Busy weekend for Taber Golden Suns

Posted on November 21, 2024 by Taber Times

By Cole Parkinson
Taber Times

It was a busy weekend of Elite Alberta Hockey League action for the Taber Golden Suns as teams looked to bank points in the standings.

U11

The U11 Golden Suns looked to add a few more wins this weekend as they lined up for two games. On Saturday, the team was on the road to Lethbridge to clash with the Hurricanes. The game was all Canes though as the home team cruised to an 11-1 victory. Blake Bryan added the lone Taber goal. Rem Jardine got the start in net and made 16 saves on 24 shots while Tove Morgan came in and gave the Suns 36 saves on 38 shots.

Sunday was a different story as the Suns hit the ice on the road against the Foothills Bisons. In a completely one-sided game, the Suns steamrolled the Bisons with a 39-0 win. Jayce Antal had a single assist, Heston Honess scored twice and had three assists, Maddex Howg had a pair of goals and four assists, Asher Skretting scored four goals, Carter Wiest had four goals and three assists, Mason Emelson chipped in with two assists while Bentley Dyck had six assists. Boone Depew also scored four and had three assists, Bryan added six more goals and two assists, Nash Dyck hit the back of the net 10 times while also adding an assist, Justice Luther had a hat trick and an assist, and Paxton Foot had four goals and two assists. Morgan made six saves over two periods while Jardine made three.

The Suns will look to continue strong play this weekend when they host Red Deer on Saturday at 12:15 p.m. and then Foothills comes to town for a 10:30 a.m. game on Sunday.

U13

It was a two-pack road trip against the East Kootenay Avalanche for the U13 Suns this past weekend. The first period of the weekend saw both teams trade goals in the first as Cooper Lutz tied the game on the powerplay with Deacon Webb drawing the assist. The second was the same as the Avalanche scored first before Blaze Wenzel scored for Taber on the powerplay with Declan Okell getting the assist.

The third saw the powerplay continue to click for Taber as Boston Constant had an unassisted marker to give Taber their first lead of the game. Wylie Campbell would score his first of the season to extend Taber’s lead nearly 10 minutes later. Travis Jackson would add another powerplay marker for Taber in the final minute as Callaghan Tjeerdema had the assist. East Kootenay would score with six seconds left as Taber took game one 5-3. Drew Tame started in net and made 29 saves on 32 shots.

Game two would start like the first with the Avalanche jumping out to an early lead. Taber would answer back with three straight to take a 3-1 lead into the second. Constant would score the first two while Tjeerdema had the other. Campbell, Tjeerdema, Constant, and Jackson Wiest all notched assists in the period.

The second saw East Kootenay score first yet again before Constant found the back of the net to get Taber’s lead back to two. A few minutes later, Shawn Mrowil added another for Taber as Wenzel had the assist. The Aves would get one back before the end of the period.

In the third, Taber would score three straight in the first two minutes as Okell, Wiest, and Tjeerdema hit the back of the net. East Kootenay would add two more but Taber would score two late powerplay goals from Eli Robb and Constant to seal the 10-5 victory. Wiest had two assists in the period while Webb, Tjeerdema, and Constant all had one. Nash Stober was solid in net with 27 saves on 32 shots.

After a big two-game weekend, the Suns are back on the ice for one home game on Saturday as they welcome in the Airdrie Lightning. Puck drop is set for 2:45 p.m.

U15

The U15 Suns were busy with two games this weekend as they played the SEAC Tigers and the Foothills Bisons. Friday saw the Suns and Tigers on the ice in Vauxhall as the two teams battled in a tightly contested game. The Tigers would jump out to a 2-0 lead in the first before Taber answered back early in the second. Ryker Orsten would get Taber on the board with a powerplay goal as Bril Haraga and Tony King had the assists. Near the 15-minute mark of the period, Taber would tie it thanks to Hudson Stenger as King had another assist. Seconds later, the Tigers would take back the lead and the Suns went into the third period down by a single goal.

A few minutes into the period, Hayden Eldridge tied the game with an unassisted goal. That would be all either team could do offensively as things ended tied at three apiece. Ashton Jensen made 18 saves in the Taber net.

Saturday saw the Suns out on the road to take on the Foothills Bisons. The Bisons would score one in the first and two in the second to take a 3-0 lead into the final frame. Stenger would get Taber on the board late in the period. Jhett Stober and King had the assists on the first Taber goal of the game. Foothills would extend that lead seconds later. Stober would fire one more in the net for Taber, but the Suns would fall 4-2. King notched yet another assist on the final Taber goal. Jack Lukacs made the start for Taber and made 31 saves on 35 shots.

It’s a single-game weekend upcoming for the U15s as they welcome in the Bisons on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

U18

After a forgetful first weekend of November AEHL action, the U18 Suns looked to get back in the win column this past weekend as they had a pair of road games. First up was a game against the Foothills Bisons. Heston Hansen got the party started with an unassisted shorthanded goal for Taber just after the midway mark of the period. Foothills would even things up late in the period and the teams went into the second all tied.

The teams would trade goals back and forth in the second as Foster Weatherhead and Hunter Simpson scored for Taber and the game was tied 3-3. Nathan Rijkens, Hansen, and Weatherhead all had a single assist in the period. Foothills would score first in the third but Hansen would get a powerplay marker minutes later as Simpson and Weatherhead drew assists. The Bisons would retake the lead with a pair of quick strikes. Taber saw Ryder Van Buskirk get his first of the year but it wasn’t enough as Foothills added another en route to a 7-5 win. Hansen and Weatherhead had the assists on the final Taber goal. Dagrin Bahr-Hemsing was busy in the Taber net with 51 saves on 58 shots.

Sunday was another game to forget for the U18s as they fell 12-0 against the NWCAA Bruins. Dakota Hurst was tested early and often as the netminder made 57 saves on 69 shots.

Next up for Taber is a Friday night road game against the Okotoks Oilers. Puck drop is 8 p.m.