Davidson’s Derek Schmiedge battles for the puck during a midget “A” provincial playoff game against the Estevan Bruins on Wednesday. (Leader photo by Leanne Read)
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — A clean, fast-paced game against the Estevan Bruins made for a great start to provincial playoffs for the Davidson Midget Huskies.
The midget team hosted the Bruins on Wednesday in the first round of provincial “A” playoffs, defeating the city team 3-1.
The Davidson team picked up five players from Watrous for provincial playoffs: Brayden Moneo, Parker Osmak, Emmett Scheidt, Troy Sundquist and Thomas Vanthuyne.
The roster also includes players from Craik, Kenaston and Loreburn.
Coach Jason Nolting said the Huskies played well and were up to the challenge from Estevan.
“It wasn’t a real physical game by either team,” he said, adding that the play started off strong in the first period. “Everyone got in the game and skated really well.”
For the full story, please see the Feb. 6 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.
Brodie Ringdal of the Davidson Peewee Cyclones heads for the goal while Dinsmore’s Claudia Lammers tries to block during the Jan. 23 provincial playoff game.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — The Peewee Cyclones were playing at full blast last week as they hosted the Dinsmore Dynamos in the first round of provincial playoffs.
Davidson defeated the Dynamos 13-3, giving the team an enormous lead in the two-game total-point series.
“The kids played hard, all of them,” said Chad Allan, who coaches the Davidson peewee team with Chad Manz and Jacob Schilling. “The whole bench was involved in the game.”
Allan said Dinsmore also played a hard game and didn’t let up, so the competition was more balanced than the score indicated.
The Cyclones led 4-1 at the end of the first period and were up 9-2 by the end of the second.
Brodie Ringdal led the scoring for Davidson with three goals and three assists.
Zack Prpick, Hayden O’Brien, Jackson Allan and McKenna Doell each scored two goals, while Derek Griffin and Carter Mooney had one goal each.
Jackson Allan had a pair of assists, while Noah Schneider, McKenna Doell, Zack Prpick, Carson Palmer, Donta Desjarlais and Aiden Pasher were each credited with one assist.
Kenaston’s Connor George stood in net for the Cyclones and also had a successful game.
Davidson is currently tied with the Wynyard 1 team for fifth place out of 12 peewee teams in the East Central Minor Hockey League, with eight wins, four losses and one tie.
“It’s a competitive league,” Allan remarked.
The second game of the playoff series was scheduled for Friday, Jan. 27 in Dinsmore.
The winner of the series will face Southey in the next round. Details will follow in an upcoming edition of the Leader.
Davidson’s Andrew Read gets some air in a Jan. 21 tournament game against Rocanville.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — The ingredients are all there for another successful season for Davidson’s senior boys basketball team.
What’s needed is a sustained effort and a determination to win, instead of just working to avoid losing, coach Kim Rettger said.
Last year’s senior boys team made history, winning Davidson its first provincial basketball title at Hoopla. Seven of those players graduated in June.
While the path to victory hasn’t been so direct this year, Rettger said Davidson is still among the top four 1A teams in the province, along with Rocanville and Middle Lake.
“All three of us are right in the lead,” said Rettger, adding that the victory would go to the team that makes the fewest mistakes and executes complete games.
The senior Raiders hosted eight teams in a home tournament the weekend of Jan. 20 and 21. Middle Lake won the weekend, defeating Rocanville by more than 20 points.
Rettger said it was a weekend of solid play for all participating teams, adding, “The calibre of basketball is just amazing.”
Davidson played a total of three games, easily defeating Langham in the opener on Friday night.
However, the two games on Saturday — against Rocanville and Norquay — proved more challenging, resulting in two close losses for the Raiders.
Coach Kim Rettger said he believes the team was up to the challenge in both games, but failed to keep its efforts up all the way through.
“There’s some work to do,” he said. “We’re in the games, we’re just not quite ready to play a complete game, it seems.”
For the full story, see the Jan. 30 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.
The Davidson Cyclones’ Brett Ward shoots the puck past Drake Canucks goalie Calvin Bartel during Wednesday’s game, thus reclaiming the lead in the third period.
By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — A narrow 6-5 win over the Drake Canucks made an exciting start to 2017 for the Davidson Cyclones.
The teams faced off at the Davidson Communiplex on Wednesday before a modest but eager crowd.
Cyclones coach Brad Morrison said it was a solid game for both the defence and offence, though some penalties made the team vulnerable at certain points.
“Drake was really capitalizing on their power plays,” he said. “We were taking some bad penalties at the wrong times.”
Davidson’s Rhyse Dieno had the only goal of the first period with 17:45 remaining, assisted by Chad Manz and Bryce Prpick.
Carter Coben tied the score at the top of period two with a goal for Drake (18:43), followed by three consecutive goals for Davidson.
Cyclones captain Derek Allan scored the first of those (18:12), followed by a goal by Brett Ward (15:47). Allan scored again with 15:21 remaining to give Davidson a 4-1 lead.
Drake closed the period with two more goals, scored by Adam Hendry (8:59) and Matt Spafford (2:33).
The third period began with another goal for Drake, scored by Jim Bubnick (9:11), tying the score at 4-4.
Davidson reclaimed the lead with back-to-back goals, the first by Brett Ward (8:15) and the second by Chad Manz (6:43).
Jim Bubnick then scored a second goal for Drake (4:45), ensuring the game remained close right to the end.
Morrison had praise in particular for goalie Brady Willner, complimenting him on his rebound control.
Willner stopped 38 out of 43 shots on net, shutting out Drake entirely in the first period.
“Things are (moving) forward as we get more in shape and as our guys get skating more,” Morrison said Thursday.
Attendance in recent games has wavered, with some players sick with the flu or travelling over the holidays. Morrison himself had to miss a recent road game in Drake due to illness.
“It’s tough to find chemistry,” he observed. “You never know who’s going to be there for the games . . . We make do with what we get.”
Still, he added, the players are dedicated and are building that chemistry as the season progresses.
As of Friday, the Cyclones had a 7-6-1-1 record for the season so far, placing them at third out of five teams in the Long Lake Hockey League.
For the full story, please see the Jan. 9 edition of The Davidson Leader, or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.
IMPERIAL — One of Imperial’s own will be part of the Canadian team at this year’s World Junior Championship.
Connor Ingram is one of two goaltenders for Canada’s National Junior Team, one of 22 players named to the roster.
The list of players was announced Wednesday following a four-day selection camp.
Connor, 19, is the son of Brent and Joni Ingram of Imperial, and is currently in his third season with the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
As of early December, he held a 14-9-1 record in 24 appearances, with a goals-against average of 2.12, a 93.5 save percentage and two shutouts.
He is ranked second in the WHL in terms of both his goals-against average and save percentage.
Prior to his WHL career, he played Midget AAA hockey with the Prince Albert Mintos, helping lead the team to a Telus Cup win in 2014.
Kris Knoblauch, also a native of Imperial, is serving as the junior team’s assistant coach.
The tournament is split between Toronto and Montreal, with Canada playing its first tournament game against Russia on Boxing Day.
Davidson’s Nathan Chomyshen dribbles the ball with Loreburn’s Brennan Graham at his side.
DAVIDSON — Junior teams from Loreburn visited Davidson School to take on both the boys and girls teams in basketball action on Tuesday.
The girls played first, with the visiting Aztecs holding a slight 18-13 lead at the halfway point and going on to claim a 32-18 win.
Baylee Batza led the scoring for Loreburn with 14 points, followed by Alyssa Glubis with eight points. Jordyn Dorward and Nicole Yakimoski also scored.
Tolu Arowolo was the top scorer for Davidson with eight points, including a three-point shot. Also scoring were McKenna Doell, Halle Herback, Leila McDonnell and Courtney Payne.
Next up, the boys’ teams faced off. Davidson led 19-12 at the end of the second quarter and eventually won with a score of 57-29.
Gabe Charette led the scoring for the Raiders with 12 points, while Deiondre Boychuk had 11 points and Riley Berry scored 10.
Jackson Norrish was the top scorer for the Aztecs with 18 points, while Dylan Glubis, Brennan Graham, Lance Hefervez and Emmitt Hundeby also scored.
For the full story and more photos, please see the Dec. 12 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.
