Thunder Athletics Weekly Recap - Week 19

It was a slower weekend for Thunder Athletics with only Hockey and Indoor Track in action last week. Many teams had the weekend off as they prepared for their final games of the regular season. Here’s what happened:

Hockey

A very important weekend for Thunder hockey, the group took on the U of A Augustana Vikings with their playoff hopes on the line. 

The Thunder battled back on the road Friday night, earning a hard-fought 4-2 victory over the Vikings. After trading goals in the first and responding to a power-play marker early in the second, CUE took control with tallies from Isaac Leik and Dylan Handel before Lukas Konashuk sealed it with a late power-play goal, while Krz Plummer chipped in two assists. Between the pipes, Ashton Billesberger stood tall with 23 saves to secure the win and cap off a complete team effort.

The next night was much of the same, as Concordia defended home ice with a 3-1 win over Augustana, striking twice in the opening five minutes to set the tone. Liam Fitzgerald opened the scoring on the power play and added two assists, while Dylan Handel chipped in a goal and two helpers, including a third-period marker that restored our two-goal cushion. Between the pipes, Ashton Billesberger again was outstanding, with 37 saves on 38 shots as they completed the much needed weekend sweep.

At the end of the weekend, the Thunder are now 8-14 and in a tie for the sixth and final playoff spot with Briercrest College. They take on Portage College this coming weekend with the power in their hands to make the postseason.

Indoor Track

Thunder indoor track travelled to Red Deer for their second event of the season.

It was a successful weekend all around as the Thunder finished in good standing in multiple events. Ashlee Walker continued where she left off, finishing first in the women’s 600m, while rookie Ashley Schmaltz finished third in the women’s 1000m. On the women’s relay front, the group of Walker, Ava Rudyk, Makkayla Agar, and Paige Milmine ended the day in third in both the 4x200m relay and the 4x400m relay.

For the men, Owen Stewart took home first place in the men’s 1500m, while Markus Boland finished second in both the men’s 600m and 1000m events. The men’s relay team of Stewart, Boland, Dahir Hassan, and Elkan Ekhator finished first in the 4x400 relay, while Boland, Hassan, Ekhator, and Noah McCutcheon finished second in the 2x400 relay.

Next up for indoor track will be Grand Prix # 3, hosted by Lethbridge Polytechnic on Saturday February 28th.