Joe McWilliams
Lakeside Leader

Two games into their regular season, the Slave Lake U18 Thunder have had to fight hard right up to the final whistle. On Saturday in Drayton Valley it paid off when they gained a point in a 5 – 5 game. This was after a 5 – 4 loss to Redwater in their opener a week earlier.

Drayder Pearson and Carson Maitland certainly came to play. The former Pee Wee Thunder teammates each scored a pair of goals. Maitland’s second, with 3:43 left in the game, got the Thunder the tie. Jace Broadhead also scored for Slave Lake.

Ryder Hall was the busier of the two goalies. He stopped 31 shots in the Slave Lake net.

On Sunday the Thunder played in Edson, losing 4 – 2. The summary on the league website says Slave Lake had the edge, out-shooting Edson 47 – 38. If that’s correct (likely it was the other way around), two goals is an unusual result for that many shots, but sometimes that’s how it turns out. It didn’t help that the Thunder spent a good portion of the second period playing shorthanded. Slave Lake goals were by Pearson and Jethro Green. Hall again went the distance in net for the Thunder.

This coming weekend they host Westlock (Saturday 6:15 p.m.) and Athabasca (Sunday 2:15 p.m.).

U15 #1
The Thunder played twice in Drayton Valley on the weekend, tying on Saturday and losing Sunday’s rematch.

The teams are very evenly matched, if the shots on goal are anything to go by – they were dead even in Sunday’s game.

But Drayton obviously made more of their opportunities. Grayson Conrad scored Slave Lake’s only goal.

Saturday’s game was a back-and-forth affair. The Thunder had a 7 – 6 lead with 1:32 left when Drayton tied it. Jonas Lillo scored a hat trick for Slave Lake. Conrad and Dawson Taylor got two apiece. Grady Beauchamp saw 35 shots in the Slave Lake net.

The team hosts Barrhead on Saturday and Drayton Valley on Sunday.

U13 #1
Two big wins over Fort McMurray kept the Thunder undefeated in the young season and at the top of their Northern Alberta Interlock Tier 2 standings. Playing in Fort Mac, the Thunder won 3 – 2 on Saturday and followed that up with a 7 – 4 victory on Sunday.

The teams exchanged goals in Saturday’s game and it took a third period goal by Drake Conrad to secure the victory for Slave Lake. Connor Beauchamp scored the other two, while in net, Isaiah Brown handled 35 of the 37 shots he faced.

In Sunday’s game, Slave Lake led 6 – 1 after two periods and cruised the rest of the way. It resulted in a bit of a third-period comeback by the home team, but it fell well short.

Colby Churchill had a good game, scoring three times. Nolan Beaupre scored twice. Beauchamp and Dominic Baxter got the other two.

Brown again carried the load in the Slave Lake net, turning aside 33 shots.

Next up for the U13 #1 Thunder is a home game against Barrhead, on Saturday, Nov. 26, at 12 noon.