By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — More than 80 budding hockey pros hit the ice at the AGT Centre last weekend during the Cyclones hockey school, held Oct. 20 to 22.

The three-day event is organized annually by the senior hockey team, with a rotation of players leading the sessions for each of the five age groups.

The event began Friday and Saturday with age-appropriate lessons, including drills on skating and puck handling, and wrapped up Sunday with three-on-three matches.

A total of 83 players were registered for the weekend event, which marks the beginning of minor hockey season in Davidson.

Rob Warkentin, vice-president of the Davidson Junior Athletics Association (JAA), said 120 players are registered this year, which is in line with the average over the last few seasons.

The biggest change this year was the introduction of online registration through the JAA’s new website.

Previously, parents would email the association to register their players, but organizers often had to follow up to fill in the gaps for any missing information.

From his point of view, Warkentin said the website made the registration process much easier.

“It worked very well from our side, and I think most of the parents were pretty happy with it too,” he said last week. “We’ll call that a win.”

Davidson has eight minor hockey teams this year, including two initiation teams with 33 kids in total, and two novice teams with 27 kids in total.

There is also one team each for the atom, peewee, bantam and midget divisions. Continue reading Minor hockey season opens with Cyclones school →

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — Low numbers and a string of injuries made for a challenging year on the field for the Davidson Raiders.

But in terms of team building and camaraderie, coach Jason Low said the Raiders reached new heights.

Low told the Leader that the team is starting to build traditions, growing as a unit and also having more fun on the field.

“I think the program took some great strides forward,” said Low. “I feel like we went to the next level this year, so I’m excited for next year.”

The senior football team finished its regular season with a 1-4 record, after which they lost in the first round of playoffs.

The Raiders visited the Lanigan Lazers on Oct. 13, losing 54-20.

The game was a rematch of their Sept. 8 season opener, in which Davidson had defeated Lanigan 46-36, their only win this year.

The second time around, the Raiders were coping with the loss of three starters due to injuries.

“When we played them healthy at the start of the year, we beat them,” Low said.

While Lanigan had improved from the season’s start, Low said missed tackles and other mistakes likely cost Davidson the game.

Jacob Schilling scored two touchdowns against Lanigan, while Hunter Wall scored the third.

Clay Murfitt, who suffered a twisted leg in the Sept. 22 game, was back on the field in a reduced role.

Low said the Raiders took time to warm up, a problem that has repeatedly plagued the team this season.

A decision in the last quarter to iron-man some of the senior players, getting on them on both sides of the ball, seemed to shift the momentum somewhat.

“It seemed like we were always a second half team,” the coach observed.

Continue reading Raiders wrap up year with playoff loss →

By Joel van der Veen

LAS VEGAS — As they took the ice for their home opener, the Vegas Golden Knights paid tribute to the men and women who answered the call during their city’s darkest hour.

The NHL team opened Tuesday’s game with a ceremony honouring the city of Las Vegas, the victims of the Oct. 1 mass shooting, and the heroes who responded in the face of tragedy.

As each player skated onto the ice, one by one, they were joined by firefighters, police and health professionals.

First on the ice was Davidson native and Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb, who was accompanied by firefighter Ben Cole.

Speaking to the Leader on Thursday, McNabb said it was an emotional experience and a memorable way to open their first home game of the season.

“It definitely gave us energy,” he said. “It was a cool thing to be part of.”

The ceremony included 58 seconds of silence, in honour of the 58 people killed by a single gunman during a country music festival in Vegas on Oct. 1.

The victims’ names were projected on the ice during the ceremony, while survivors of the event participated in the puck drop at the game’s start.

Deryk Engelland, who played as McNabb’s defensive partner for the season’s first three games, paid tribute to Las Vegas on Tuesday.

“I met my wife here, my kids were born here, and I know how special this city is,” he said, adding later to the survivors of the victims, “We’ll do everything we can to help you and our city heal.” Continue reading McNabb, Knights pay tribute to Vegas heroes →

By Joel van der Veen

MOOSE JAW — Tylar Oliver has some more hardware to add to the collection after competing in provincial riding club finals last month.

Oliver, a Grade 10 student in Davidson, won the high-point Gymkhana buckle in the junior B girls division at the Saskatchewan Riding Clubs Association (SRCA) provincial finals in Moose Jaw.

She and her horse Josey, a chestnut mare, competed in three events — barrel racing, pole bending and the quadrangle race.

Oliver said she’s been riding as long as she can remember, adding, “My dad started me when we moved here, when I was 2.”

She has been riding Josey for the last three years.

Though the mare was new to some competitive events like barrel racing, Oliver said, “She already had that speed mindset in her.”

This was Oliver’s second gymkhana buckle. In 2014, she was the high-point champion in the junior C girls division. She was also voted the SRCA’s provincial queen that year, taking home a trophy saddle.

Nine riders and horses from the Davidson Riding Club competed in this year’s SRCA provincial finals, held Sept. 22 to 24 in Moose Jaw.

Besides Tylar, two other club members picked up high-point buckles over the weekend.

Valerie Brown, riding Penny, received the high-point buckle for her results in the Pioneer Western Performance events.

Meanwhile, Brenda Clarke and Drifter earned the high-point buckle in the senior ladies Gymkhana division, after placing first in three separate events.

Continue reading Second gymkhana buckle for Oliver →