Sports | DrumhellerMail

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.

Drumheller’s Minor Hockey Raptors rising through ranks

    The Drumheller Minor Hockey Raptors have been racking up the wins over the past two weekends, with several of the teams in position to take control of their respective divisions.
   The Bertram Drilling/Sports Room Midget tier 3 Raptors are poised to rise through the standings in their league after a crucial 7-5 win over Airdrie on Sunday, November 25.
   However, the following weekend the team was dealt a setback, losing 4-1 in Cremona.
   Coaches are hopeful the win will be a stepping stone to the top of the standings. The Midgets are currently in sixth place in their league.
   “We’re still working on getting used to each other and playing as a team. Once we get on the same playing field, we’ll be an excellent team,” said assistant coach Nick Schinnour. “All the other teams have played three to five games more than us. Once we catch up, I think we’ll be one of the top teams in the standings.”
   The Boston Pizza/Western Chev Bantam tier 3 Raptors continued their undefeated streak at home against Cochrane on Saturday, winning 6-3. A week later, they continued the momentum and won 5-1 at home over Chestermere.
   The Bantams are currently in second place in their league and are one point behind the league leader. They have an advantage having played two fewer games.
   The NGC Pee Wee tier 2 Raptors continue to dominate their league after winning 5-2 at home against Oyen on November 23 and 6-1 in Medicine Hat the following day. On Saturday they followed up with a 11-4 victory in Indus.
   The Pee Wee 2 team is currently sitting at 12 points, double that of their closest competition.
   The Hi-Way 9 Pee Wee tier 5 Raptors finished their weekend with a 5-5 tie at home on November 24 against Strathmore and an 8-6 win against Indus the following afternoon.
   The team was recently moved up from tier 6 and welcomes the competition.
   “I think the season’s going to work out pretty good. We were re-tiered to tier 5...it’s going to make it a little more competitive, get the kids ready for next year, and keep pushing the kids to get better,” said coach Mark Coultes.
   The Encana Atom tier 3 Raptors had a tough weekend, losing 5-1 against both Canmore and Oyen. The team was coming off a 4-3 win over Strathmore the previous weekend.
   The Yavis Atom tier 6 Raptors began their weekend with a 8-5 win over Brooks on Saturday, but lost 5-2 against High County the next morning.
   The Yavis Raptors are currently in third place in their league.
   The McDonald’s tier 3 Novice Raptors had a busy, but successful two weeks. On November 24 they hosted Cochrane and won 7-3. The following day they defeated Blackie 8-2. They then continued to dominate with a 6-2 win over Hanna on Saturday.
   The wins give the team seven points in their league, placing them in fourth. However, the top teams have played between two to four more games, meaning the Raptors are poised to climb the standings.
   The Canalta Novice tier 6 Raptors are currently sitting in second place in their league after suffering two tough losses against Beiseker and Chestermere over the past two weekends.
   The teams will head back on the ice this weekend, leaving only two more weeks before the teams take a break for the holidays.

DVSS Dynos down Trochu Bluejays

    Hoops season started with a vengeance this week as the DVSS Senior boys buried an outgunned Trochu Bluejays team Monday night.
   The Dynos hosted Trochu Valley School in their home opener. Trochu had a squad of just five players, but took on the Dynos.
An unrelenting press in the first quarter saw the Dynos go up 34-4, forcing numerous turnovers. The Dynos went on to down the Bluejays 131-17.
   Michael Cameron led the Dynos with 26 points and 16 rebounds and Zach Thomson had 24 points and 13 boards. Every Dyno scored in the lop-sided victory.

Talon Marshall scored two of his 19 Monday night as the Dynos down the Trochu Bluejays 131-17.

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