Weekend Recap - Week 18

Another great weekend for athletics is complete as Thunder Basketball, Curling, Hockey, and Volleyball all were playing. Here’s what happened last week:

Basketball

Thunder Basketball had their final two games of the regular season over the weekend against the NAIT Ooks.

Friday night both women’s and men’s basketball travelled to NAIT for a road game. Women’s Basketball fell short against NAIT, losing 61-52 despite a strong fourth-quarter push. Jaycee May led the way with 18 points, including four three-pointers, while Tayla Hannah and Grethe Winchell added eight points each. A tough second quarter, where Concordia managed only six points, created a tough hole to get out of. Despite outscoring NAIT 21-25 in the fourth quarter, the final push wasn’t enough to mount a comeback. Men’s Basketball started strong on Friday, taking a 40-34 lead over the Ooks into halftime, but struggled in the second half, ultimately falling 78-59. Yaadvir Dhaliwal and Milton Lendein each scored 15 points, helping Concordia build early momentum, but tough third and fourth quarters saw them outscored 44-19, which allowed NAIT to steal one away.

On Saturday at home, Women’s Basketball fought hard but fell 86-66 to NAIT after a second quarter where they were outscored 23-11. Despite a strong third-quarter rally led by Tayla Hannah’s 13 points and Georgia Bowman’s efficient shooting, the early deficit proved too much to overcome. Concordia shot an efficient 47.9% from the field, and outshot NAIT in the third quarter 22-12, but NAIT’s depth and defensive pressure ultimately secured the win. Men’s Basketball delivered a commanding performance, defeating NAIT 90-71 on home court. O’Ryan Wallace led the charge with a stellar 32-point performance, knocking down six three-pointers and continuing to be a top scoring option for the Thunder. Yaadvir Dhaliwal added 19 points, while Kyler Dutka controlled the boards with 14 rebounds, giving Concordia an edge inside. Dhaliwal also secured his 1000th ACAC career point, a feat he accomplished in only three years.

Both Women’s and Men’s Basketball have secured spots in their respective ACAC Championships and will begin preparing now as their regular season is complete. NAIT will be hosting Women’s Basketball, while Briercrest hosts Men’s Basketball February 27th-March 2nd.

Curling

It was a big weekend for Thunder Curling as they travelled to Red Deer to challenge for an ACAC Curling Championship in the Mixed and Women’s Divisions. Mixed Curling finished the tournament as ACAC Champions, defeating Red Deer Polytechnic squad 6-5 after needing an extra end to seal the deal. This is the first ACAC Championships for CUE Mixed Curling since the 2015-16 season.

Women’s Curling finished second overall, falling in the gold medal match to Red Deer 5-2. Due to their second place finish, they are now eligible to play in the CCAA Curling National Championship hosted in Lethbridge at the end of February.

Hockey 

CUE Hockey had an action packed weekend with games against the U of A Augustana Vikings.

Despite a strong offensive effort Friday night on the road, Concordia fell 7-6 to Augustana. Isaac Leik led the way with two goals and two assists, while Carson Kurylo added a goal and an assist. Both teams matched each other after two periods, tied 4-4. After two more goals each in the third period, a late goal by Augustana's Brett Wieschorster sealed the game.

Saturday’s home game was in a new location as Concordia played host to Augustana at the Silent Ice Center in Nisku, AB. Thanks to a strong second-period surge, the Thunder bested the Vikings 4-2. Isaac Leik led the charge with two goals, including a crucial power-play marker that gave Concordia the lead. Dylan Handel and Ethyn Hopp also found the back of the net, while goalie Griffin Bowerman stood tall with 35 saves. A dominant defensive effort in the third period shut down Augustana’s offense, sealing the win. 

There’s one more weekend of regular season play for Thunder Hockey as they go up against the NAIT Ooks in a two game series on Friday and Saturday.

Volleyball

The final weekend of Thunder Volleyball for the 2024-2025 season saw CUE go up against the NAIT Ooks twice.

It was a tough weekend for Thunder Volleyball as NAIT was able to sweep the weekend against both teams. Friday’s final home game was a 3-0 loss for Women’s Volleyball with set scores of 25-12 (NAIT), 25-19 (NAIT), 25-21 (NAIT) while Men’s Volleyball dropped their game in four sets with scores of 25-17 (NAIT), 25-23 (CUE), 25-19 (NAIT), 25-18 (NAIT). Right Side Emma Thompson was a key contributor for the Thunder racking up 7 kills and a season high 15 digs, while Brodie Wight led the men’s team in kills with 15 and added 6 digs in the game.

Saturday’s road game was unfortunately a similar result, as the women dropped their final game of the year in straight sets with set scores of 26-24 (NAIT), 25-18 (NAIT), 25-17 (NAIT) and the men also fell in straight sets 25-19 (NAIT), 25-17 (NAIT), 25-18 (NAIT).

With both teams now finished for this year, they’ll look to the offseason to train, recruit, and prepare for the 2025/26 ACAC Volleyball season.