University of Alberta Augustana Vikings men’s hockey team captain Dean Prpick wants to end his final season with the club and his first as captain on a winning note.

Prpick, a 25-year-old utility player who sees shifts on both offence and defence, said the Vikings have the ability to win the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) championship this year giving him and his team their fourth medal in four years. He said the club has a lot of depth, which should bode well during their long 32-game season and hopeful playoff run.

“We don’t really have any weak spots,” said Prpick, who served as an assistant captain with the team last year. “I guess our weakness is that I wouldn’t say we have that number one line or number one defenceman. Everyone is going to have to show up every night to really give us a chance.”

Prpick said he isn’t a vocal guy in the dressing room, so his plan is to lead the young team through his example on the ice. He said this is the first time that he can remember he has ever been captain before, including his time playing minor hockey with Davidson, but there are many other voices available in the room to contribute if more help is needed.

“We have a lot of leaders in our room,” he said. “It’s nice to have the ‘C’, but there are a lot of guys that could definitely have it.”

Blaine Gusdal, head coach of the Vikings, said Prpick was the right choice to lead the team onto the ice this year because he is a quality person and approaches everything as a consummate professional.

“He works extremely hard in the classroom and he’s basically been successful in any challenge that comes his way, so being a fifth-year guy and one of our top players it was a very easy choice,” said Gusdal. “It was ratified by every single guy on the team where they thought he was the perfect pick as our captain for this year.”

Gusdal said a captain is picked after the coaching staff looks at the “big picture” of what an individual brings to the whole program and not just the on-ice product. He said key players past and present are consulted as to what direction is needed in the dressing room and Prpick stood out as the guy who could best bring the Vikings, which features a few new top-end forwards from the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), into contention for their second gold medal in three years this season.

“In Dean’s four years we’ve been in the final four all four years after not being in the playoffs previously,” he said. “It’s definitely been a turnaround and that is a testament to the kinds of players that we have. Dean is one of those guys and at the top of the list, so he’s been fortunate. He’s been here for four very good years and the goal right now is to make this fifth one very special.”

Prpick said it’s a “nice honour” to be named captain by his teammates and coaches, but the squad still needs to get results on the ice if it’s going to be a success. He said the good thing is everyone is fresh and excited to start a new year after their bronze medal finish last season, so the job of leading the team to another medal makes his job a little less worrisome.

“It’s much easier for me,” he said. “We definitely have the squad to win a championship this year.”

The first week of the high school senior boy’s football season is behind us with three teams showing their opposition they need to step up their game if they hope to compete for a playoff spot come middle October in the tough 1A Conference Three football league.

Raiders vs. Lions

On a warm and sunny mid-September Thursday afternoon the Davidson Raiders senior boys football team made the arduous four-hour bus journey to the Lion’s Den to line up against a strong Gull Lake team.

Blair Frederickson, coach of the Raiders, said the taxing bus ride played a factor in his team’s 83-19 loss to the Lions with the opposing club’s physical play also proving a major contribution. He said the first half was extremely difficult for his team as they went down 56-6 heading into the break and suffered a few key injuries to their starters along the way.

“I don’t think we were prepared for the physicality of how they came at us and blew us away,” said Frederickson. “That and trying to get off that bus and trying to get our legs under us and get going probably did us in more than anything else.”

Frederickson said the club lost middle linebacker and offensive end Vanner McDonnell to a broken leg and quarterback Mike Kowalski to a twisted ankle during the second quarter due to a few hard hits by the Lions. He said after the half a decision was made to go with their younger guys because of their short bench.

“In the second half the score was actually 27-13 and two of my Grade 9s, Andrew Read and Addison Ouellette, scored touchdowns for us,” he said. “That was promising with a short bench and with a limited number of bodies.

“It’s a good future for our program getting those Grade 9s in. The second half, with some of my (Grade) 12s banged up, I went with the young guys and they played well. They stuck their nose in there and gave a good effort.”

Lions head coach Neil Boutin said his team has a seasoned offence with four starters from last season that were able to spread the ball around and keep the Davidson defence guessing during the game. He said they were also able to use their blocking to spring skilled and speedy players into the Raiders zone resulting in a few scores.

“Building on a quick lead in the game allowed us to get all of our players in to play meaningful minutes,” said Boutin. “We had a number of Grade 9 and 10 kids who logged some quality time in the game. They made some mistakes, especially on defence, but they also learned a lot about what it takes to play in a high school football game.”

To read more please see the Sept. 23 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

High school football in the area got into full swing earlier this month when teams from Davidson, Hanley, Loreburn/Kenaston and Central Butte got into some pre-season game action.

In their only pre-season game of the season Sept. 6 the Hanley Sabres beat the Davidson Raiders 85-13 at the Ranch in Davidson while the Loreburn/Kenaston Aztecs came from behind for a 44-30 victory over the Central Butte Bulldogs at The Dog House in Central Butte.

Aztecs vs. Bulldogs

Aztecs coach Lloyd Tulp said the game provided him with a somewhat good idea of where his team stands heading into their first regular season game at LCBI versus the Bisons. He said there were some positives to take out of the game, but his team will have to improve their timing both offensively and defensively if they want to make it to the playoffs.

“Some players surprised me,” said Tulp, noting Grade 9 quarterback Dawson George and Grade 10 middle linebacker Clayton Jess had strong games where they showed off their athleticism and intensity on the field.

The Aztecs were down 22-20 to the Bulldogs heading into the fourth quarter when the two coaches decided to put in their younger players to give them a taste of game action.

Troy Wist, coach of the Bulldogs, said the coaches had agreed beforehand to put in the rookies and treat the fourth quarter as more of a junior style game.

“The coaches were in the huddle,” said Wist. “We did do some specialty teams because they scored some touchdowns, so they did do some kickoffs. It was a good learning experience for them.”

Wist said his team felt good about their game because they were able to find their groove and battle back to take the lead after going down early to the Aztecs. He said fitness is an area his club would have to work on as they are going to have a few guys playing both ways, but all in all he is happy with how his boys played.

“It was a great game,” he said. “Both teams had good sportsmanship (and) it was a friendly game.”

Sabres vs. Raiders

Raiders coach Blair Frederickson said his players should look at their 85-13 loss to the Sabres on home field Sept. 6 as a good learning experience for the three-year-old club. He said it is important for Davidson to compete against these tough teams early on in the season to give them an idea of what they need to do to become a top team in this league.

“By playing (Hanley) early in the season, it makes my boys rise up to a higher level, which is going to benefit my program and my kids,” said Frederickson. “Football is very much a long haul. Sometimes we get caught up in that day-to-day (thinking). By the end of the month, by the beginning of October…that’s when we’ll see if the boys are making progress and pulling together.”

To read more please see the Sept. 16 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Action on the gridiron is set to hit a fevered pitch this Friday as all six senior boys high school football teams in 1A Conference Three begin their regular seasons with a goal of establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with this fall.

Neil Boutin, head coach of the Gull Lake Lions, said they are starting off the season with “moderate to high expectations” and hope to begin their quest for a top four position and subsequent playoff spot with a victory this Friday at the Lion’s Den over the Davidson Raiders. He said everyone on the Lions knows this is a tough league with three or four teams able to challenge for the top spot.

“It’s going to be entertaining and we’re really looking forward to it,” said Boutin, noting this is their first year back in Conference Three after competing in Conference Two last season.

Boutin said they have lost a few starters on defence from last year’s squad, so they’ll be building it by committee. He said the main thing that should keep them competitive this year is their offence.

“My offence isn’t much changed from last year and we could put points on the board,” he said. “We’re in the process of revamping our offence to form a balanced attack. We have a lot of guys who can bring different things to the table.”

Davidson Raiders head coach Jason Low said their starting core of Grade 12 students should give them their “best chance” of having a successful season in 2013 since the Raiders first took the field two years ago. He said the team has had some “really good” practices leading up to their game against the Lions this week thanks to the expertise of new Raiders coach Blair Frederickson.

“He has been a great addition out there helping us run practices and giving us some tips and pointers from what he’s seen and done (with) other teams,” said Low. “We’ve had a real renewed energy to some of our practices and to the mental portion of the team.”

Low said they could run into some trouble if they have a few injuries during the season because of the low number of players on the team, but their dual air/ground offence is going to fit in well with the players they have.

“We’ve got big (and) strong bodies that can run and catch the ball,” he said. “We have really high hopes for our offence this year.”

To read more please see the Sept. 9 print edition of The Davidson Leader.