Atom Chinooks host Piikani and Lethbridge at MCC arena

Chris Davis - The Pincher Creek area has two Atom teams this year, with the introduction of a brand new Piikani team. Both teams are competing in the Central Alberta Hockey League (CAHL) this season, and are both in Tier 4 during the CAHL ongoing tiering round. Crowsnest Pass and Fort Macleod are also currently in Tier 4, which includes 29 teams total. Piikani was defeated by the Chinooks on Saturday, October 15, and again by the Crowsnest Pass Thunder the next day, but showed marked improvement in that second game of their existence. The Pass Thunder also defeated Fort Macleod 5-2 on Sunday.

2016/17 Pincher Creek Atom Chinooks

1 Talen Snow

2 Lane Conley

3 Eric Radvak

11 Jaxon Shenton

12 Jaydon Draper

13 Varian Caldwell

15 Christian Potts

16 Walker Anderson

18 Jayden Price

23 Josey Wales Waterchief

26 Zackery Hann

30 Bower Hann

26 Zackery Hann (AP) - Goalie

30 Bowen Hann (AP) - Goalie

2016 Piikani Atom Chinooks

4 Logan Yellow Face 

5 EmmaJo Many Guns 

6 Makyia Prairie Chicken 

8 Thomas Peters

11 Terrance Old Man Chief

12 Oliver Old Man Chief

13 Shyne Shining Double 

16 Danton North Peigan

17 Taivan Yellowhorn (Goalie)

18 Kenton Gallant

21 Victor North Peigan (Goalie)

27 Carter North Peigan

66 Isaiah Badger

68 Letrel Brown

96 Tess Provost

99 Payton Provost

Atoms: Chinooks vs Piikani

Chinooks vs Piikani:  Pincher Creek's Atom Chinooks held their home opener on Saturday, October 15, hosting a brand new Piikani team.  The Chinooks won by a large margin, and it's obvious this will be a building year for Piikani, but it was great to see them leave it all on the ice.  According to Piikani Coach Nathan North Peigan the team has 12 regular players, including two former Chinooks, and with the help of the Piikani Nation Hockey Association they have been working hard toward their debut since January of this year.  Their home rink will be the new arena being built in Brocket, when it's finished.  While lacking in experience, the team has spirit.  Watch for them to be much improved by season-end.

Atom Chinooks #12 Jaydon Draper with the puck

Chinooks vs Lethbridge Hurricanes: The Atom Chinooks hosted Lethbridge's Hurricanes at the MCC arena on Sunday, October 16.  What started as a competitive game began to go against the Chinooks, who were trailing 4-1 at the end of the first period.  The Hurricanes pressed the offensive throughout, and the game was largely played in the Chinooks' end.  A relentless barrage on the Pincher net against a struggling Chinooks defence slowly drove the score up in Lethbridge's favour.  A last minute surge by the Chinooks was too late to change the ultimate outcome.  The Hurricanes  won 12-5.  The Hurricanes played Claresholm to a 4-4 tie the day before.  In that game the Hurricanes scored two goals in each of the first two periods before Claresholm surged in the final period, scoring 4 unanswered goals.

Atom Chinooks #16  Walker Anderson with the puck

Unofficial stats: After two games, Atom Chinook Jaydon Draper earned a total of 16 points, putting him in second place for points in Tier 4 after the first weekend of the tiering round.  Draper also placed third for goals in the tier, with 10 of them in two games. Draper scored 4 of the Chinooks goals in their contest with Lethbridge.  Walker Anderson earned 13 points, and is currently placed third in Tier 4 for assists. He scored the final goal in the game against Lethbridge with just 33 seconds left on the clock. Josey Wales Waterchief and Lane Conley earned a total of  7 points each in two games. Jaxon Shenton and Jayden Price earned 6 points each. Bowen Hann earned 4 points and Eric Radvak earned 3 points.  Earning a point each were Varian Caldwell, Talen Snow, and Christian Potts.

Chinooks vs Hurricanes

Bassano's Nathan Maloney is leading the tier for both goals (14) and points (17) after two tiering round games.

The above stats are unofficial tabulations by yours truly based on data from the CAHL website.

Upcoming: The Atom Chinooks are scheduled to head to the Fort Macleod Arena on Saturday, October 22 for a game against the Mustangs, to start at 10:15 am.  The next day, Sunday October 23, they are scheduled to head to Taber for a game to start at 10:45 am.  Those are both tiering round games.  Their next home game will follow, on Saturday October 29, at Pincher Creek's Memorial Community Centre Arena.  Their opponent for that one is still to be announced, and it will be their first league game of the 2016/17 season.

Lethbridge Hurricanes warming up