Pincher Creek Minor Hockey to November 16, 2014

Midget Huskies vs Sabres

• Novice Chinooks squeak past Raymond Ice
• Atom Chinooks blank CNP Thunder
• Timberwolves blank AA Peewee Rockies
• Olds Grizzlies defeat AA Bantam Rockies
• Fort Macleod Bantams win thriller against Leth. Red
• Midget Huskies extend winning streak by 2

Coming up:

• Updated schedule for this weekend coming soon*
• Novice Tournament November 28-30

Chris Davis

Six minor hockey games were played at Pincher Creek's Memorial Community Centre (MCC) Arena last weekend.  The two closest contests were one between the Novice Chinooks and the Raymond Ice and another between the Fort Macleod Bantams and the Lethbridge Red Hounds. The Midget Husies continue to crush it, having now defeated every other Midget team in the Spud League after a home game romp against Warner/South Country Sabres on November 14.  They topped that after travelling to Lethbridge to play a Tier 1 team on November 16, winning that game 9-3, and they are still undefeated this season.

^ Novice Chinooks v Raymond 1

Atom Chinooks v CNP Thunder

^ AA Peewee Rockies v Timberwolves

AA Bantam Rockies v Olds Grizzlies

Fort Macleod Bantams v Lethbridge

Midget Huskies v Sabres 

Pincher Creek Novice Chinooks squeak past Ice in final seeding game

Novice Chinooks vs Raymond Ice

There are 15 Novice teams participating in the Spud League this season, an incredible number when compared to, say, 5 teams at the Midget level.  Pincher Creek's Novice Chinooks finished their seeding round with a home game 6-5 win against the Raymond 1 Ice (there are two Raymond Novice teams) at the MCC arena on November 15.  It was one of the most exciting games of the weekend to watch, with these two teams being very closely matched in talent and ability. 

The score was 2-2 at the end of the first period.  Brody Smith of the Ice scored first, early in the game at the 17:58 mark, unassisted, then assisted teammate Sam Zobell's goal at the 12:53 mark. 2-0 Raymond.  Then Lane Conley of the Chinooks scored twice, at 12:24 and 9:11 remaining in the period.  Jaxon Shenton assisted with Conley's first goal, the second was unassisted.  With 2:45 remaining in the period Brody Smith scored again for the Ice, and the score remained at 3-2 Ice to the end of the period.

Early in the second period Jaydon Draper of the Chinooks tied it up 3-3 with an unassisted goal.  Despite a great period of back and forth hockey, solid defence work and goaltending from both sides kept it at a stalemate until the 4:13 mark, when Brody Smith earned a hat trick with the assistance of Ryder Court.  4-3 Raymond.  With only 48.4 seconds remaining in the period Jaydon Draper scored again for the Chinooks, assisted by Walker Anderson, and to the buzzer it was tied 4-4.  Talk about excitement!

Both teams came out still fired up and ready for action in the third period.  Jaydon Draper added a hat trick to his record and put the Chinooks ahead for the first time in this game with an early unassisted goal at the 19:11 mark.  5-4 Chinooks. Then Brody Smith added another to his hat trick for the Ice at the 15:58 mark.  5-5.  Back and forth the two teams battled, epic effort from all, until near the very end, when Jaydon Draper decided he wanted an extra goal added to his hat trick too.  His unassisted goal with only 1:15 remaining in the game gave the Chinooks a sweet hard earned victory over a very talented opposing team.  This reporter's favourite game of the weekend.  Well done, Chinooks and Ice.  Seeding round is over now, and the Chinooks won half of their games (3 wins/3 losses), with a decision as to their placement to be decided early this week.

A hat trick +1 for Jaydon Draper

Chinooks Head Coach Cory Anderson is in his 4th season as a Pincher Creek coach.  He was pleased with his team's performance.  "They were evenly matched," he said of the Chinooks and the Ice. "All the kids skated hard, and it keeps them all on their toes when they are nice and close."

According to Coach Anderson this year's  Novice Chinooks roster is approximately a 50/50 split between new and returning players.

"We are still working on our offsides, and playing our positions. We are having fun.  There has been quite an improvement from the first game of the year until now, so I'm proud of the kids.  These kids are all doing really well."

The Chinooks will be hosting a tournament at the MCC Arena two weekends from now, November 28-30.  7 teams from Calgary were the first to sign up, so, in the words of Coach Anderson "It should be quite exciting, quite an challenging time of hockey".

Atom Chinooks blank CNP Thunder

Atom Chinooks vs CNP Thunder

Pincher Creek's Atom Chinooks hosted their Crowsnest Pass Thunder counterparts at the MCC arena on November 15.  It was a lopsided game, with the Chinooks winning by a significant margin.  The Chinooks demonstrated a greatly improved passing game throughout.  The Thunder had a much improved third period.  Riley Potts of the Chinooks earned a hat trick of unassisted goals to start the game.  Kieran Randall earned a hat trick in the third period, and Drew Stuckey earned a hat trick with a goal in each period. Despite the loss the Thunder team showed a great deal of fortitude and sportsmanship, nice to see.  I look forward to seeing this team up against a more balanced challenge in the future, they've got heart.

Timberwolves blank AA Peewee Rockies

Peewee Rockies vs Bow Valley Timberwolves

The AA Peewee Rockies hosted the Bow Valley Timberwolves at the MCC arena on November 16.  The Timberwolves won by a significant margin.  The Rockies had a much improved second period, but the game played out in their end, putting an incredible amount of pressure on Rockies goalie Colby Sanspariel.  It's tough trying to stop pucks over and over and over again when there are four to six people living in your crease, and Sanspariel earns my nod for being the hardest working goalie at the MCC all weekend.  Keep an eye on him, like the rest of the Rockies he's been going through a trial by fire this season, or rather, under fire, and he's got a great future when he gets to the other side of it.  This Rockies team still needs to gel, but the effort was definitely there despite the constant disappointments.  Building seasons are not much fun when you're in the middle of them, but every athlete goes through them.

Olds Grizzlies defeat AA Bantam Rockies

AA Bantam Rockies vs Olds Grizzlies

The AA Bantam Rockies hosted the Olds Grizzlies at the MCC arena on November 15.  The teams appeared to be evenly matched in the first period, with Olds having a bit of an offensive edge.  The period played out to a no-score draw.  Olds scored back-to-back goals in the second period, the first at the 14:32 mark and the second at the 13:40 mark.  Both teams battled hard, but that was it to the buzzer., 2-0 Olds.  The Rockies were playing much better in the first half of the third period, scoring at the 16:27 mark to make it 2-1.  The Grizzlies increased their lead by one at the 13:20 mark, and the Rockies answered it with 8:52 remaining.  Then it all went south for the Rockies, with the Grizzlies scoring three unanswered goals to the end of the game, winning it 6-2.

Fort Macleod Bantam Mavericks win thriller against Lethbridge Red Hounds

Bantam Mavericks vs Lethbridge Hounds

Fort Macleod's CAHL Bantam Mavericks hosted their Lethbridge Red Hounds counterparts at the MCC arena in Pincher Creek on Sunday  November 16.  Playing for the Mavericks is Pincher Creek's own Abi Cryderman and some of her teammates from last season's Pincher Creek Peewee Chinooks. Very well matched, the two teams played to a no-score draw in the first period.  It was 1-2 for the Hounds at the end of the second period after goals from Mavericks' Jason Stockton (unassisted) and Hounds' Marshall Young assisted by Kade Miller and Kolson Thurlow with an assist by Marshall Young.

Bantam Maverick Abi Cryderman

A fast and furious third period featured Calim Yellow Face scoring for the Mavericks, assisted by Jason Stockton and Parker Small Legs at the 16:59 mark.  2-2.  It stayed tied until dramatically, with 24.7 seconds remaining in the game, Colmyn Crop Eared Wolf scored for the Mavericks, assisted by Jordy Welsh and Jayce Van Driesten, to secure a 3-2 win for the Mavericks. *

The Mavericks amassed a whopping 32 minutes of penalties, including a game misconduct for #28 Tristen Wells, compared to 10 minutes for Lethbridge.

Midget Huskies extend winning streak by 2

Pincher Creek's Midget Huskies crushed it at home and away on the weekend, first defeating the South Country Sabres (Warner) by a significant margin at home on Friday evening November 14, and then, in search of a challenge, travelling to Lethbridge and out of the Spud League on Sunday November 16  to contend with a Lethbridge Tier 1 team.  The Huskies won that encounter 9-3. 

The Huskies have now defeated every other Midget team in the Spud League, including Bow Island, who they defeated 7-3 in their mutual season opener.  That was the narrowest margin of victory for the Huskies so far this season, including their non-league game against Lethbridge, and they travel to Bow Island again next Saturday, November 22 for a rematch against the Rebels.  The Rebels were reportedly working without their full bench last time, so this might be an interesting game.  The result will  certainly be telling for what the rest of the regular Spud League season will be like for the Huskies.

As for the November 14 game against the Sabres, there's really not much to say.  When a game is that unbalanced it's not a lot of fun to play or watch. The Huskies were up 6-0 at the end of the first period, and seemed to be working on their passing game and alternate lines through most of the second.  I took a pass on the third, but several members of the Huskies told me the next day the the Sabres actually had an improved third period.

The Huskies are on the road for their next three games, two against Bow Island's Rebels and one against the South Country/Warner Sabres.  Their next home game is scheduled for Friday December 5, when they will host the Sabres again, beginning at 8:00 pm.


* corrected for accuracy/updated

A note on "significant margins"

It's our policy to not report minor hockey scores when a team has won a game by 10 points or more, a policy that is in line with a standard recommended to us by a Spud League official two or three seasons ago.  It is our belief that any time a game is won by such a "significant margin" it's an indication that the two teams were not well matched, and to "rub it in" serves no valid purpose, particularly considering that these are in fact children participating in a sport, a commendable pursuit regardless of scores, and not the big leagues.  We follow a similar policy with other youth sports reporting.

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