Thunder Athletics Weekly Recap - Week 9

A quiet end to October for the Thunder saw basketball and volleyball both playing on Friday night only, while Thunder hockey had games on both Friday and Saturday. Take a look at how each team finished off the month.

Basketball

Both basketball teams were on the road Friday for a game against the St. Mary’s Lightning. Women’s basketball held off a late surge from St. Mary’s to stay perfect on the season, pulling out a hard-fought 63–61 victory. Chloe Sutherland led the way with a dominant 22-point, 12-rebound double-double, while the Thunder controlled the boards with a 45–28 rebounding advantage. CUE’s defensive pressure and balanced effort across the lineup secured their fifth straight win. The Thunder now lead the ACAC North Division with a 5-0 record.

Men’s basketball battled hard but came up short in a 96–83 loss to St. Mary’s, despite strong offensive performances from their starters. Keellaa Gatwech led the Thunder with 23 points and 9 rebounds, while Shak Jama added 22 points and Malik Edwards posted 15 points and 9 boards. Though Concordia shot a solid 43.4% from the field, St. Mary’s second-half surge and balanced scoring proved too much to overcome as the Thunder fell to 0–5 on the season.

Hockey 

It was a two game weekend for Thunder Hockey as they travelled to SAIT on Friday to battle the Trojans on the road and followed that up by taking on the Trojans at home on Saturday.

On Friday night, Concordia battled hard but fell 4-3 in overtime to SAIT in a back-and-forth matchup at WinSport. The Thunder erased an early two-goal deficit with tallies from Ben Christian, Andrew Kennedy, and Grayson Reid, but a late overtime goal sealed the result for the Trojans. Griffin Bowerman was strong between the pipes with 37 saves on 41 shots, as Concordia outshot SAIT 42-41 in the narrow loss.

Saturday's home game saw Concordia fall 5-2 to SAIT at Clareview despite a strong second period push that briefly tied the game. Liam Fitzgerald and Nick Dobson each found the back of the net for the Thunder, with assists coming from Grayson Reid, Ryley Morgan, and Riley See. However, SAIT capitalized on two power plays and added a shorthanded goal in the third to pull away, handing Concordia a tough home loss.

Six games into the season, the Thunder are 2-4 holding the 5th place position in the ACAC standings.

Volleyball

Thunder Volleyball had only one game this weekend, taking on the Ambrose Lions on Halloween night.

Women’s volleyball dropped a 3–0 decision to Ambrose University at Ralph King. Kolby Zimmer led the Thunder offense with 8 kills, while Stephanie Kendziora added 8 kills and 3 service aces in a strong all-around effort. After battling closely in the final two sets, Concordia couldn’t overcome Ambrose’s consistent attacking and efficient play at the net. The final set scores were 25-19 (AMB), 25-21 (AMB), 25-22 (AMB). After this weekend the team sits at 3-2, good for fourth place in the ACAC North Division.

The men’s team started strong with a first-set win but fell 3–1 to Ambrose University in a tightly contested match at Ralph King. Brodie Wight led the Thunder with 18 kills, supported by Logan Kranrod and Alexi Dufour with 10 kills apiece. Liam Frost was also big for the Thunder, adding 46 assists over the four sets. Despite a balanced offensive effort, the Thunder couldn’t maintain their early momentum down the stretch. Set scores for the match were 25-21 (CUE), 25-21(AMB), 25-22 (AMB), 25-21 (AMB). After this weekend the CUE men’s volleyball holds fourth place in the ACAC North Division, with a record of 2-3.