Sports | DrumhellerMail

AJHL announces 2022-2023 schedule

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While summer only arrived last week, already many eyes are on the coming hockey season.
The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) announced the schedule for its 59th season, which will begin with the 2022 Exhibition Season in August and the 2022-23 Regular Season on Friday, September 16.
The Dragons open their exhibition season on Wednesday, August 31 hosting the Brooks Bandits.
AJHL Opening Weekend will feature all 16 teams participating in two regular season games over September 16 and 17. Each team will play a 60-game regular season schedule, including 16 interlock games versus the opposing division, and two games at the 16th Annual AJHL Showcase.
The Dragons’ regular season opens on Friday, September 16 on the road versus the Canmore Eagles. Their home opener is the following evening versus the Brooks Bandits.
The 2022 AJHL Showcase will be held from September 29 – October 2 at the Eagle Builders Centre in Blackfalds, AB. The annual showcase of AJHL talent draws coaches and scouts from each National Hockey League team, the NCAA, as well as Canadian colleges and universities and the Canadian Hockey League. A full schedule for the 2022 AJHL Showcase was announced on Tuesday.
The AJHL will host five games on Family Day in February 2023 and celebrate the holidays with fans throughout the season including games on Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day and New Year’s. Four AJHL Teams have also partnered with local schools to host Hockey Hooky Games in the upcoming season to raise awareness of anti-bullying.
The 2023 AJHL Playoffs begin March 10 on the journey to the 2023 Centennial Cup presented by Tim Horton’s in Portage la Prairie, MB in May.
The Alberta Junior Hockey League will implement a four-man referee system at all AJHL regular season and playoff games in the 2022-23 season. The League will also introduce a pilot program for video review on goals at several AJHL arenas across the province. The program will be reviewed at the mid-point of the season for the purpose of expanding and adapting the program.
The majority of AJHL pre-season games will be broadcast on HockeyTV, in addition to all AJHL regular season games. A broadcast schedule and subscription information can be found at HockeyTV.com. A complete League Schedule is now available on the AJHL Website AJHL.ca and can be exported to calendars and mobile devices.

Bantam Titans wrap up spring season

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The Bantam Titans are wrapping up Spring Football after a couple of successful jamborees.
The Bantams came off a great fall campaign, and things are looking bright. Head coach Brad Iverson says they had a strong showing for Spring football.
“We played one jamboree in Lacombe. And we did pretty well there. We won three games and lost one,” said coach Iverson. “Hanna came and played us the following weekend, and we won that one as well.”
One bright spot is they had about two dozen players out for the spring developmental season. They practiced a couple of times a week and then attended the developmental jamboree-style tournaments.
“It was a successful spring. We had about 24 kids out. I was happy with that, but we are always welcome to take more in the fall,” he said.
The strong turnout and the success of the field is a harbinger for the coming regular season.
“We are just wrapping up in June, and we will start back up in August,” he said.
The Bantam Titans are the reigning Central Alberta Football League nine-man champions.

DORVA hosts Triple Crown motocross series race

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It was a weekend of Motocross racing that fans will not soon forget as the Drumheller Off-Road Vehicle Association (DORVA) hosted the best in Canada on their home track.
The Motocross track was packed all weekend as on Saturday, June 11, racers competed in the 2022 Parts Canada Amateur Open. On Sunday, the pros hit the track in the MRC Triple Crown Pro Motocross Racing event.
DORVA had been working on bringing a Triple Crown series event to the valley for a couple of years, but due to COVID restrictions, it took until 2022 to make this happen. The Triple Crown is a point series where riders compete in Arenacross, Motocross, and Supercross events.
On Sunday, the Women’s Motocross and Premix, 125 cc two stroke event was in the morning, and the 250 pro and 450 pro events went in the afternoon.
Drumheller’s motocross event was the second event in the series, and local organizers feel the event was a success. There were 416 entries for the weekend, with 289 on Saturday in 15 classes, and 127 on the pro day in four classes.
“There is already talk about 2023,” said Brad Peake of DORVA.
He said they have had great feedback from spectators, organizers, and riders.
There was one serious injury on the track on Sunday when a pro rider was involved in a crash and went over his handlebars. He was taken to a Calgary hospital via STARS.
Peak said the riders like competing on Drumhler soil.
“A lot of people gave us Kudos for prepping the track. A couple said ‘this track suits my style,’ and a couple said they have never ridden on a track like this before,” said Peake.
“What I got from the pro riders is they loved the width of the track and how long it was. It is long enough that it is about racing, it’s not about technique.”
He said they will take some time to assess the event and look at possibly bringing it back for a second season.

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