Coquitlam Adanacs Defeat Jr Thunder

The powerhouse Coquitlam Adanacs defeated the Langley Thunder 19-7 Wednesday night in Coquitlam in a game that showcased the entire range of Thunder play for the season so far. The ugly, the not-so-great and the – sometimes – really quite good.

It ended after a third period in which the Langley offense was shattered by the awesome array of Adanac attack weapons – fast breaks, swift and deceptive passing patterns and slick penetration to the crease. They also made good use of the Thunder’s missed checking assignments and a couple of unfortunate giveaways by the rattled Thunder defense. It concluded with pair of fights of the one-armed, jersey-clutching wild-windmilling variety which, of course, settled nothing but at least drew attention away from the bleak numbers on the scoreboard.

Earlier, though, Thunder had shown great promise. In the first seven minutes of the first period, Langley matched Coquitlam stride for stride while scoring twice and forcing the Adanacs into several passing errors. The superb passing and playmaking instincts of Brendan and Matt Gibson, Greg Mahony, Scott Davidson and Mitch Dibblee stood out, as did some individual runs by Sean Messenger and Andrew Bromley. While they were outscored 6-3, Langley outshot Coquitlam 19-16 in the first.

Langley tightened its play in the second, but then offered the Adanacs three power plays. With the man advantage, Coquitlam scored on two of them and the margin began to open. The second period ended 10-6 with Thunder losing sight of the tight quick passing and tenacious defense they’d brought to the floor in the first period.

Then, in the third with the Thunder defense collapsing and the offense out of steam, rookie netminder Devon Winter faced a bewildering barrage of 18 shots, on which he gave up nine goals. Langley’s Mitch Dibblee scored the Thunder’s single third period goal on a power play.

The breadth of Coquitlam’s impressive attack was apparent on the scoresheet. A total of nine Adanacs scored at least one goal, while another three added assists. In that list there are no less than 5 power play goals scored on just 8 Langley penalties up to the 16 minute mark of the third and final period.

Scoring for Thunder:

Andrew Bromley, 2 goals
Sean Messenger, 2 goals
Mitch Dibblee, 1 goal, 2 assists
Scott Davidson, 1 goal, 1 assists
Brendan Gibson, 1 goal
Greg Mahoney, 2 assists
Jonathon Rakic, 2 assists
Matt Gibson, 1 assist
Zack Porter, 1 assist
Alex Fox, 1 assist
Mike King, 1 assist