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Peewee B Thunder strike gold at home

Cowichan edges Peninsula in tournament final
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The peewee B Cowichan Thunder display their gold medals after the final of the Thunder in the Valley lacrosse tournament. (Submitted)

The peewee B Cowichan Thunder stormed to gold as hosts of the Thunder in the Valley lacrosse tournament last weekend.

Nate Akhurst scored three goals and Carter Blace picked up two points and was named tournament MVP as the Thunder edged the Peninsula Warriors 7-6 in the gold-medal game at Kerry Park Arena on Sunday. Parker Lawrence and Cameron Papineau also scored, and Parker Harvey had a pair of assists in the final, while goalie Tyson Atkinson had a huge third period, including multiple stops on Peninsula breakaways.

Teams from across Vancouver Island took part in the tournament, which featured a round robin followed by the top two teams playing for gold and the next two squaring off for bronze.

Cowichan opened the tournament with a 10-1 win over the Alberni Valley Tyees, with Papineau and Reid Nahirnick both collecting multiple assists. The Thunder continued to dominate in their second round-robin game, beating the Comox Valley Wild 10-0 behind two goals each from Lucas Daniels, Dane Stewart and Jack Isherwood.

The third game of the round robin saw the Thunder sink the Oceanside Sharks 8-2 to seal up top spot in their pool with the maximum 15 points. Jace Bennefield had two goals and Milo McDonald found his way into the scoresheet.

The peewee C Thunder also entered the Thunder in the Valley tournament to round out the field to an even 10 teams. The C team held its own despite playing against teams in a higher tier.

The peewee Cs lost their opening game to the Nanaimo Timbermen 8-2, with both Cowichan goals coming from Brando Purinton. Marcus Parmar had the lone Cowichan goal in a 5-1 loss to the Oceanside Sharks, and Ethan Jones scored for the Thunder in a 9-1 loss to Vic-Esquimalt.

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Cowichan peewee C player Liam Groicher gets away from a Vic-Esquimalt defender. (Kevin Rothbauer/Citizen)
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Cowichan peewee C player Lincoln Hutton collides with a member of the Vic-Esquimalt Eagles. (Kevin Rothbauer/Citizen)