Announcement
It was a weekend of fun for your Community Savings Atom B Viper’s. We were invited to an outdoor tournament to celebrate CBC’s Hockey day in Canada. Our games took place on a lake in the village of Alix, which is a small town about 30 minutes east of Red Deer. The organizers obviously did a whole bunch of work creating 8 outdoor rinks, organizing lunch for the players, and transportation around the town. It was the first attempt at something like this, and I would have to say it was a resounding success. The weather was beautiful, the hockey was fun (no raising the pucks, and all different tier levels), and the atmosphere was relaxed. All the Viper’s and many of their parents commented on the fun that was had. Please be sure to check out the picture section of the website as well as the video section to see pictures and video of the tournament action.
Sunday morning saw the Viper’s back in league action trying to nail down a playoff position by winning against Westward Parts. The game was a classic nail biter, the definition of a defensive struggle. The Viper’s scored a shorthanded goal in the first period, and rode that one goal lead into the third period on the back of outstanding goaltending by Nolan MacGregor. With one minute remaining in the third period Westward Parts pulled their goalie and threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Viper’s. They managed to sneak a lucky one by MacGregor with 50 seconds remaining in the game to tie the score up at 1-1. With 30 seconds remaining and the Viper’s buzzing in Westward’s end a Westward defenseman took a penalty for tripping. On the ensuing face-off the Viper’s won the draw back to Captain Austin Thorne who ripped a point shot off the post. That would be a close as the Viper’s would come to winning the game. Even though we tied the game it was one of those that felt like a loss since we dominated for most of the game. Next weekend the Viper’s will need to step up their game as they have been invited to play in an Atom A tournament in Sylvan Lake. Dedicated manager Chris Price will post a re-cap of the weekend for our loyal fans as this reporter is being sent on assignment to San Diego and will not be available to the team. In addition the Viper’s want to wish assistant coach Dean Burton well as he travels to sunny Scottsdale, Arizona to participate in the Wayne Gretzky fantasy camp. This is a dream come true for Coach Dean, he has been like a kid on Christmas Eve since he got the news that he was going. Our only worry is that coach Dean may pick up on some bad habits with the large number of ex-Oilers that participate in the camp. I’m not sure we could take him learning the Oiler whine of the 80’s, thankfully his Flames roots are deep enough I think any effects will be short lived. Have fun coach Dean.
Finally if Easton Leedahl gets to read this in the Dominican Republic, the Viper’s want him to know he is missed and they look forward to seeing him later this week.
