Thunder Athletics Weekly Recap - Week 20

It was a busy weekend for Thunder Athletics, with Hockey, Volleyball, and Basketball all wrapping up their regular seasons, and Futsal playing in their second tournament of the season. Badminton and Curling meanwhile had major weekends, with the teams participating in ACAC Championships and CCAA Nationals, respectively. Here’s what happened:

Hockey

Thunder Hockey controlled their own destiny this weekend, as with one win against the Portage Voyageurs, the boys would lock down their playoff spot in the ACAC Hockey Championships.

Friday night’s road game saw a back and forth battle between the Thunder and the Voyageurs, eventually ending in a 4-3 overtime victory for CUE. After finding themselves down 2-0 in the second period, a powerplay marker from Riley See followed up by a goal from Liam Fitzgerald only a minute and a half later knotted the game up at two going into the third. Liam Fitzgerald would score his second goal of the game early in the third, assisted by Dylan Handel, who would have three helpers on the night. After a late tying goal by the Voyageurs, it was Grayson Reid on the powerplay who scored the game winner in overtime, sending the Thunder into the playoffs. Between the pipes, Ashton Billesberger stood tall making 45 saves on 48 shots. 

Back on home ice, the Thunder failed to find the same success as on the previous night, as they were downed 5-2 by Portage. After going down by one early, Isaac Leik found the back of the net on the powerplay with a helper from Ethyn Hopp to tie the game up at one. It was all Portage after that however, as the Voyageurs scored three straight to up 4-1 in the third. Isaac Leik would strike once again for Concordia for his second of the game, once again assisted by Ethyn Hopp to cut the deficit to 4-2. It was too little too late though, as the Voyageurs would go on to score a shorthanded goal late to seal the win. Carson Kurylo and Riley See each chipped in with one helper on the night, and goaltenders Griffin Bowerman and Joe Young split time in the net.   

The Thunder will finish the regular season 9-15, and find themselves locked into the final playoff spot. They will play the NAIT Ooks in the first round of the ACAC Hockey Championships.

Basketball

In the final regular season games for Thunder Basketball, both teams were looking for wins to get a clear view of the playoff picture. With wins against NAIT, the women could potentially lock up the top spot in the ACAC North, while the men could strengthen their chances at making a post-season appearance.

The Thunder women saw balanced production from their starting line up in Friday’s home game against the Ooks, as Haley Cleland put up 11 points, Georgia Bowman had 13 points, and Jaycee May chipped in with eight points. Chloe Sutherland led the Thunder with 17 points on the night, while also getting up for 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. She would also add six assists, five steals, and a block to her nightly total. Ultimately, the women would lose a hard-fought game 80-71. The Thunder would follow that up with yet another close loss to NAIT, this time being downed by the Ooks 68-61. Chloe Sutherland had her most productive night of the season, putting up a season high 34 points. Haley Cleland had a monstrous defensive performance, as she got up for 11 rebounds, while Elisa Hummel contributed significantly off the bench, collecting nine rebounds of her own while also scoring 7 points.

Despite fairly equal production from the starting five, the Thunder men were unable to overcome a strong NAIT team, as they fell 86-69 at home on Friday night. Roka Phalen-Baker scored a team high 18 points on the night, while also chipping in with four rebounds and four steals. Concordia found secondary scoring from Malik Edwards who put up 14 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, while Keellaa Gatwech had a strong defensive performance, getting up for eight rebounds, a team high five blocks, and scoring eight points of his own. The men were once again unable to overcome the Ooks’ strong offence on the road on Saturday night, losing 105-71. Shak Jama scored a team high 15 points and also added three rebounds, while Keellaa Gatwech put up another eight rebounds and scored 11 points. Izaec Oppal was productive off the bench, scoring 10 points and shooting 100% from the line.

Despite the two losses, the Thunder Women finish the regular season with an impressive 16-4 record, and will head to Briercrest College for ACAC Basketball Championships. Meanwhile, the Men end the weekend with a 7-12 record, and will travel down south for their final game of the season against Medicine Hat, still with a chance to qualify for the post-season.

Volleyball

The Men’s and Women’s Volleyball teams closed out their seasons this weekend against the NAIT Ooks. Although both teams were out of playoff contention, they still looked to finish off the season on a high note.

On Friday night, the women managed to pick up one set in a 3-1 loss. Emma Thompson picked up 10 kills on .233 efficiency and added one service ace and five digs in four sets played. Alex MacDonald also had a strong night, getting six kills on .556 efficiency, while Paige Luttrell served up 13 assists. The women were able to flip the script on Saturday, as they returned home to CUE. It was an historic night for Emma Thompson, who broke multiple Concordia records in a 3-2 win for the Thunder. Emma put up 19 kills, bringing her career total to 601 and surpassing the previous record of 588, while her one service ace on the night brought her career total to 85, beating the previous record of 84. Stephanie Kendziora also had a fantastic night for the Thunder, collecting 19 kills on .516 efficiency as well as 17 digs. Jenna May was the catalyst for the team, as she set her teammates up over and over again, serving up 49 assists on the night. 

The Thunder men would finish off their season with 3-0 losses on both Friday and Saturday. Brodie Wright found a way to be productive, putting up 16 kills over the weekend, while Liam Frost also contributed with 30 assists over the two games. Noah Michalczuk had a strong defensive showing, as he collected 15 digs between Friday and Saturday night.

The Thunder women will narrowly miss out on a playoff spot, finishing the season with a respectable record of 8-11, a massive improvement over the previous year. For the Men, a frustrating season comes to an end, as they finish the year 2-17.

Futsal

CUE’s Men’s and Women’s Futsal teams played in their second tournament of the season this weekend. Both teams played extremely well, with the women going a perfect 3-0, while the men would finish with a strong record of 2-0-1. 

The Thunder men showed off their offensive prowess this weekend, scoring a total of 14 goals in three matches. In the team’s 4-1 win over RDP, Sam Vieira scored a brace, while Gabe Perea and Evan Santos each scored once. The team followed up with a dominant 7-2 win that saw scoring contributions from multiple players. Carlos Echeverria got himself a brace, while Elisa Nyathi, Keenan Henderson, Sam Vieira, Evan Santos, and Marco Charpentier all found the back of the net. In their final game, the boys came up against a strong NAIT squad and drew 3-3, with goals from Carlos Echeverria, Sam Vieira, and Gabe Perea. Goalkeepers Rosty Leha and Isaiah Maluta each spent time between the sticks, with Isaiah making 15 saves over the weekend and Rosty making 11 saves of his own.

The Thunder women dominated play this weekend, winning a perfect three matches out of three. In a close 2-1 win over RDP, it was Zoey Turcotte and Angelina Saporito who found the back of the net for CUE. The women followed up with a strong performance against NWP, winning 5-0. Emma Ward scored a brace while Sherlyn Melendez, Makkayla Agar, and Vanessa Pietramala each chipped in with one goal. Goalkeeper Taytum Busch earned herself a clean sheet, saving all 16 shots she faced. In their final game against NAIT, the Thunder took the win with a final score of 2-1 courtesy of goals from Makkayla Agar and Isabella Amico.

Both teams finished their regular seasons atop the Northwest Division, with the women on 15 points with a 5-1 record, and the men on 13 points with a 4-1-1 record. Thunder Futsal now looks ahead to the ACAC Championships in Medicine Hat on March 20th.

Curling

The Thunder Men’s and Women’s Curling teams traveled to Regina for CCAA Curling Nationals this weekend, with both teams looking to make a statement and capture some hardware.

The women’s team went 4-3 in the round robin stage of the competition, beating the likes of the Mohawk Mountaineers (9-4), Assiniboine Cougars (11-2), Humber Hawks (15-2), and the Niagara Knights (5-4). In the playoff round, the women would lose out to RDP (5-6) before being downed by PacWest (4-5), and finishing in fourth place with an overall record of 4-5.

The Men’s team went 1-6 in the round robin stage, with their only win of the weekend coming against the Mohawk Mountaineers (7-5). The team would play one game in the playoff stages, ultimately losing to the SAIT Trojans (5-6), and finished in last place with a record of 1-7.

Badminton

This weekend, Concordia’s Badminton team traveled to TKU for the ACAC Championships. The team looked to carry their momentum after a strong performance in the ACAC Tournament #3. 

In Single’s play, Mattias Andersson had a strong performance for CUE, finishing third overall and capturing bronze. On the women’s side, Emma Tran had a strong tournament but ultimately fell just shy of the podium, finishing in fourth place.

In double’s competition, partners Jonathan Su and Raphael Motel played well, coming up just short in the final and losing in three games to the pair from NAIT, ultimately winning silver.

Thanks to their strong performance, Jonathan and Raphael will be traveling to New Brunswick to compete in CCAA Badminton Nationals from March 4th to March 7th.