With some hard-fought games, the Nicola Valley Thunder teams went 1-2 on the weekend in junior lacrosse.
On Saturday the peewee team was handed a hefty loss at the hands of the Penticton Heat.
The heat was on early as Penticton controlled the play in the attacking zone, but the Thunder held their own, surrendering just two goals in the first period.
In the second, Penticton would keep its foot on the gas pedal, scoring three times in the first 10 minutes of the period.
They’d add another before the period was done.
Despite the deficit, the Thunder showed some short bursts of offence in the first two periods, and began to show some signs of life in the third.
The Heat went up 7-0 in the middle of the third period, but a five-on-three power play allowed the Thunder to break the goose egg on a goal by Bryce Garcia for the Thunder’s only point.
The Heat would go on to score twice more in the period to make the final score 9-1.
Big win in midget game
In midget lacrosse action on Sunday, the Thunder won their season opener in what turned out to be a closer game than it started out as.
Nicola Valley Thunder goalie Peyton Fox prepares to stop a shot from Trey Swanson of the Penticton Heat in an action-packed peewee lacrosse game Saturday that saw the Heat prevail 9-1. Michael Potestio/Herald
The Thunder jumped out to a commanding 4-0 lead in the first period with its first three goals coming from Caleb Hartwig, Tom Girard and Anthony Tulliani.
The final goal of the period saw Fred Ware drive to the net from out of the corner and whip one home in the final minute.
In the second, play seemed to even out a bit and Penticton got on the board on a goal by Ethan Finlayson.
The Thunder’s Hartwig, however, countered that with his second of the game to make it 5-1 at the end of two periods.
Victory looked to be certain until a giveaway by the Thunder in their own zone led to another Penticton goal.
Mere minutes after that, Jace Canada of the Heat fired a laser from afar that found the back of the net to make it 5-3.
But that’s as close as the Heat would come as the Thunder cauterized the wound when Ware scored his second goal of the game at the 10-minute mark to win the game 6-3.
Thunder head coach Rick Baker said he thought the four goal lead, which his team almost relinquished, may have diminished the focus the Thunder had at the start of the game.
Bantam Thunder lose close game
The following bantam game that day saw the Thunder go toe-to-toe with the North Okanagan Legends, a team that’s a bantam level above their own.
You wouldn’t have known it by the game they managed to put together.
Thunder goalie Colton Macaulay was definitely the standout player in the game as he faced more than 50 shots from the opposition.
Though Nicola Valley eventually lost 5-2, the game, for the most part, was a close one.
After a scoreless first period, the Thunder jumped ahead 1-0 in the second with a breakaway goal by Bill Brewer.
But the Legends lived up to their name, owning most of the offensive pressure in the game. Their 50-plus shots on goal towered over the 20-something the Thunder attempted on the North Okanagan net.
The Legends would tie the game 1-1 with three minutes left, but the Thunder retook the lead before the period was done.
But the third period would belong to North Okanagan as the team scored four goals en route to a 5-2 victory over the Thunder.
PASS PRACTICE Nicola Valley Thunder lacrosse tyke players Wyatt Streek and Chase Bidden get some coaching from Six Nations lacrosse player Roger Vyse last Thursday. Players of all ages participated in a clinic at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena instructed by Vyse and three other coaches from the southern Ontario lacrosse club. The clinic was offered free of charge and saw players work on their passing, shooting and goaltending. Emily Wessel/Herald
Thunder head coach Wayne Kaboni said his team played with heart and controlled most of the game.
“They didn’t give up. [Our] goalie kept us in the game; I mean, he stood on his head for most of that game and that’s a higher calibre team that we played,” Kaboni said.
