Senior Titans finish off Olds in league play   

    The Drumheller Senior Titans battled their way back from an early deficit to win their final league game and earn a bye to the championship.
    The Titans took on Olds in league play in front of a hometown crowd Saturday. In the end they walked off the field with 27-17 victory, but it took some hard work.
    The Titans came out slow and suddenly found themselves down by 10 points. Like in many cases this season head coach Ken Fournier said the ball just didn’t seem to be bouncing the right way for them. On two separate occasions on punt return, the ball took an unusual bounce and found its way right back in to their opponent’s hands.
     Similar to last week the Titans didn’t bury their heads, instead they battled back.
    “Again for our guys to be able to respond to that and come back. To stay in those games and not get discouraged on plays like that is great,” said Fournier. “That response to adversity is what you need when you want to be a good football team.”
    He said Chase Kostelecky had the game of his career.
    “Normally he is a defensive back, but this week he played wing back and he marched that ball down the field,” said Fournier. “He stepped it up and played a very good game on both sides of the ball. For a guy that is generally a defensive player to come on with the offense and make some big blocks is a pretty good thing to see and great for the other guys.”
    “There was a great team effort by everybody,” said Fournier. “These guys are a very resilient team and are taking a lot more pride on what is happening on the field and looking out for each other.”
    The Titans have earned their way to another Big Sky Conference final, but they will have to wait an extra week to take on the winner between Olds and Canmore for the trophy. 
    This may be a blessing in disguise for the banged up roster.
 Kordell Sykes was back in the line up for the Titans last weekend, as was Spencer Fournier, although in a limited capacity. Coach Fournier hopes that Josh Weeteringen will be back in playing shape come the final.
    “It is looking good, we are getting healthy. We survived and now we have a bye week to get people healthy and ready for that game,” said coach Fournier.
    Just like the bantam Titans, if they keep winning they keep playing and retain home field advantage.
    “It’s all do or die from here. This is the most exciting time for football. If we keep winning, we will be hosting the championship and then the first two rounds of provincials, which is huge,” said Fournier.

Bantam Titans play for Championship Saturday   

    The Bantam Titans are into the league final this coming Saturday at home, and they did it with a vengeance.
    The Titans walked over their competition as they stormed to a 58-0 win over Innisfail at DVSS field.
    This was the first time the Titans have met Innisfail and they were able to regroup after some tough games leading up to the semi finals.
    “The offense is back on track and the defense is still playing strong,” said coach Paul Redmond. “We went back to basics, the base five plays and kept it simple.”
    The Titans started strong and never looked back.  They hope to repeat this weekend when they host Springbank for the league championship. This was the first season the Bantam Titans were able to beat Springbank, and they did in a convincing fashion. They used their whole bench to come up with a 36-20 victory in league play.
    The Titans are confident going into the game. If the team keeps winning, they keep playing.  A win puts the team in the provincial rounds.
    “We’ll have them ready again for the next weekend,” said Redmond.

    The Drumheller Minor Hockey Raptors hit the ice for the first time this season last weekend. The teams racked up quite a few wins in what, for some, were their first games of the year.
    The Canalta Novice Tier 6 team came out strong for their first two games of the season. On Saturday, the team dominated Strathmore by a score of 18-3. The next day, they hosted Brooks and came away with a 13-7 win in front of a home crowd.
    The McDonald’s Tier 3 team began their season two weekends ago. This past weekend they managed their first win, beating Fort MacLeod on the road. The day prior they had a close 9-7 defeat against Chestermere.
    “We lost to Chestermere, but the kids played really good. On Monday, we went down to Fort MacLeod and gave them a whupping,” said head coach Kit Clark. “The kids are excited and having fun.”
    At the Atom level, the Yavis Atom Tier 3 team took to the road on Sunday, coming away with a 10-7 win.
    The EnCana Atom Tier 6 team had two games this past weekend and emerged victorious in both. On Saturday they hosted Rockyford and decimated the visitors by a score of 18-2. The next day they paid Nanton the same welcome, winning 7-2.
    The NGC Pee Wee Tier 2 team did the same, winning both of their first two games. In Beiseker on Saturday, they bested the home team by a close 4-3. The next day they were in Olds and won again in a close game, 7-6.
    The Hi-Way 9 Tier 6 Raptors took Strathmore to task for their first game on Saturday, winning 13-3 at home. The next day they repeated against Okotoks Gold and won 8-4.

Kyle Bosch (right) carries the puck at the Hi-Way 9 Pee Wee Raptors home game against Strathmore on Saturday. The Raptors won by a decisive 13-3. The remaining seven minor hockey teams were in action as well and put together a strong weekend. For many of these teams, this was their opening weekend.
inSide photo by Michael James

    “We’ve got quite a crew this year, they’re working really good together. They’re loving it and happy to have their skates back on,” said Mark Coultes, head coach of the Hi-Way 9 Raptors.
    The Boston Pizza/Western Chev Bantam Raptors started their season on the road on Friday in Hanna. The Bantam team started the season off on the right foot to get another championship.
    In Hanna, they won 14-3. The next day at home, they were victorious against Fort MacLeod by a score of 6-4.
    The Bertram Drilling/Sports Room Midget team are hoping to continue their championship ways. They did so against Blackie on Saturday, shutting them down 8-0.
    In goal for the Midget Raptors was Chase Kostelecky, who saved all 27 shots fired his way.
    The next day, the team was in Redcliff, but couldn’t keep the momentum going and lost 11-4.
    “They did excellent for their first weekend. We won on Saturday and, unfortunately, lost Sunday’s game. They’ll come back once we get more practice together and learn to play together,” said assistant coach Nick Schinnour. “We’ve got a strong team as long as we’re in the right tier. If we’re not, we’ll have to step up and make the team stronger. We were down last year and we made it work by the end.”
    A key difference this year is how the teams were tiered. Coaches feel this year the teams are more evenly matched within their tiers and are hopeful it will translate into more wins.
    “We’ve got them tiered a little better than pervious years, so it’s going really good,” said Clark.
    Coultes was agreed, stating, “I think the tiers are better this year. I hope some of the kids who have had below a 50 per cent win average over the past few years will get some wins and start feeling better about hockey.”
    The Raptors season continues. For more information about when the teams are playing check out www.drumhellerminorhockey.com.