of 15 minutes in the box. At the same time, other players from both teams also skated off for minors like roughing and hooking.
With both teams down a couple players, only one goal made it to the net in period three. Drayton’s Daniel Zhou and Colson Ganser assisted Jack Sears at 12:53 to tie the match 4-4 and send the game into overtime. That’s when Drumheller’s Tyler Deakos, assisted by Bradley Gallo, secured the 5-4 win for the Dragons.
The Drayton Valley Thunder are back on the road on Oct. 18 to take on the Olds Grizzlys at 6 p.m. The Thunder currently sit in fifth in the South Division, with a 2-5-1-0 record.
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