Taber Golden Suns busy over weekend

Times Photo by Meg Noguchi. Golden Suns U-18 played during the Green Shirt Day event on Feb. 23 at the Taber Ice Arena.

By Cole Parkinson
Taber Times

It was another weekend full of Elite Alberta Hockey League (AEHL) action for Taber Golden Suns’ teams as they battle for position in the standings.

U11

It was a one-game weekend for the U11s as they closed out their regular season with a road game against Lethbridge on Saturday. It was all Hurricanes in this one as the home team skated to an 11-3 win. Tommy Palaschak scored and added two assists, Boone Depew and Paxton Foote had a goal each, and Blake Bryan and Nash Dyck had one assist. Tove Morgan was in net and made 20 saves on 31 shots.

At the end of the regular season, the U11 Golden Suns finished fourth in the South Yellow Conference out of seven teams. Their record was 15-9, good for 30 points. They scored 240 goals over 24 games while allowing 105, good for a differential of 135. Nash Dyck led the team in points with 78 goals and 41 assists over 24 games. The top five were rounded out by Paxton Foote (37 goals and 42 assists), Boone Depew (32 goals and 25 assists), Blake Bryan (32 goals and 25 assists), and Maddex Howg (nine goals and 16 assists). Tove Morgan was 9-3 in net with a 0.859 save percentage while Rem Jardine was 6-6 with a 0.794 save percentage.

In round one of the South Division playoffs, Taber meets fifth-place Okotoks who were 7-14-2 this season. They finished the year with 131 goals for and 144 goals against.

U13

Two games came and went for the U13s as they hosted Okotoks and West Central. Saturday’s game against the Oilers saw the Suns score two goals in all three periods en route to a 6-3 win. Travis Jackson had a goal and two assists, Deacon Webb scored twice, and Declan Okell had a pair of assists. Cooper Lutz, Boston Constant, and Callaghan Tjeerdema all scored once, and Jaxon Kalo, Wylie Campbell, Eli Robb, and Blaze Wenzel all had an assist. Drew Tame was solid in net with 27 saves on 30 shots.

Sunday’s matchup against the West Central Tigers saw West Central six straight as they skated to a 7-4 win. Shawn Mrowil and Lutz had a goal and an assist, Constant and Holden Emelson had a goal each, and Jackson Wiest, Tjeerdema, and Wenzel chipped in with an assist. Nash Stober was the starting netminder and he made 27 saves on 33 shots.

Next weekend is the final games of the regular season as the Suns have a two-game road trip. On Saturday, they head out to play the Central Alberta Selects while Sunday is against the Olds Grizzlys.

U15

The final games of the regular season came this weekend for the U15 squad. Saturday saw the Suns hit the road to take on the Bow Valley Timberwolves. Despite scoring first, the Suns were unable to hold on as they fell 4-1. Cole Swanson had the lone Taber goal and Jack Lukacs was the starting netminder for Taber. Lukacs made 34 saves on 38 shots in the loss.

Sunday’s action saw the Suns return home to take on the Okotoks Oilers. The Oilers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second period and were unable to stop any attempt at a comeback as they won 5-2. Tony King scored both Taber goals while Paxton Powell and Hayden Eldridge had an assist each. Ashton Jensen was busy in net as the goalie made 47 saves on 52 shots.

At the end of the regular season, the Suns finished sixth out of seven teams in the South Division with a 3-25-6 record and 12 points. They scored 67 goals over 34 games and allowed 172.

Next up for the Suns is the Regional Round Robin in Strathmore with the top four teams advancing to the South Division Semifinals. Taber begins their playoffs on Thursday afternoon with a 3 p.m. game against the Wheatland Warriors. The following day, the team takes on the East Kootenay Avalanche at 12:30 p.m. The round-robin ends on Saturday with a pair of games. First is an 11 a.m. puck drop against the Okotoks Oilers. The final game is against the Foothills Bisons at 6:30 p.m.

U18

Looking for their first win in February, the U18s had two home games to close out the AEHL regular season this past weekend. Saturday saw the Red Deer Elks come to town to begin the weekend. Taber would score the first goal off Foster Weatherhead’s stick but that would be all Taber could muster as they fell 4-1. Dakota Hurst made 29 saves on 32 shots in the Taber net.

Sunday’s game against the East Kootenay Avalanche didn’t go as planned either as the Suns lost 7-1. Raiden Koizumi had the lone Taber goal and Nathan Rijkens and Kylan Odland drew the assists. Dagrin Bahr-Hemsing made 27 saves on 34 shots.

The Suns have one more game on tap for the regular season this coming weekend. On Saturday, the team hits the road for a 2:15 p.m. game against the Bow Valley Timberwolves.