By Dan Hermanutz

AJHL

Thunder roll into final month of AJHL regular season on hot streak

Jan 28, 2020 | 9:21 AM

The Drayton Valley Thunder have been one of the hottest teams in the AJHL having won ten of their last thirteen games.

After a rocky start to the season, the Thunder have found their groove heading into the last month of the regular season. They’ve run their record on the year to 21-20-6, good for 48 points and fifth place in the north division.

“A lot of people don’t know early in the season that we had just the worst injuries to key players you could honestly imagine,” said head coach Eric Thurston.

“First off, we were at the (AJHL) showcase and our top centerman, Matthew Kinash, takes a slap shot to the jaw and breaks his jaw and has to get titanium plates put in.

“We come back on that Sunday, Tanner Hopps’ appendix burst. The toxins that came into his body were just devastating. He ends up losing 17 pounds and that’s just awful.

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“(Then) we have Dexton Mozell break his hand. Unfortunately, our top players kind of unravel and that really hurt us.”

Ravaged by injuries, it seemed like the Thunder could never get ahead. Players who normally fit smaller roles were forced to take on bigger ones.

“We were able to put players who normally don’t play top-six, top-nine roles having to step up and play big minutes making everybody better,” Thurston explained. “Now we have a really good group of guys, a great dressing room, guys that are able to play different positions, different roles. I think we’ve really gelled as a group and as a team which is so important and it’s honestly been a lot of fun coaching them.”

A big part of the Thunder’s recent success has been the emergence of rookie goaltender Eric Ward, who has grabbed the starter’s role and never looked back.

“It’s not normal that an 18-year-old stepping out of Midget is going to take the reins on a team and backstop them. Normally, that’s kind of saved for a 19 or 20-year-old. But his maturity, his work ethic – he has really been a big foundation of the success.”

Ward is one of nine rookies on the Thunder this year, all of whom were pushed into greater roles by the team’s rash of injuries, fast-tracking their development.

“We’ve got seven good defencemen and, unfortunately, we have to keep one out of the lineup on any given night. But I think the depth at our forward position is key. I know we’ve got four good lines that can skate. On given nights different guys step in.

“I think with all of those injuries we had guys playing first and second-line minutes. That really kind of rushed their development are they really embraced it too. They have a great attitude and all that kind of stuff put together has really worked out in our favour now.”

Thurston says that at this point he believes the Thunder can match up with any team in the league.

“I think we believe in ourselves,” he shared. “You have to believe it and you have to trust yourselves first and foremost. We’ve got a good group of guys.”

The Drayton Valley Thunder play the Spruce Grove Saints Friday in a match that could have potential playoff implications (7 p.m. at the Omniplex).