The Quesnel PeeWee Thunder rep hockey team travelled to Kelowna to take part in a 12-team tournament over the Jan. 3-5 weekend.
Things at first went according to plan, as they trounced a team from Vancouver 14-1 in their first matchup of the weekend.
The Thunder would then face off against the Winfield Bruins on Saturday morning in a game that came down to some bad “puck luck” for the Thunder, as they rang the rubber off posts four or five times in the game, which ended in a tie.
Saturday afternoon would see the Thunder face off against the home team, the Kelowna Rockets. It was a game where the Thunder just couldn’t seem to all get on the same page. When asked what the team needed to work on moving forward, team manager Mike Ernst said, “consistency.”
“In the Kelowna game we lost, nobody showed up they way they could,” he added. “In every other game, we outworked everybody, and in that one, we just missed it, but it’s an eye-opener and you just figure it out and move ahead.”
With the loss to Kelowna, the Thunder would be eliminated from medal contention, but they would finish the tournament with a gutsy win against a team from West Kelowna in a consolation round on Sunday.
“In that last game, everybody got back on track and working hard,” said Ernst. “We squeezed that one out 6-4 in the final game, leaving the tournament with a win on a high note, with everybody rolling. It’s no different than the pros; you have a hiccup and you get back on track.”
The Thunder will look to get back on track as they host a seven-team tournament in Quesnel this coming weekend, Jan. 10-12.
READ MORE: Quesnel Peewee Thunder the first stars in Secret Santa for Seniors program
editor@quesnelobserver.com
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