Golden Suns continue February schedule

Times Photo by Brylan Span. Net-front Battle: Evan Koizumi (#22) of the U18AA Taber Golden Suns battles for position in front of the CBHA Hawks net on Saturday February 10. Koizumi had three assists on the weekend.

By Cole Parkinson
Taber Times

The South Central Alberta Hockey regular season is nearing its end but Taber Golden Suns teams were on the ice this past weekend looking to rack up some wins.

U13

It was a two-game weekend for the U13 Suns as they took on Foothills and Red Deer. First up was a road trip to take on the Bisons.

Taber would jump out to a two-goal lead in the first period thanks to Hudson Stenger and Jude Klingenberg finding the back of the net. Lincoln Deleeuw had a pair of assists in the period while Stenger, and Ben Van Der Linde each had a single.

Scoring continued in the second for the Suns as they scored the first three goals of the period. Nash Skanderup, Hayden Eldridge, and Jaxton Rodeback had the goals while Stenger, Deleeuw, Cole Bouchard, and Marcus Schwartz had an assist each. Before the end of the period, the Bisons would score a pair to make it a 5-2 Taber lead heading into the final frame.

Eldridge would extend that lead at 12:04 with Declan Okell and Grayson Honess drawing the assists. The Bisons would add one more in the period but it wasn’t enough as the Suns took it 6-3. Drew Tame collected the win between the pipes with 19 saves on 22 shots.

Taber would return home on Sunday to take on Red Deer Wesco. Unfortunately for the Suns, it was all Red Deer as they skated to an 11-2 victory. Deleeuw had both Taber goals while Honess, Stenger, and Dax Hill had the assists. Cale Campbell was in net for Taber and the netminder made 38 saves on 49 shots.

This coming weekend sees a single game on tap for the U13s as they welcome in the Okotoks Oilers for a 10:30 a.m. game at home.

U15

The U15s were at home this weekend for a pair of games against the Wheatland Warriors and East Kootenay Avalanche.

Saturday saw the Warriors come to Taber and Taber saw their offence come out firing as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Ryker Orsten and Foster Weatherhead had the goals as Madix Miller, Tony King, and Brooke Dyck collected assists. The second saw Wheatland get back into the game with a pair of quick strikes. That would be all either team could muster as they went into the third squared at two.

Orsten would reclaim the lead for Taber as Miller and Heston Hansen had the assists on the go-ahead goal. A few minutes later, the game was tied once again. No icebreaker could be found and the game finished tied 3-3. Dakota Hurst made 43 saves on 46 shots in the Taber net.

Sunday was the matchup against the Avalanche and despite going down 1-0 in the first, Taber would answer back with two to take a 2-1 lead into the second. Weatherhead and Nixen Miller were the goal scorers with Orsten, King, and Hansen notching assists.

East Kootenay would tie it up early in the second before Raiden Koizumi returned the lead to Taber. Hansen and Canaan Fleck had the assists for the third Taber marker. Before the end of the period, the visitors would once again tie the game as it headed into the final period all tied at 3-3.

King would put one past the Avalanche netminder at 11:53 to give Taber their third lead of the game with Hansen and Koizumi getting the assists. But with just over five minutes to play, the Avalanche once again tied the game up. At the 1:32 mark, the visitors would find a goal to untie and then add an empty net goal to take it 6-4. Griffin Stenger was busy in the blue paint as the netminder made 47 saves on 52 shots.

The U15 Suns return this coming weekend for two more games. First up is a trip on Saturday to take on the Wheatland Warriors. Sunday sees the team back in Taber for a matchup against the Central Alberta Selects at 1 p.m.

U18

It was a two-game homestead for the U18s as they played host to the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday and the CBHA Hawks on Saturday.

The first game was all Suns as they beat up the Hurricanes with a 10-2 win. Landon Howg led the way with a pair of goals and four assists while Evan Koizumi had three assists. Hayden Smith and Connor Chapman each found the back of the net twice, Berkley Emelson, Hayden Span, and Chase Stronge each notched a goal and an assist, and Conrad Mehlhaff and Jett Matisho had two assists each. Hunter Simpson had a single goal and Dalton Damen and Ryler Kiss each had one assist in the win. Keegan Stenger was solid in net with a 38-save performance.

Unfortunately, Taber was unable to make it a 2-0 weekend as the CBHA Hawks came into town and skated to a 4-2 win. Chase Stronge had both Taber goals while Connor Chapman had two assists, and Lincoln Weiss had one. Kahil Wright made 26 saves on 29 shits in the Taber net.

It’s another two home games for the Suns this coming weekend as they welcome in Okotoks on Saturday for an 8 p.m. puck drop. That’s followed on Sunday by a visit from the Airdrie Lightning for a 3:30 p.m. game.