Thunder Athletics Weekly Recap - Week 17

The busy season continued for Thunder athletics as Basketball, Curling, Futsal, and Hockey wrapped up the month of January. It was a pivotal weekend for many teams, with some competing for championships while others battled to secure playoff spots.

Basketball

Both basketball teams went up against The King’s University Eagles, with games on Friday and Saturday night. For the women’s team, it was a battle of two CCAA nationally ranked squads, while for the men it was a weekend with huge playoff implications as both teams were fighting for the final spot in the North Division with less than a month left to play.

On Friday at Concordia University of Edmonton (CUE), women’s basketball dropped a 97-84 decision to The King’s University, despite a strong third quarter where the Thunder outscored the visitors 28-20 to briefly swing momentum. Chloe Sutherland-Deklerk led Concordia with a game-high 22 points, while Elisa Hummel added 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals off the bench. The Thunder managed to pull the game to within 4 points, but the Eagles continued to convert in the fourth quarter, putting their lead out of reach. The Thunder women rebounded on the road Saturday, defeating the Eagles 61-59. Sutherland-Deklerk delivered another dominant all-around performance with 21 points, nine rebounds, six assists, seven steals, and three blocks, anchoring the Thunder on both ends of the floor. Hummel continued her strong weekend adding eight rebounds and three blocks, while Concordia’s defensive pressure and composure at the free-throw line sealed the victory late.

Men’s Basketball had a tough weekend, falling to King’s on both days. An intense Friday home game saw the team fall 82-80, with the Eagles getting the go ahead bucket with 1.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Keellaa Gatwech led all scorers with a dominant 33-point, 12-rebound performance, while Malik Edwards added 17 points as Concordia battled back late. Despite the comeback effort, King’s early scoring runs proved just enough to hold off the Thunder in the final moments. Saturday was another close game, this time seeing the Eagles take the win by a score of 87-82. Gatwech again put up a double-double, with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Shak Jama led the team with 7 assists while putting up 13 points of his own. Despite shooting efficiently and matching King’s through the first half, Concordia couldn’t overcome the decisive third-quarter swing where the Eagles outscored the Thunder 23-14.

With the weekend complete, women’s basketball remains tied for first in the ACAC North Division with The King’s University Eagles at 14-2. Men’s basketball has fallen out of the final North Division playoff spot with 4 games to go, now in fifth in the division with a 5-10 record. The next matchup for both teams is Northwestern Polytechnic, where they will travel to Grande Prairie to take on the Wolves this coming Friday and Saturday.
 

Curling

ACAC Curling Championships were underway last weekend, with the top three teams from the men’s and women’s categories earning a trip to CCAA Nationals. The Thunder had their women’s, men’s, and mixed teams all take part in the three day championship.

Women’s curling was dominant all tournament, taking home gold and an ACAC Championship. This is the second ACAC women's curling championship in team history, with their last banner captured during the 2022-23 season. In the gold medal final, they defeated Red Deer Polytechnic 4-3 to win it all. Men’s Curling took home a bronze medal, defeating Red Deer in the medal match 6-4. The mixed team ended the weekend 0-2, falling to NAIT 8-3 in Game 1 and then to Lakeland 8-3 in Game 2.

Both the women’s and men’s curling teams will now advance to CCAA National Championships in Regina, Saskatchewan. The five day tournament will begin February 17th and finish on February 21st.

Futsal

The first ever futsal games in Concordia Thunder history was played at Northwestern Polytechnic (NWP), with both men’s and women’s futsal having three games each this past weekend.

Women’s futsal ended their first weekend of play at 2-1, falling to NAIT (2-0) but defeating Red Deer (4-0) and NWP (4-1). Standout players include Vanessa Pietramala, who had two goals and one assist over three games, and goalkeeper Taytum Busch who recorded a shutout against Red Deer. 

Men’s futsal had an identical 2-1 record through their three games, also losing their game against NAIT (2-0), while victorious against Red Deer (5-4) and NWP (2-1). Evan Santos had a huge weekend, scoring 4 goals in their game against Red Deer, while Marco Charpentier scored two goals of his own to put the Thunder on top against NWP.

Both teams will travel to the East Soccer Center in Edmonton to play another three games each over the February 21st-22nd weekend. This will be the final regional tournament of the year for futsal before heading to ACAC Futsal Championships in March.

Hockey

Thunder hockey had two games this weekend against the number one seeded Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) Kings on Friday and Saturday night.

Concordia fell 6-3 to RDP on the road Friday despite staying within striking distance through two periods. Dallon Wilton opened the Thunder scoring on the power play, with Noah Wilson and Isaac Leik adding goals as Concordia traded momentum throughout the game. The big difference for Red Deer was capitalizing on special teams twice during the game, while Concordia goaltender Griffin Bowerman faced heavy pressure in a busy night between the pipes making 41 saves.

CUE dropped an identical 6-3 decision to RDP on Saturday night at Clareview after carrying a 3-2 lead into the third period. Lukas Konashuk, Isaac Leik (power play), and Carson Kurylo scored for the Thunder, with Concordia generating momentum through the first two frames. The Kings broke the game open with four third-period goals, including a power-play marker, to pull away late.

It’s been a tough stretch for Thunder hockey who are now 6-14 and have lost four games in a row. They are on the outside looking in for the playoff picture, now sitting in 7th overall in the standings. They’ll have an exhibition this week against the Chinese National Team, before playing two games against the Augustana Vikings on Friday and Saturday night.