Sports | DrumhellerMail

Tier 2 Pee Wee Raptors win gold in Camrose

    It was a big weekend for the NGC Tier 3 Raptors. The team headed to Camrose for their first tournament of the year.
   The Raptors returned home with a gold medal after a hard fought weekend.
   “We played against teams from central Alberta and some were from Saskatchewan. All of them were pretty close games and pretty good battles. We eventually got into the finals,” said Jason James, head coach of the team.
   The Raptors won over teams from Chestermere, Fort Saskatchewan, Kindersly, and Sherwood Park before heading to the final game against the hometown Camrose Drillers.
   It was a tense game for those watching.
   “It was a tough game. We were down 4-3 going into the third, but we came back and won 6-4,” said James. “It was up and down emotionally. For awhile there it didn’t look like we’d get ahead, but we kept slugging away.”
   The Raptors were at a little disadvantage compared to some teams. The team only has 11 players, which is just enough for two lines. The busy schedule for the tournament was punishing.
   “We don’t have a big team. We only have about two lines, so it was a lot of hockey over the weekend and they were tired by the end,” said James. “They didn’t have any rest until they got home Sunday night. It was a great weekend,with good hockey, and the kids worked hard.”
   Christmas is coming up soon, but the team will be doing league games for the next two weeks. So far in their league, the Raptors are the top team.
   “In the league we’re doing really well; we’ve basically only had one loss this year,” said James. “There’s good chemistry in the team and things are coming together.”

Pee Wee’s host first tournament of season

    The Hi-Way 9 Tier 5 Raptors will be having their first tournament of the year this weekend in Drumheller.
   Five teams, from Airdrie, High River, Okotoks, and two from Sherwood Park will descend upon Drumheller starting Saturday.
   The first game starts at 8:30 Saturday morning and the final game will be 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
   Proceeds raised from 50/50 sales and a raffle table will go towards the Raptors.
   “The money goes to the team so the kids can attend different things, like other tournaments,” said Jackie Watts, manager of the team.
   The Hi-Way 9 Raptors have had a good season so far and have a busy schedule between now and Christmas.
   “They’re doing really well, especially after we moved up to Tier 5,” said Watts. “We’ve got a jam packed schedule. We go right up to Christmas, then we get a little break.”

Saints get ready to host home tournament

    There will some great hoops action coming up as the junior high boys and girls at St. Anthony’s will be hosting the second annual Saints Invitational Tournament.
   The tournament is slated for December 14 and 15 at the school and they are inviting some top-level competition.
   The St. Anthony’s Saints are back on the court for another season and both the boys squad, coached by Jay Mulgrew and the girls team, coached by Gavin Makse, have been busy practicing for the coming season and will be prepared for their home tourney.
   The Saints have invited teams from Three Hills, Stettler and Rundle Academy from Calgary for the Round Robin tournaments. Play kicks of at 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon as the girls take on Three Hills. The boys’ team will follow right up at 2:15. The Final game of the night will be at 7:15 p.m. with Three Hills and Stettler on the court. The Saints will be back on the court on Saturday morning with the Girls taking on Rundle Academy at 9 a.m. and the boys playing at 10:15 a.m.

Acme Redmen senior boys take bronze in provincials

    It’s a podium finish for volleyball players in Acme.
   Two weekends ago, both the senior boys and girls volleyball teams, the Redmen, headed to the 1A provincial championship tournament.
   The boys came away with a bronze medal.
   “This year, to win a bronze is thrilling,” said coach Murray Huddle.
   The boys went undefeated during round robin play and were given a by during the quarter finals. They then went up against Bawlf in the semi finals.
   The Acme squad won the first game of the match, but couldn’t hold the Bawlf boys back and lost the second two games. The Acme boys then went to play for and win the bronze medal.
   “It was a little bit of a heartbreak, but one of our kids was going for this third provincial championship,” said Huddle. “Hopefully be right back next year.”
   The girls had some tough competition during their tournament and did not end up finishing on the podium.
   “The girls played really well. We lost some tight games to some really tough teams. The top three teams in our pool went on to be first, second, and third teams in the tournament,” said Laurie Neufeld. “There’s 99 1A schools in Alberta and the top 10 go to provincials. It’s pretty special to be there.”
   The girls finished first in their league after a strong season. They earned a spot in provincials after going undefeated at regionals and placing second at zones.
   Both teams are looking forward to getting back to provincials next year.
   The boys team will largely remain the same. Four of the six starters for the team will be coming back, unlike this year where the team was starting from scratch with nine of the ten players being new.
   “They came together an improved all year long. I’m pretty happen with the outcome,” said Huddle,
   Most of the girls were new to the senior team this year as well, but a few will return next season.
   “This team was like starting over again. Our goal all season long was getting to provincials, we did that, and grew so much over the season,” said Neufeld.

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