Sportshound: On Frozen Pond

Tales from the Timebox for January 20, 2025

We likely didn’t need the plant to keep the ice frozen this past weekend in the A.G. Ross Arena—just open the doors, and it would be plenty cold enough. But that minus-35 deep freeze weather didn’t stop anyone from travelling to play hockey.

U7 Avalanche

Our U7 Avalanche hosted Dewberry/Marwayne early Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. First-time players on the team—Jackson Wood, Maverick Quinney, Declan Healey, Bobbi Holthe, Dakyo Jung, and Elijah Large—are showing impressive skill improvements. Second-year players Rylan Allen, Motley “Krew” Mudryk, and Axton “Ace” MacKinnon were buzzing, contributing the majority of the goals.

U11 Avalanche

The U11 Avalanche hosted Bonnyville on Saturday morning, with the game ending in a 4–4 tie. Aspyn “Machine Gun” Kelly scored two goals and added an assist. Jase “The Jackal” Malo scored a goal and assisted on another, while “Hurricane” Kael Large added a goal. Maximus “To the Max” Laliberte chipped in with an assist. The goalies from both teams played superbly, including our own Benny “Boy” Saddleback, who made some sensational, timely saves.

On Sunday, the U11 team travelled to Bon Accord, losing to the CNN Spurs 5–2. Machine Gun Kelly and The Jackal scored the Avalanche’s goals.

 

U13 Avalanche

The U13 Avalanche bonded as a team over the weekend during a tournament in Wetaskiwin. Despite most of the competition playing at a higher tier, the team showed grit. They lost their first game on Friday night, with Hunter “Hardrock” Pankiw named MVP and Lennox “All Out” St. Arnault receiving the Heart and Hustle award.

On Saturday morning, Hudson “The Hammer” Krankowsky scored two goals in a 3–3 tie against the Vermilion Tigers and was named MVP, with Stetson “Shack” Aarbo earning the Heart and Hustle award.

Saturday afternoon saw a tough loss to Provost, where Hudson “The Bull” Brousseau scored twice and was named MVP. Goaltender “General Lee” Barstad, who faced a barrage of shots, received the Heart and Hustle award.

Sunday’s C Final was a nail-biter against the Vermilion Tigers. The Bull scored a hat-trick, but regulation time ended 7–7. The Avalanche clinched victory in triple overtime, with “Fearless” Frank Killiam scoring the winning goal and being named MVP. The unsung hero, solid defenceman Ethan “The Big E” Lorenson, was awarded the Heart and Hustle award.

 

U15 Avalanche

The U15 Avalanche dominated at home, winning two games against Lloydminster Tier 2 teams. They beat the 631 Blazers 11–4 on Saturday and the 632 Blazers 7–3 on Sunday. Tristin “Bobcat” Brousseau scored a hat-trick on Saturday and added three assists, while scoring another goal on Sunday. Remington “Steel” Reynolds notched two goals and three assists on Saturday, adding a goal and four assists on Sunday. Wyatt “Wild Wyatt” Swedgen scored two goals in both games.

Liam “Sledgehammer” Swedgen scored twice on Saturday, while Jaxon “Smitty” Smith, Ryder “Rhino” Malo, Cade “Easy Money” Elliot, Jaxon “Magic” Marcoux, Reese “Stone Cold” Winterbottom, and William “Billy Bob” Ballas all contributed with goals and assists. Theo “Longhorn” Loughran-Quinney and Owen “Ollie the Goalie” Grykuliak shared goaltending duties.

 

U18 Avalanche

The U18 Avalanche faced a tough 5–3 loss to the St. Paul Canadiens on Saturday night at the A.G. Ross Arena. “Top Gunner” Crawford, Evett “Snoop Dog” Smereka, and “Without a Trace” Morgan scored for the Avalanche, with assists from Quinton “Rampage” Quinney and Madden “Mad Dog” Flamand.

On Sunday, the U18 Avalanche rebounded with a 6–1 win over Bonnyville. Mad Dog scored twice, while Top Gunner, Snoop Dog, “Bo Didley” Fontaine, and Braylee “Free Willy” Lesyk each scored once. Gavin “Green Light” Kadutski, Brendan “Buzz Saw” Kadutski, Bobbie Smith, Anton “A-Bomb” Braithwaite, “Cyclone” Cole Pierce, and Kaleb “Formula One” Flamand all contributed assists.

 

Coming up at the AG Ross

This coming Saturday, the Elk Point Minor Hockey Association will host Pink Day, raising funds for cancer. All six of our minor hockey teams will have home games that day. Come down to the A.G.R. and check out the raffle table and 50/50 draws, with proceeds going to the Ockerman family.