Creston Valley Thunder Cats

Creston Valley Thunder Cats

City	Creston, British Columbia
League	Kootenay International Junior Hockey League
Conference	Kootenay
Division	Eddie Mountain
Founded	1992 (1992)–93 (RMJHL)
Home arena	Johnny Bucyk Arena
Colours	Deep Blue, Deep Red, Sky Blue, Silver and White
General manager	Jeff Dubois
Head coach	Jeff Dubois
Website	crestonvalleythundercats.com
Franchise history
1992-99	Creston Thunder (RMJHL)
2000-present	Creston Valley Thunder Cats (KIJHL)

The Creston Valley Thunder Cats are a junior 'B' ice hockey team based in Creston, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Eddie Mountain Division of the Kootenay Conference of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL). The Thunder Cats play their home games at Johnny Bucyk Arena. Michael Moore is the team's president, Jeff Dubois is the general manager and coach.

The Thunder Cats joined the KIJHL in 2000 as an expansion team, after they played junior 'A' in the RMJHL from 1992-99.

The Creston Valley Thunder Cats were named hosts of the 2017 Cyclone Taylor Cup, being the first time that the Creston Valley hosted the Junior B Provincial Championships.

History

Before the Thunder Cats, Creston also had a junior 'B' team in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL), the Creston Clippers, before folding in 1985.

The Creston Thunder were founded in 1992 as a junior 'A' team in the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League. By the 1998-99 season, the RMJHL had fallen to four teams and was playing a lot of interleague with the America West Hockey League. The Creston Thunder could not afford the travel and opted to leave the RMJHL, effectively forcing the league to fold, at the end of the 1999 playoffs. The team sat out for the 1999-00 season to reorganize. Prior to the 2000-01 season, the team was renamed the Creston Valley Thunder Cats and joined the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League.

In the 2007-2008 season, Joe Martin and Mike Young were hired as co-coaches, with Joe Martin becoming the Head Coach and General Manager at the start of the 2008-2009 season. After each season of continuing to build a strong hockey program in Creston, and improving the team on the ice, at the end of the 2010-2011 season Joe Martin moved on to the Merritt Centennials of the BCHL as an assistant coach.

The start of the 2011-2012 season seen former Castlegar Rebels Head Coach Brent Heaven take over the Head Coach / General Manager role. The team played a strong competitive season, but lost in the divisional semi-finals against the Kimberly Dynamiters. At the end of the season, Brent assumed the role of Assistant Coach of the Trail Smoke Eaters in the BCHL.

The Creston Valley Thunder Cats hired new comer coach Josh Hepditch upon his retirement of semi-pro hockey. Although the Thunder Cats played a high tempo competitive brand of hockey during the 2012-2013, the team fell short of making the playoffs. With Josh Hepditch returning for a second season, the Creston Valley Thunder Cats brought an exciting line up of new and returning players that finished first in the Eddie Mountain Division with 80 points, and setting a team record of 39 wins during the campaign. In the first round, the Creston Valley Thunder Cats disposed of the Columbia Valley Rockies in 4 straight games, to meet the Kimberly Dynamiters in the second round. This round went to a thrilling game seven where the Thunder Cats made up a three-goal deficit in the third period and take the lead with less than 2 minutes in the third in front of a sell out crowd at the Johnny Bucyk Arena. Unfortunately, the Thunder Cats only won the first game of the Conference Finals to lose to the eventual KIJHL Champions Beaver Valley Night Hawks.

With a successful year in the 2013-2014 season, including winning the KIJHL Coach of the Year, Josh Hepditch moved onto the Head Coach / General Manager of the Amherst Wranglers, a Junior A team in the MHL. For the third time in four years, the Thunder Cats were looking for a head coach and general manager, bringing in Jeff Dubois, former Head Coach / General Manager of the Selkirk Saints of the BC Intercollegiate Hockey League. Jeff Dubois had built coach the Selkirk Saints to two back to back championships bringing solid coaching credentials to his new role in as a head coach of the Thunder Cats. In his first two seasons, the teams made the playoffs, losing to the eventual KIJHL Champions the Kimberly Dynamiters in the first round in 2014-2015, and then again to the Kimberly Dynamiters in the second round. Kimberly Dynamiters played in the KIJHL finals losing to the 100 Mile House Wranglers in the 2015-2016 championship round.

The Creston Valley Thunder Cats organization put together a bid to BC Amateur Hockey in the spring of 2016 to host the Cyclone Taylor Cup, the Provincial Championship for Junior B hockey in British Columbia. The present format of the tournament has the league champions of the Pacific Junior Hockey League (PJHL), the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL), the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) and the host team play a round robin format to determine placement in the Gold and Bronze Medal games. In May 2016, BC Amateur Hockey announced that the successful bid for hosting the 2017 Cyclone Taylor Cup was to the Creston Valley, making it the first time the Provincial Championship tournament is played in Creston. The tournament will play April 6th to April 9th, 2017.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Records as of March 14, 2017.^[1]^[2]

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	Finish	Playoffs
1992-93	52	5	47	―	0	10	161	399	4th, Kootenay	Lost in Division Semifinals, 0-4 (Smoke Eaters)
1993-94	52	25	26	―	1	51	260	277	3rd, Kootenay	Lost in Division Semifinals, 1-4 (Colts)
1994-95	52	25	24	―	3	53	303	268	4th, Kootenay	Lost in Division Finals, 0-4 (Colts)
1995-96	58	19	33	―	6	44	227	272	5th, Kootenay	Did not qualify
1996-97	60	28	27	―	5	61	267	279	5th, RMJHL	Lost in Quarterfinals, 3-4 (Leafs)
1997-98	54	11	40	―	3	25	204	323	6th, RMJHL	Did not qualify
1998-99	45	16	26	―	3	35	166	192	4th, RMJHL	Lost in Semifinals, 0-4 (Dynamiters)
1999-00	Did Not Participate
2000-01	58	11	41	5	1	28	184	318	6th, Neil Murdoch	Did not qualify
2001-02	50	16	25	4	5	41	190	249	3rd, Eddie Mountain	Lost in Division Semifinals, 3-4 (Dynamiters)
2002-03	50	23	22	1	4	51	184	192	3rd, Eddie Mountain	Lost in Division Semifinals, 3-4 (Dynamiters)
2003-04	50	19	28	1	2	41	169	206	3rd, Eddie Mountain	Lost in Division Semifinals, 1-4 (Dynamiters)
2004-05	50	21	25	4	0	46	170	195	3rd, Eddie Mountain	Lost in Division Semifinals, 2-4 (Rockies)
2005-06	50	7	43	―	0	14	132	291	5th, Eddie Mountain	Did not qualify
2006-07	52	25	25	―	2	52	190	211	2nd, Eddie Mountain	Lost in Division Finals, 0-4 (Ghostriders)
2007-08	52	28	19	―	5	61	172	177	2nd, Neil Murdoch: East	Lost in Division Semifinals, 1-3 (Dynamiters)
2008-09	52	30	12	―	10	70	210	165	1st, Eddie Mountain	Lost in Division Semifinals, 1-4 (Dynamiters)
2009-10	50	28	18	0	4	60	196	163	2nd, Eddie Mountain	Lost in Division Finals, 0–4 (Ghostriders)
2010-11	50	26	19	3	2	57	169	170	2nd, Eddie Mountain	Lost in Division Finals, 3-4 (Ghostriders)
2011-12	52	30	17	0	5	65	247	188	3rd, Eddie Mountain	Lost in Division Semifinals, 2-4 (Dynamiters)
2012-13	52	17	28	0	7	41	170	196	5th, Eddie Mountain	Did not qualify
2013-14	52	39	11	1	1	80	282	161	1st, Eddie Mountain	Lost in Conference Finals, 1-4 (Nitehawks)
2014-15	52	28	18	1	5	62	172	157	3rd, Eddie Mountain	Lost in Division Semifinals, 1-4 (Dynamiters)
2015-16	52	33	15	2	2	70	208	141	2nd, Eddie Mountain	Lost in Division Finals, 0-4 (Dynamiters)
2016-17	47	36	9	1	1	74	224	118	1st of 5 Eddie Mountain 3rd of 20 KIJHL	Lost in Division Finals, 2-4 (Dynamiters) Cyclone Taylor Cup as HOST

Playoffs

Records as of March 14, 2017.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Season	1st Round	2nd Round	3rd Round	Finals
1992–93	L, 0-4, Trail	—	—	—
1993–94	L, 1-4, Cranbrook	—	—	—
1994–95	W, 4-0, Nelson	L, 0-4, Cranbrook	—	—
1995–96	Did not qualify
1996–97	L, 3-4, Nelson	—	—	—
1997–98	Did not qualify
1998–99	L, 0-4, Kimberley	—	—	—
1999–00	Did not participate
2000–01	Did not qualify
2001–02	L, 3-4, Kimberley	—	—	—
2002–03	L, 3-4, Kimberley	—	—	—
2003–04	L, 1-4, Kimberley	—	—	—
2004–05	L, 2-4, Columbia Valley	—	—	—
2005–06	Did not qualify
2006–07	W, 4-3, Kimberley	L, 0-4, Fernie	—	—
2007–08	L, 1-3, Kimberley	—	—	—
2008–09	L, 1-4, Kimberley	—	—	—
2009–10	W, 4-2, Kimberley	L, 0-4, Fernie	—	—
2010-11	W, 4-2, Golden	L, 3-4, Fernie	—	—
2011-12	L, 2-4, Kimberley	—	—	—
2012–13	Did not qualify
2013-14	W, 4-0, Columbia Valley	W, 4-3, Kimberley	L, 1-4, Beaver Valley	—
2014–15	L, 1-4, Kimberley	—	—	—
2015-16	W, 4-0, Columbia Valley	L, 0-4, Kimberley	—	—
2016-17	W, 4-0, Columbia Valley	L, 2-4, Kimberley	—	—

Cyclone Taylor Cup

Season	Round Robin	Record	Standing	Bronze Medal Game	Gold Medal Game
2017 HOST	W, Aldergrove 3-0 L, Campbell River 2-6 L, Beaver Valley 2-5	1-2-0	4th of 4	W, Aldergrove 2-0 Bronze Medalists	did not qualify

Notes

The RMJHL playoffs had three playoff rounds.
The final 1998-99 RMJHL playoffs had two playoff rounds.

Awards and trophies

Coach of the Year

Rob Boyd: 2003-04 (Divisional)
Shane Lukinchuk: 2006-07 (Divisional)
Joe Martin: 2010-11 (Divisional)
Josh Hepditch: 2013-14 (Divisional and League)

Most Sportsmanlike

Keven Cann: 2009-10 (Divisional)
Jesse Collins: 2013-14 (Divisional)
Carson Cartwright: 2014-15 (Divisional)
Carson Cartwright: 2015-16 (Divisional and League)

Most Valuable Player

Wade Waters: 2007-08 (Divisional)
Cole Yurkowski: 2008-09
Jesse Collins: 2011-12 (Divisional)
Trevor Hanna: 2013-14 (Divisional)

Rookie of the Year

Chris Kostiuk: 2001-02 (Divisional)
Andrew Wasmuth: 2003-04 (Divisional)
Trevor Forward: 2011-12 (Divisional)
Logan Styler: 2013-14 (Divisional)

Top Defenseman

Colton Grolla: 2008-09

Top Goaltender

James Patterson: 2004-05 (Divisional)
Wade Waters: 2007-08 (Divisional)
Kyle Michalovsky: 2013-14 (Divisional and League)

Top Scorer

Darryl Adams: 2001-02 (Divisional)
Aaron Jakubec: 2003-04 (Divisional)
Cole Yurkowski: 2008-09
Jesse Collins: 2013-14 (Divisional)

References

↑ KIJHL.ca, Final 2013-14 regular season standings.
↑ KIJHL.ca – Year end standings.
↑ KIJHL.ca, Current playoff bracket. Archived May 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
↑ KIJHL.ca – 2013-14 playoff standings.
↑ KIJHL.ca, League champions.

External links

Teams and Leagues eligible for the Cyclone Taylor Cup
KIJHL	100 Mile House Wranglers Beaver Valley Nitehawks Castlegar Rebels Chase Heat Columbia Valley Rockies Creston Valley Thunder Cats Fernie Ghostriders Golden Rockets Grand Forks Border Bruins Kamloops Storm Kelowna Chiefs Kimberley Dynamiters Nelson Leafs North Okanagan Knights Osoyoos Coyotes Princeton Posse Revelstoke Grizzlies Sicamous Eagles Spokane Braves Summerland Steam
PJHL	Abbotsford Pilots Aldergrove Kodiaks Delta Ice Hawks Grandview Steelers Langley Knights Mission City Outlaws North Vancouver Wolf Pack Port Moody Panthers Richmond Sockeyes Ridge Meadows Flames
VIJHL	Campbell River Storm Comox Valley Glacier Kings Kerry Park Islanders Nanaimo Buccaneers Oceanside Generals Peninsula Panthers Saanich Braves Victoria Cougars Westshore Wolves
Defunct Teams	100 Mile House Blazers Castlegar Apollos Chase Chiefs Cranbrook Colts Creston Clippers Dawson Creek Kodiaks Elk Valley Raiders Enderby Ice Kings Fort St. John Huskies Kilimat Golden Eagles Nor'Wes Caps North Okanagan Kings Osoyoos Storm Penticton Lakers Rossland Warriors Squamish Wolfpack Summerland Sting Summerland Warriors Westshore Stingers Williams Lake Mustangs
BCAHA PCJHL PJHL PNHL Cyclone Taylor Cup Keystone Cup

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