Last weekend, another exciting minor hockey season got underway. After a long summer and weeks of practice, the teams dropped the puck on what is assured to be another big year.
“There have been a few games, but the older teams hadn’t played yet, so they were excited to play. There’s going to be some good hockey down at the arena,” said Jason James, vice president of the Drumheller Minor Hockey Association.
Overall, enrollment in minor hockey has remained stable compared to last year. Roughly 150 kids, divided into ten teams, will be lacing up their skates for the Raptors.
The Drumheller Raptors hit the ice last weekend for their first regular season games. They are back at it this weekend as well. Over the next two weeks the games will determine in what tier each team is placed.
The first couple weekends of the regular season will determine what tiers the teams will be placed.
“This weekend is basically the onset of tiering, which helps get the teams in the right division. Our goal over the next couple weeks is to make sure the teams are slotted into their proper tier. It’s in the best interests of everyone to have the teams be competitive compared to each other,” said James.
The Minor Hockey Association is hoping for another successful season after several teams earned league and provincial championships last season.
James feels the Raptors’ success is due to the introduction of dry land training. Over the week, teams will head to the Badlands Community Facility to work on fitness and skills.
“Our PeeWee team last year was phenomenal and a huge part of that was the fitness portion,” said James. “It can be hard to get ice time, so we can take things to the Facility and work on skills and cardio.”
The Midget Raptors began their season last weekend with two close overtime losses to Medicine Hat and Vulcan. They look for their first win of the season on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Drumheller Memorial Arena.
The Bantam Raptors opened their season with a big 4-0 win over Oyen last Friday. They play tonight at home at 7:15 p.m.
The NGC PeeWee Raptors had a tough start to the season, losing to Lethbridge and Taber last weekend. They head to Medicine Hat on Saturday. The Hi-Way 9 PeeWee Raptors got off to a good start with two wins, 5-1 over Okotoks and 5-3 over Indus, last weekend. They’ll be looking to rack up another win on Saturday at 3 p.m. when they take on Strathmore in Hussar.
The Yavis Atom Raptors had a tough start to their season, losing their first two games. They will be looking for their first win at home at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
The Encana Atom Raptors had a 1-1 start to their season, winning 7-2 over Rockyford, but losing to Carstairs.
The McDonald’s Novice Raptors will be looking for their first win of the season at home against Foothills on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Canalta Novice Raptors got two big wins to start their season, 16-1 in Brooks and 6-1 in Indus. They face Cremona at home on Saturday at 9 a.m.
“It all comes together for the kids. They have fun and there’s a smile on their face; that’s what it’s about,” said James.
