Taber Oil Kings take part in CAHL opening weekend

Posted on November 28, 2024 by Taber Times

By Cole Parkinson
Taber Times

With tiering officially over for the Central Alberta Hockey League, this past weekend saw the first games of the regular season for all Taber Oil Kings teams.

U11 Tier 4 Yellow

The U11 Oil Kings kicked off their campaign with a pair of games this past weekend. Saturday morning saw the team welcome in Duchess as the two teams looked for big starts to the season. It was Duchess who was able to get the better of things in this one as the visitors cruised to a 12-1 victory. Dreyton Kinniburgh had the lone Taber goal as Aspen Hart-Jensen had the assist. Boston Bassett was in between the pipes and made 34 saves on 46 shots.

Taber was right back on the ice on Sunday afternoon as they hit the road to take on Redcliff. Thanks to a big three-goal first period, Taber was able to clinch a 6-2 win to wrap up the weekend. Nash Funk led the way with two goals and an assist, Lucas Bowman and Kinniburgh each chipped in a goal and an assist, Weston Valgardson and Cole Span had a single goal, and Reed Campbell and Madden Nakamura had an assist each. Kohen Ilcynski was solid in the Taber net with 28 saves on 30 shots.

U11 Taber finishes off November with one more home game on Saturday when Foremost visits for a 10:15 a.m. puck drop. The following day, Taber is on the road as they take on Brooks Blue at 11 a.m.

U13 Tier 3 Blue

It was a single-game weekend for the U13 Tier 3 team as they started at home against Lethbridge on Saturday. Taber scored early and often in their first game as they secured an 8-2 win on home ice. Mitchell Kimoto couldn’t be stopped as he potted five goals, Dalan Blasetti had two goals and an assist, Logan Rabusic had a goal and an assist, Baron Stang, Dane Beckie, and Lincoln Braun all had a pair of assists, and Samuel Hathaway, Ryden Baker, Hudson Ilczynski, and Luca Nielsen all found the scoresheet with one assist. Dylan Volk made 19 saves on 21 shots in the Taber net.

Next up for Taber is another home game on Saturday at 2:45 p.m. when Okotoks Gold comes to town.

U13 Tier 4 Yellow 

The Tier 4 U13s had a successful start to the 24-25 season as they took on Foremost at home. The Oil Kings were on fire as they skated to an 11-0 win. Wyatt Valgardson had two goals and four assists, Tyrion Ewing and Arlo Van Geest had a goal and two assists each, Kalum Turcato had three assists, Cooper Ross, Cage Holcek, and Holden Lyon each found the back of the net twice, and Mason Woordman had a goal and an assist. Chason Sekura notched a pair of assists while Lennon Kover, Kendall Clement, and Luke Engwer all had an assist in the game. Aidyn Derksen Arnel posted a 23-save shutout in the Taber crease.

The U13 Tier 4s are back at it this weekend when they host Irvine on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Sunday sees the team as the visitors as they take on Bow Island at 12:45 p.m.

U15 Tier 3 Yellow

It was a busy first weekend for the U15 Oil Kings as they played in a pair of games. First up was a Friday night matchup against Lethbridge that saw Taber firing on all cylinders. When the final buzzer rang, Taber took home a 13-1 win. Lincoln Wiebe fired two past the Lethbridge netminder and added four assists, Ethan Volk notched a hat trick, Ryder Nielsen had two goals and an assist, Kellon Schalk and Jenner Workman had two goals each, Kash Kover and Jaxson Badura scored once each, and Wyatt Valgardson had an assist. Brodyn Sutka was the starting goalie for Taber and made 32 saves on 33 shots.

Saturday was another high-scoring affair when the Oil Kings met up with Foremost in Taber. Despite falling behind 3-1 in the first period, the Oil Kings battled back and were able to skate to a 7-3 victory. Volk had another two goals and two assists, Wiebe had two goals and an assist, Kover scored once and added two assists, Workman and Nielsen had a goal each, and Sutka had an assist to go with a 37-save win in net.

The U15s have one final November game when they welcome Redcliff on Saturday at 5:15 p.m. On Sunday, the team Duchess is in Taber for a 1 p.m. game.

U18

Only one game was on the schedule for the U18 Oil Kings as they saw High Country White come to town on Friday night. Taber came out firing and they handed High County a 9-3 loss. Kayden Kress notched a hat trick and two assists while Ayden Umbach had two goals and two assists, Branson Devlieger had a goal and two assists, Konnor Wiebe scored twice, Skylar Jensen and Adelyn Williamson had two assists each, Samuel Klaas hit the back of the net once, and Evan Untereiner and Jasper Sidam had an assist each. Ty Dorin made 29 saves on 32 shots in the Oil Kings’ net.

This weekend has the U18s back on the ice as they head to Lethbridge on Saturday for a 7 p.m. puck drop. On Sunday, the team is back on the road as they take on Picture Butte at 4 p.m.