Sports | DrumhellerMail

Raptors honour Charmont legacy through annual tournament

Despite a snowy weekend, the Drumheller Memorial Arena was packed for one of Minor Hockey’s most important annual tournaments.

The Encana Atom Raptors were in action all weekend at the Drumheller Memorial Arena in the annual Charmont Memorial Tournament. Teams across the province braved the weather to participate. The Raptors had a strong showing and came away in second place overall.

    Over the weekend of November 16, teams from all over the province participated in the Charmont Memorial Tournament.
   “It went really well. The kids have had a lot of games so far this season, but they played hard here. They seemed to get stronger as the tournament went on,” said Encana Atom Raptors head coach Jeff Paarup. “Our regular season starts next weekend, so it was a good way to fire up the kids.”
   The Raptors racked up win after win and ended up in a showdown with Medicine Hat the in championship game. Despite battling hard, the Raptors fell behind 5-3 and received second place overall in the tournament.
   The tournament was created in memory of Chris and his son John Charmont who were killed in an explosion at a resort hotel in Mexico in November 2010. Chris helped coach and manage minor hockey teams and John was an Atom player when he passed away.
   Each year since, Drumheller Minor Hockey has held the tournament to remember the Charmonts.
   “It’s a good way to bring back their memories and we’re very proud to represent Drumheller in the tournament,” said Paarup.
   The current roster of the Encana Raptors were too young to have played with John, but coaches who knew him and his dad Chris told the team the true significance of the tournament.
   “We told the story to the kids on the final day that John’s nickname was Moose, because he was such a hardworking kid and never took a shift off,” said Paarup. “The kids really took it to heart.”
   Paarup credited the many volunteers for making the tournament a success.

Titans advance to provincial championship

    It was cold…
   But spirits were high as the Titans stepped off the bus for the South Final on Saturday.
   The Titans faced a challenging commute just to get to Claresholm to take on Willow Creek for a chance at the provincial final this week.

Gage Berdahl makes his move versus Willow Creek as the Titans went on to capture a spot in the provincial championship this Saturday in Calgary.

    Coach Ken Fournier said this may have been the worst conditions the team has played in but they were undaunted.
   Right off the kick off, Allan Lister stripped the ball and Joey Samoleski jumped on it for the first touchdown of the game.
   The Titans kept up the pressure. Aiden Enns was running right through the middle and chipped away 5 yards at a time. Spencer Fournier had in the area of 200 yards on the ground as he ran in three touchdowns, and Josh Weeteringen ran in the final touchdown for the team.
   Having sat most of the season with a broken leg, it was a boost for the team and Weeteringen’s confidence as the Titans went on to a 39-19 win, and a berth in the final this weekend.
   Coach Fournier said the team has never taken it for granted that they would wind up in the final, they earned it every step of the way.
   “These players in the last three years have had their ups and downs,” said Fournier. “They showed a lot of character to learn how to respond and that is why they are in the final on Saturday.”

Josh Weeteringen finds a hole in the Willow Creek defense as the Titans win 39-19 and earn a spot in the provincial championship this Saturday in Calgary.

    The team is prepared. With Weeteringen back in the line-up, as well a Ben Huculak, who has missed the bulk of the season with injuries, the Titans are looking to go all the way.
   They will be facing the Holy Rosary Raiders from Lloydmintser, who defeated the Cold Lake Royals 35-15.
   Fournier said he has had a look at the Raiders and says they have a strong passing game.
   “They can definitely move the ball through the air. We have to be sharp on defense and do the best we can,” said Fournier.
   For only the third time this season the Titans will be wearing their black home uniforms as they take on Holy Rosary at Shouldice Park in Calgary at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Junior A Saints end season on high

    The St. Anthony’s Saints junior A girls volleyball team have wrapped up a strong season.
   The team competed in Championship night on November 5 and finished third in their league.
   This comes on the heels of a strong showing at a tournament in Three Hills. There were 16 teams at the tournament and while they were not able to place, a two set win over DVSS was a moral victory for the team.
   “That was a really big deal for the girls,” said coach Kayla Davies.
   The team also won the Sportsmanship Award at the Christ the Redeemer Divisional tournament.
   It was an exciting year for the young team, which only has one grade 9 player. The rest of the squad are in Grade 8, meaning the future of the program looks bright.
   “Next year they will all be Grade 9, which is great, so hopefully they all learned a lot and we can do even better next year,” said Davies.
   “They improved tremendously, I am super proud of all of them.”

The Saints won the Sportsmanship Award at the Christ the Redeemer Divisional tournament. Members of the team are (l-r) Hannah Reed, Payton Zacharuk, Kayla Finkbiner, Olivia Brisebois, Ocean Bossert, Rachel Graf, Anna McGillivray, Samantha Ptashnik and Carmanah Olbrich. Missing is Lizzy Bomford.

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