(File photo)
The Drayton Valley Thunder finished off the regular season with a win at home and a loss on the road over the weekend.
The win at home came on Feb. 25, as the Thunder beat the Lloydminister Bobcats 3-2.
The Thunder were first out of the gate, as Kadyn Chabot scored on the power play at 8:21. The assists went to Brett Bamber and Rylan Brown. It was déjà vu all over again at 12:49, as Chabot scored again on the power play with an assist from Bamber and, this time Drew Sutton. The Bobcats finally got on the board at 14:52, as Ethan Aucoin scored on the power play with an assist from Mack Stewart and Hassan Akl. At the end of the first, the Thunder had a 2-1 lead.
Kadyn Chabot got the hat trick at 9:12 into the second, getting assists from Lucas Krol and Brett Bamber. At the end of the second, the Thunder had increased their lead to 3-1.
But, the Bobcats had to get one last one in. At 9:52 in the third, Ethan Aucoin got his second of the night on the power play. Aucoin was assisted by Mack Stewart and Jayven Leslie. As the buzzer sounded, the final score was 3-2 for the Thunder.
The Thunder outshot the Bobcats 42-31. The Thunder had more power play opportunities, going 2 for 7. But the Bobcats were more successful with the man advantage, going 2 for 4.
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The Thunder then popped up to Fort McMurray on Feb. 27, for one last road game against the Fort McMurray Oil Barons. The Oil Barons came out on top, beating the Thunder 6-1.
The Oil Barons ran the first period, scoring three unanswered goals. The first was an unassisted goal from Dylan Clark at 8:32. The next came at 9:13 from Justin Ross with an assist from Ryder Matter. And the third came from Max McCoy at 14:42, thanks to assists from Nickolas de Beurs and Tristan Kimmen. At the end of the first, it was 3-0 for the Oil Barons.
Daniel Kernaghan made sure it was not a shutout, by scoring for the Thunder at 8:49 on the power play. The assists went to Stephen Kirkpatrick and Drew Sutton. But, the Oil Barons responded at 14:01. Danny Ciccarello scored with an assist from Brendan Wang and Joshua Nadler. At the end of the second, the Oil Barons were still leading 4-1.
The Oil Barons increased their lead by two in the third period. At 6:13, Ty Hipkin got the goal with an assist from Max McCoy. At 11:14, McCoy got his second of the night, with assists from Tristan Kimmen and Nickolas de Beurs. At the end of the game, it was 6-1 for the Barons.
The Thunder had more power play opportunities, but only went 1 for 6. The Oil Barons were 1 for 1. The Oil Barons also outshot the Thunder, 37-29.
And that wraps up the regular season for the Drayton Valley Thunder. The Thunder end the season in fourth place in the Viterra AJHL North Division, with 76 points and a record of 33-17-10.
The Thunder will once again be facing the Lloydminister Bobcats for the first round of playoffs. The Bobcats come to the Drayton Valley Omniplex for the first two games this weekend. The first is on Mar. 4, and the second on Mar. 5.
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