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By Cole Parkinson
Taber Times
The Christmas break has come and gone and Taber Oil Kings teams are gearing up for the second half of the Central Alberta Hockey League season.
U11
The U11 Oil Kings were off from CAHL action this past weekend. They return this weekend with a two-game road trip. First up is a Saturday morning game against Bow Island at 11:45 a.m. The weekend ends with a 2:30 p.m. puck drop against Foremost.
U13 Tier 3
It was a busy return for the U13 Tier 3 Oil Kings as they had back-to-back road games against two Okotoks teams. Okotoks Green was up first to take on the Oil Kings and it was the home team who raced out to an early lead before securing a 6-2 win. Jaxson Tychsen and Ryden Baker had the Taber goals while Lincoln Braun notched a single assist. Dylan Volk was the starting netminder for Taber.
Sunday’s game saw the Oil Kings take on Okotoks Gold in a high-scoring game. When the final buzzer rang, Okotoks walked away with a 12-5 victory. Tychsen added another goal and three assists, Braun scored twice and added an assist, Baker had a goal and an assist, Logan Rabusic hit the back of the net, and Mitchell Kimoto, Samuel Hathaway, and Dane Beckie all collected an assist. Volk was back in net and made 31 saves on 43 shots.
The U13 Tier 3 Oil Kings now have a rest from CAHL action as they don’t return until Jan. 18 against Magrath and Jan. 19 against Coaldale.
U13 Tier 4
The U13 Tier 4 team also had a two-game weekend to begin 2025. Saturday saw the team welcome in Bow Island to kickstart the second half of the season. Thanks to a six-goal second period, Bow Island skated to an 8-5 win over the Oil Kings. Holden Lyon had a hat trick for Taber while Cage Holcek had a goal and an assist, Kalum Turcato had two assists, Wyatt Valgardson scored once, and Chason Sekura had an assist. Aidyn Derksen Arnel made 23 saves on 31 shots in the Oil Kings’ crease.
The weekend wrapped up with another home game, this time against Irvine. Taber got a boost from being on home ice and scored in each period en route to a 3-2 victory. Holcek had a goal and an assist, Cooper Ross had a pair of assists, Luke Engwer and Arlo Van Geest had the other Taber goals, and Holden Capner and Sekura added an assist. Derksen Arnel was back in between the pipes and made 36 saves on 38 shots.
The Oil Kings are back at it this weekend with another two games. Friday night sees the team depart to Brooks for a 7:30 p.m. game. On Saturday, the team is back home to play Foremost as 12:30 p.m.
U15
The U15 Oil Kings looked to race out to a fast start to 2025 as they opened with two games. Saturday evening saw the Oil Kings host Irvine to begin the second half. Unfortunately, it was the visitors who were able to skate to a 5-4 victory. Taber saw Jenner Workman score a hat trick and an assist, Lincoln Wiebe had a goal and an assist, and Ethan Volk and Ryder Nielsen each had two assists. Brodyn Sutka was in between the pipes for Taber and made 37 stops on 42 shots.
Sunday was a road game for Taber as they matched up against Duchess. The home team jumped out to a big lead and never gave it up as they finished with a 9-5 win over the Oil Kings. Wiebe scored two more goals and added an assist, Workman scored a goal and notched two assists, Nielsen scored two, and Kash Kover and Mitchell Kimoto added an assist each. Sutka was back in net and made 36 saves on 45 shots.
The Oil Kings looked to get their first win of 2025 this coming weekend when they take on Foremost on the road at 5:15 p.m.
U18
It was a one-game weekend for the U18s as they hosted Foothills Blue on Saturday night. Taber saw no rust coming out of the break as they skated to a 6-2 win. Kayden Kress scored a hat trick, Tanner Fletcher had a goal and an assist, Jasper Sidam scored once and added an assist, Jude Tams found the scoresheet with two assists, Blake Rabusic had a goal, and Ayden Umbach, Adelyn Williamson, TJ O’Grady, Evan Untereiner, Branson Devlieger, and Maizie Skiba all had an assist. Ty Dorin was solid in the Taber net with a 31-save win.
The U18 Oil Kings are back on the ice this weekend for a two-pack of home games. On Friday night, the team takes on Kainai at 8:15 p.m. The weekend wraps up with an 8 p.m. game on Saturday against Lethbridge.
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