A pair of second period goals was the story Wednesday night from the Civic Centre as they Drayton Valley Thunder defeated the Lloydminster Bobcats 3-0.
On the back of 26 saves from Luke Lush, and goals from Jeremy Klessins, Ty Whitford and Tanner Hopps, the Thunder came into the Border City and evened up their season series with the Cats at two games apiece.
Getting his first start since November 14th, Bobcat’s goalie Cale Elder stopped 27 of 29 shots, but unfortunately it was not enough in the end.
Following a scoreless first period, the Thunder found their way onto the board early in the second frame.
Breaking in on a 2-on-1, Thunder leading scorer Jeremy Klessens elected to hold on to the puck and shoot, making no mistake as he beat Elder high short side to give Drayton Valley a 1-0 advantage.
Just about three minutes later, the Thunder added to their lead as Whitford busted out from behind the Bobcat’s goal and tucked the puck far side on Elder extending the advantage to 2-0.
The score held their for nearly the remainder of the game, until Drayton Valley put it out of reach with a Hopps empty-net goal in the final minute.
With the victory Drayton Valley moved to 13 points ahead of the Bobcats in the Viterra North Division standings.
In the contest, the Thunder went on to outshoot the Bobcats 30-26.
Neither team was able to score with the man-advantage.The Bobcats finished 0 for 6, with the Thunder going 0 for 5.
Lloydminster will now get set to hit the road as they visit the Sherwood Park Crusaders on Friday before heading to Fort McMurray on Saturday.