Tiering round continues for all Taber Oil Kings teams

Times Photo by Meg Noguchi PUCK MASTER: The U15 Oil Kings played against Medicine Hat Saturday evening at the Taber Ice Arena. Lincoln Wiebe drives up ice with the puck dancing between two opponents.

By Cole Parkinson
For Taber Times

Colder weather has reached southern Alberta and it certainly feels like hockey season. All Taber Oil King teams are still amid the Central Alberta Hockey League tiering round.

U11 Tier 3

The U11 Oil Kings looked to continue their winning ways this past weekend as they had another pair of games. On Saturday afternoon, the team welcomed in Medicine Hat for their third game of tiering. It was a high-scoring affair for the two teams but it was the visitors who were able to take the game 8-6 when the final buzzer rang. Taber saw Ryden Baker pot two goals and collect a pair of assists in the game while Lincoln Braun had two goals, and Luke Engwer and Paxton Foote had the other Taber goals. Cage Holcek and Arlo Van Geest also chipped in with an assist each. Dylan Volk got the start in net for the Oil Kings and made 35 saves on 43 shots.

Looking to end the weekend with a split, the Oil Kings hit the road Sunday morning for a matchup with Duchess. This time, it was all Oil Kings as the team raced out to an early lead and never let go as they skated to a 9-4 win. Braun had another two goals with three assists while Holcek potted a hat trick and an assist, Foote scored a pair of goals, Baker had a single goal and assist, Luca Nielsen collected two assists, Engwer had a single tally, and Mason Woordman found the scoresheet with an assist. Volk Was back in between the pipes and made 43 saves on 47 shots.

U13 Tier 4

After a 2-0 weekend to kick off the season, the U13 Oil Kings were also looking to add a few more wins during the tiering round. This past weekend saw the team play in a pair of games including Saturday when the Coaldale Cobras came to town. It was an offensive battle between the two teams but the Cobras were able to jump out ahead and win the game 12-8. Kash Kover led the way for Taber with a hat trick and an assist while Chance Crowson had three assists. Wyatt Valgardson had a pair of goals for Taber, Dalan Blasetti, Mitchell Kimoto, and Logan Rabusic all had a goal and an assist, and Theoren Bolig had a single assist. Aidyn Arena Derksen got the start in net for Taber, making 35 saves on 47 shots.

Despite the setback to start the weekend, the Oil Kings had a chance to go 1-1 when they hit the ice again on Sunday — this time on the road against Foothills. It was a bounce back on all sides of the puck as the Oil Kings were dominant en route to a 15-4 win. Kover continued his strong play with five goals, Blasetti had two goals and two assists, Rabusic chipped in with a pair of goals and an assist, Kimoto and Valgardson had two goals each, Seth Jespersen had a goal and an assist, Samuel Hathaway scored a single, and Jaxson Tychsen collected an assist in the win. Chance Crowson got the start for Taber in net and the netminder made 18 saves on 22 shots.

U15 Tier 3

The U15 Oil Kings had a home and away game this past weekend as they continued their tiering round.

On Friday night, the team was on the road as they took on Kainai. In a back-and-forth game, the Oil Kings jumped out to an early 3-0 lead but the home team fought backhand and wound up taking the win 8-7. Lincoln Wiebe was the driver of the offence with a hat trick, Ethan Volk and Jaxson Badura each had two goals and an assist, and Skylar Jensen had a single assist in the loss. Brodyn Sutka was the starting netminder for Taber and the goalie was busy as 71 shots were fired at the net. Sutka would turn away 63 of them.

The Oil Kings hosted Medicine Hat Saturday evening and unfortunately, the visitors were all business as they skated to a 12-2 rout. Wiebe had both Taber goals while Badura had a single assist. Jack Lukacs was in net for Taber, making 47 saves on 59 shots.

U18 Tier 3

Looking for their first win of the tiering round, the U18 Oil Kings were back on the ice this past weekend for two games. Friday night saw Foothills come to town for a great matchup. While it was back and forth for most of the game, Foothills was able to edge out a 5-3 victory. Kayden Kress had a goal and two assists for the Oil Kings while Carter Jensen and Kellen Lauwen had the other Taber goals. Ty Dorin was in net for Taber as the goalie made 29 saves on 34 shots.

Saturday saw Taber hit the road as they took on Medicine Hat to finish off the weekend. It wasn’t the U18 Oil Kings’ day as the team fell 9-0. Avery Remfert was the starting netminder for Taber and he made 63 saves on 72 shots in the loss.