News and Announcements
After this morning’s exhibition game against Delburne, Hammer Burton said “Hey coach we’re on a 3 game winning streak” I said I was unaware of that and asked him if I could use the information in this week’s write up. Being the honest guy that he is he told me it was actually info that Flash Miner had given him. Well, thanks to Flash and Hammer our loyal Viper’s fans have been provided a sneak preview to this weeks wrap up. Pretty simple, 2 games played 2 wins in the win column.
The Viper’s officially started the streak (we consider 2 in a row a streak) by posting a 7-2 victory over MGM Ford in league play. The score is indicative of the dominance that the Viper’s displayed over MGM. Even though we were missing Will Gummow and Stefan Theriault for the game, the boys stepped up their play, supported each other and had a great game. Scoring for the Viper’s were Austin Price, Carson Stuve (2), Austin Thorne, Cody Miner, Easton Leedahl, and Jared Lower. In the dressing room our captain Austin Thorne was awarded the Green Hardhat for the Hardest working Viper.
Sunday morning the boys were back at the Kinsmen Twin arenas for an exhibition game against an Atom team from Delburne. It was a 3 – 20 minute period, stopped time game that featured a flood after the second and third periods. Missing regulars, Noah Simoneau and Brett Parada the Viper’s knew they were in for a challenge, and they were prepared for it. The game was highly entertaining with several lead changes and in the end the Viper’s prevailed 9-7. You wouldn’t have known that it would end up being a high scoring affair as the first period ended in a 1-1 tie. The boys went into the dressing room at the end of two with a 4-3 lead but with a man in the penalty box. We talked about tightening up defensively and killing the penalty during the intermission, but you know what they say about the best laid plans. Delburne came out in the third and tied the game with 2 seconds left on their power play and then took their first lead of the game about a minute later. About half way through the third the Viper’s looked like they were going to run away with things as they tied up the game and pulled ahead by 2 goals. Delburne never gave up and with 3 minutes left in the game tied the contest up at 7 apiece. The Viper’s, determined not to let their efforts go to waste, pressed and were able to score 2 more goals to salt away the victory. Exhausted and happy the boys had extended their winning to 3 games. Offensively the scoring was handled by 4 individuals, Carson Stuve (4), Austin Price (3), and The Stefan’s (Brazke & Theriault) contributed 1 each. Although this looks a little concentrated the goals for the most part were the result of hard work by the entire line. After the game Shazam (Stefan B) was awarded the Green hardhat for the hardest working Viper.
Please check out the video section of the website as 2 new videos introducing fans to 7 different Viper’s players were posted this weekend. Next weeks action looks rather sparse with only 1 practice and 1 game on the calendar. This may give time for dads to reconnect with moms before Valentines Day. Brothers can be re-introduced to sisters. Oh who am I kidding? We’ll just wait by the computer to see if more ice times come our way. Till then Go Viper’s Go!
The Viper’s weekend kicked off with a bang Friday evening as 17 boys and their dads (and one uncle) loaded up in a first class motorcoach and headed south down the QE 2 to watch the NHL’s Northwest division points leaders lay the smack down on the Nashville Predators. We had pizza and watched the movie Benchwarmers during the trip down. The Calgary Flames billed the game as a salute to Red Deer and there were over 1000 fans from Red Deer in attendance. When we arrived a couple of our parents and kids were surprised with some “extras”.
Soon after we were seated a Flames host asked Jordan Haraldson and his father if they would like to sit in Ken King’s (the Flames CEO) seats as he would not be using them. They quickly agreed and were moved a couple hundred feet closer to the ice surface. Sometimes you just do things, and it works out for you, and you don’t know why. On the bus ride down Jordy was sporting a fancy Ales Hemsky Edmonton Oilers jersey (especially brave given the 10-2 drubbing that the Oilers were handed a couple nights earlier) but for some reason he decided to take it off an leave it on the bus. I have to believe that had he been wearing that jersey, the flames representative may have chosen someone else to sit in the CEO’s seats.
Matt Michnik’s father Derek was chosen to participate in a game that took place on the Jumbotron. It was a PartyPoker stars competition and he had to guess whether Robyn Regeher was the only NHL player born in Brazil or not. Derek disagreed that he was even born in Brazil, and informed the 19000 people in attendance that he was born in Saskatchewan. The audience reaction, as well as the host asking him if he wanted to re-guess, eventually led to a correct response. Poor Derek took a ribbing from a great numbers of fans, some that he knew and a bunch that he didn’t. In the end Derek got the last laugh as he scored a couple of tickets to watch a Flames game in a suite and a Pokerstars prize pack.
You would think that those events combined with the Flames victory may have been enough for one evening but you would be wrong. Coach Al arranged for the Viper’s to meet Curtis Glencross and Jim Vandermeer after the game and the Flames players signed a bunch of things for our boys. During the bus ride home we ran in to freezing rain, sleet, and finally a blizzard that had winds reported up to 100 Km/h. We had cars and truck’s hit the ditch while driving beside us and had to slam on the brakes and avoid a car that had skidded to a stop, ending up sideways across the highway. Eventually we made it home safe and sound, happy and looking forward to our league game the next morning.
Saturday morning we hit the ice against the Fargey’s Paint Chiefs. In two previous meetings we had a loss and a tie against the Chief’s. Adding some importance to the game was the fact that Fargey’s was undefeated in league play to this point. The game got off to rocky start as the Chief’s jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first 16 minutes of the game. The coaches were at a loss, we weren’t skating and passing like we know how to. We were a little nervous that last weekend’s drubbing was having some carry over effect. With 3 minutes left in the period Carson Stuve scored to make it a 3-1 but the Chief’s quickly restored the 3 goal lead scoring 40 seconds later and taking a 4-1 lead into the second period. It wasn’t until about 1/2 way through the second periods that things started clicking and we began to play Viper’s hockey. With 6 minutes remaining Cody Miner scored a hard working goal and cut the lead in half and period 2 finished with the Chief’s up 4-2.
In the third period there was great scoring chances at both ends, Nolan MacGregor slammed the door shut on the Chiefs and the Viper’s wore down the defence of the Chief’s. With 7:06 remaining in the game, Brett Parada crashed the net and banged home the 4-3 goal. A minute a 30 seconds later Easton Leedahl and Carson Stuve jumped on a puck that had been shot through the Chief’s goalies legs and was sitting on the goal line, and knocked it into the net tying the game at 4. The game was capped off with 2 minutes left when Austin Price made a spectacular rush, crashed the opposing net and put the Viper’s up 5-4. The Chief’s pulled their goalie for the final 1:30 but strong defensive play held on to the victory for the Vipers.
At the end of the game Matt Michnik was singled out by the coach for his hard work and presented the Green hard hat.
Next week the Viper’s a league game vs MGM and play an exhibition game against Delburne.
A hard weekend of hockey came to a close Sunday afternoon in Sundre, Alberta. The Community Savings Vipers were in the small west central Alberta town to participate in the Sundre Atom hockey tournament. The caliber of the teams in the division we played in was much higher than the league we play in and consequently we faced some very tough competition. It was a learning experience, in what it takes to compete, for our second year players that are moving on to pee-wee hockey next year, as well as our first year players that hope to move up a tier next year. We played games against Cochrane, Sundre and Okotoks and were winless for the weekend. The games did help point out some areas that we can improve on and we will work on these in the coming weeks as we move towards our league play-offs. The tournament was well organized and run and our boys enjoyed hot dogs, slushes, fruit, muffins, chips, and a t-shirt for participating in the tournament. At the end of each game an MVP and Heart & Hustle Award were presented to players on each team. This weekend our MVP’s were awarded to Matt Cormack, Easton Leedahl, and Stefan Theriault. The Heart & Hustle awards were handed out to Noah Simoneau, Brandan Hart, and Jared Lower. Austin Thorne and Hammer Burton earned the coveted Green Hard Hat for the hardest working Viper of the day. Carson Stuve and Austin Price were our goal scorers for the weekend. The boys on the team unanimously decided to award our goalies Will Gummow and Noalie MacGregor the Gold and Silver stars of the game. Our parents deserve Hard Hats and Stars, as well as a huge round of applause as they were very vocal and supportive for the boys all weekend. I know that they brought smiles to our boy’s faces when things were tough. Way to go parents!
This week the Viper’s have a practice, a dry land training session at Can-Pro, we are attending the Flames versus Nashville Predators NHL hockey game courtesy of Can-Pro hockey, and we wrap up the week with a game against the top team in our league. It should be a lot of fun and I look forward to letting you know how it went next week.
You would think that three missing players and two coaches, and a 7:00 AM Sunday game might throw the Community Savings Viper’s off their game, but you would be wrong. Coach Dean and Hammer are currently in Mexico, soaking up sun and indulging in cool Mexican beverages, while Coach Al and Brett were away in Calgary coaching in a Ringette tournament.
It’s been a month since the Viper’s played in league competition and the boy’s were eager to get back into it. Our opponent was Superior Propane, and in our previous match –up the Viper’s skated away with a 5-4 win, but coughed up a 4-1 lead, so we knew we were in for a test. The Viper’s had 2 practices this week and looked ready to get the job done. During Friday’s practice, coach “Iron Mark” put the boys through an intense physical workout, and while the Viper’s were up to the challenge, coaches Jeff and Dan could barely walk the next day. Last week the Viper’s ran out of gas in the third period so we are making a concerted effort to increase our physical fitness level.
The Viper’s came out of the box like gangbusters on Sunday morning, and out shot their opponents 13-3 in the first period, however the score was knotted at 1. The damage could have been worse as 2 of the 3 first period “shots” were breakaways. Noalie the goalie came up huge on the second break-a-way and kept things close and the Viper’s potted one with 3 seconds left tie up the score at 1 each. In the second period the Viper’s again out chanced, and this time out scored the Propaners, finishing the second period with a 4-3 lead. A little let down in the third period let Superior back into the game and allowed them to take a 5- 4 lead with only 6 minutes remaining. The go ahead goal was the wake up call the Viper’s needed and they bared down scoring 4 quick goals (including an empty netter) winning the game 8-5. In the end we out shot our opponent 38-23 and the score reflected the dominance that we had.
As a team it might have been one of our best game as far as positional play goes. The boys filled in for each other, covered their men, and knew where to be and go on the face-off. Carson Stuve and Austin Price worked very hard playing Center and rotating between 3 forward lines. Offensively the Miner & Leedahl line were responsible for 5 of the 8 goals with “Flash” Miner potting his first hat trick of the year, and Easton Leedahl throwing one in. Stuve, Price, and Bratzke also lit the lamp on behalf of the Viper’s. Defensively, Stefan Theriault and Brandan Hart had stellar games for the Viper’s. As usual, Noalie was steady and at times stupendous for us between the pipes.
This week the Viper’s and their fans should get their fill of hockey as we have 3 practices and 5 games from Monday till next Sunday. Check out the photo section of the website this week as I have uploaded game action photos from today’s game courtesy of Steve Cormack. See ya next week!
Hello faithful Viper’s fans. It seems like a year since you were last updated on your favorite Atom B hockey team. In fact it has only been 3 weeks. The Viper’s used that 3 weeks for rest and relaxation and have only had 2 practices since Dec 21.
Well 2009 is upon us and the Viper’s begin their quest to be the best Atom B team in the city. Some changes have occurred in team operations that I thought I would update you on. Firstly all second year players must now tie there own skates in the second half of the season. All of our second years are headed to Peewee next year and have to be able to tie there own skates. Secondly our assistant captains will be named permanently for the second half of the season. The coaches awarded Carson Stuve an A today and will name the second two assistants in the near future. The boys have been told that they can earn an A by displaying leadership and working hard every practice and game. Next practice the players are also going to be given a chance to tell who they think should be the assistants.
On Sunday afternoon the Viper’s played an exhibition game against a Sylvan Lake Atom A team. The Viper’s played this team twice before, in the Spruce Grove tournament, winning once and losing once. The rubber match was a 2.5 hour stopped time game with floods between every period, just like the pros. The Viper’s came out of the gates strong and took an early 1-0 lead and held on to the lead until the end of the first period. In the second period 3 quick goals reversed the tide and the Viper’s were down 3-1. Sylvan scored twice more in the period while the Viper’s chipped in 2 and we went into the change room down 4-3. In the third period the wheels came off the wagon as Sylvan Lake scored 5 more times to our 3 and wound up winning 9-6. Carson Stuve was awarded the hardest working player of the game.
Some positives were taken from the game; we had moments of brilliance with sustained pressure and strong defensive play, we killed off a number of penalties including a 5 on 3 opportunity, and we scored a couple of times on the power play. It also highlighted some areas that we need to continue to work on. In the end this game will help us get to where we want to be at the end of the year.
Next week we practice 3 times, including our first outdoor practice of the year, and we play a league game against Superior propane. In our first meeting against Superior Propane the Viper’s came away with a 5-4 victory.
