Thunder Athletics Weekly Recap - Week 8

Another busy weekend for the Thunder saw Cross Country and Women’s Soccer at their respective ACAC Championships, while Basketball, and Hockey all continued their regular season play. Here’s what happened last week:

Cross Country

Thunder Cross Country made the trip to Grande Prairie to participate in the ACAC Cross Country Running Championships. For the full summary of the event, click here.

Women’s Soccer

CUE Women’s Soccer traveled to Red Deer for a chance at winning back-to-back ACAC Championships, for the full recap click here.

Basketball

Both Thunder Basketball teams had played two games against the Lakeland Rustlers this past weekend. Women’s Basketball continued their spectacular start to the season taking both games Rustlers 82-53 and 72-58. In Friday’s win, Concordia put together a strong offensive performance, scoring 82 points behind balanced contributions from across the lineup, led by Megan Jetzke’s 18 points and 7 rebounds. The Thunder’s defensive pressure created 27 steals, allowing them to generate momentum. Their depth was also on display, with all 12 players contributing on the scoresheet in a complete team effort against Lakeland. Saturday’s win was all Concordia, earning a decisive win behind a dominant all-around performance from Chloe Sutherland, who posted 20 points, 12 assists, and 9 steals. The Thunder’s defensive intensity forced 47 Lakeland turnovers, creating consistent transition opportunities and fueling a 26-steal team effort. 

For men’s basketball, the team continues to look for their footing, as they fell to Lakeland in both games 78-54 on Friday and 89-82 on Saturday. Concordia battled hard on the boards in Friday night's road game, led by Keellaa Gatwech’s 14 rebounds and 10 points, but shooting struggles (30% from the field) limited their offensive output. Despite a solid team effort and strong free-throw shooting (88.9%), the Thunder couldn’t find enough consistency to capitalize on their defensive stops. Game 2 was a high-scoring matchup, with Shak Jama (24 pts) and Keellaa Gatwech (21 pts, 15 reb) leading a strong offensive push that kept the Thunder within striking distance all game. Despite matching Lakeland’s pace, while producing 40 team rebounds and 24 assists, Concordia fell just short on Saturday night.

Thunder Basketball will be back at it this coming weekend, travelling to St.Marys to play the Lightning on Friday October 31st.

Hockey

The weekend in Breircrest was a rough one for Thunder Hockey, as the group fell to the Clippers, 8-6 on Friday night and 4-2 Saturday afternoon. Concordia put up a strong offensive showing on Friday with six goals from six different scorers, highlighted by Noah Wilson’s two-goal performance and multi-point efforts from Ethyn Hopp and Dylan Handel. The Thunder battled back and forth through a high-paced game, trailing by just one heading into the third before Briercrest pulled away late. Despite Joe Young’s 34 saves in net, the Thunder couldn’t slow down the Clippers’ attack in an 8–6 loss.

On Saturday Concordia struck first and showed resilience throughout the night, with Griffen Ryden scoring both goals, including a short-handed marker in the third period. Though Griffin Bowerman kept the team in the game with an impressive 53 saves on 57 shots, special teams proved costly as Briercrest capitalized on multiple power plays. The Thunder battled hard but ultimately came up short in a 4–2 defeat.

Thunder Hockey looks to get back into the win column this weekend, playing the SAIT Trojans on the road Friday October 31st before coming back home on Saturday November 1st for a game against the Trojans.