Sports | DrumhellerMail

Rampaging Raptors racing towards playoffs

    The Drumheller Raptors season is starting to wind down and by the end of February players will be hanging up their jerseys and skates for a long summer’s nap.
   Before that happens, many of the Raptors have a chance to prove their mettle in provincial playoffs.
   The Canalta Novice Raptors are working to climb the ranks and secure a spot in the playoffs.
   The weekend didn’t start off well for the Canalta Raptors when they made the trek to High Country to face one of the toughest teams in their tier. The Canalta Raptors lost, but came back the next day at home with a 8-4 win over Fort MacLeod.
   “It was a good win for the kids,” said head coach Curt Notland. “We’re making a run at playoffs. We’re in sixth position, fighting to make it to fourth.”
   The McDonald’s Novice Raptors struggled over the weekend, losing their games in Banff on January 28 and Blackie the next day. The McDonald’s Raptors will be heading back to Banff on February 4 to get some payback.
   The DMHA Raptors spent the weekend on the road. On January 28, the DMHA Raptors were in Strathmore and came out with a tie. The next day the team returned to their winning ways with a 5 to 4 victory over Siksika.
   The DMHA Novice Raptors entered the weekend at the top of their tier and came through the weekend still in first place. They have a critical game on February 4 against Brooks, the current second place team.
   The Yavis Atom Raptors had a tough loss this past weekend to High River. The team is looking forward to a tournament in Bowden this weekend, featuring teams from south-central Alberta. The tournament will give the Yavis Raptors a chance to play against teams outside of their league.
   The Hi-Way 9 Pee Wee Raptors had several games this past week, two of which were provincials.
   On January 28, the Hi-Way 9 Raptors played a regular season game against Cremona at home and won 7-4.
   The NGC Pee Wee Raptors faced a setback in their race to playoffs. On January 27, the team hosted Strathmore and were defeated 5-2. The next afternoon, the NGC Raptors fought back from 5-0 to finish the game with a tie.
   The NGC Raptors are holding on to a playoff spot.
   “We’re hoping the other teams lose and we win our last three games to make it to the playoffs,” said manager Christy Telford.
   The Bertram Drilling/Sports Room Midget Raptors were busy last week, playing four games in four days.
   On January 26, the Midget Raptors started provincials on the right foot with an 8-5 victory over Kneehill. The team continued the momentum the next day with an 8-0 win against Okotoks.
   The Midget Raptors couldn’t keep the pace on January 29 when they faced Prairie High in Three Hills and lost 4-2. The team was dealt a 4-2 loss in their second provincial game the next day.
   “It was pretty rough, the boys were tired,” explained Darren Toffan, head coach.
   The win on January 26 puts the Midget Raptors through to the second round of provincials.
   The Boston Pizza/Western Chevrolet Raptors were on the warpath last week. The team started things off on January 25 by demolishing Brooks in provincials by a staggering 17-2. The Bantam Raptors continued the rampage with a 14-1 win over Medicine Hat and an 8-4 victory over Claresholm on January 29.
   The regular season for minor hockey is slowing down. However, the playoffs are heating up with a few of the Raptors ready to strike at the championships.
   For more information about minor hockey and to keep track of the march to the playoffs, visit www.drumhellerminorhockey.com.

Sabres place fourth at Forestburg tourney

    The St. Anthony’s Senior Boys Sabres placed fourth at a tournament in Forestburg over the weekend.
   The Sabres were primed to play last Friday as they opened the tournament versus Cornerstone School, but it didn’t come easy. The Sabres pulled out a five-point win edging Cornerstone 79-74. Tanner Borowicz had 30 points and 30 rebounds to go with five steals. Jordan Comstock had 26 points.
   They weren’t done Friday as they took on Alix, and were able to dispose of them 72-38.
   “It was a good effort all around,” said head coach Dan Patterson.
   Comstock had 16 points and eight rebounds, while Borowicz had 14 points and 13 boards.
This put them up against Daysland on Saturday afternoon. The team was frustrated as the game went on and fell 65-35. Borowicz came through with 12 points and 29 boards, TJ Jones had seven points and three steals.
   This put the Sabres up against Rundle Academy for third place. It was a nail biter.
   “Great energy, great enthusiasm, they played their hearts out,” said Patterson. “They went out there with all they had but a few turnovers near the end of the game cost them the win. Best game they’ve played as a team, morale wise.”
   The Sabres fell 67-61. Borowicz was again huge with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 10 steals. Comstock had 15 points and six boards, while Jones had 12 points and four steals.
   This weekend they are heading to Rosemary for more tournament play. Currently Rosemary is ranked sixth in the province.

Junior Dynos claim consolation at home tournament

    The Junior High DVSS Dynos claimed the consolation trophy at their home tournament after disposing of Brooks Composite.
   The Dynos hosted seven teams including Brooks Composite, Linden, Morrin, Prairie Christian Academy, Holy Cross Collegiate, Carbon and St. Joseph’s Colligate.
   It was against St. Joseph’s of Brooks the Dynos started play on Friday night, but by half, they found themselves down by 20. Coach Al Molzan said they were not able to make up the difference and lost 68-47.
   Sam Brown had 22 points, while Tracker Robinson had 17.
   This put them up against Holy Cross of Strathmore, and they were able to dispose of them 71-41. This time Brown had 26 points.
   The victory landed them up against Brooks in the consolation final and they took firm control of the game, winning 61-45 for the trophy.

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