There was a lot of action on the ice in the arenas throughout southeast Saskatchewan, with minor hockey games taking place across the region. Some of the biggest on-ice excitement in the southeast, though, happened during the senior games in the evenings, with all three leagues in the area having games.
Friday night lights: goals galore and shutouts abound
In the Notekeu Hockey League, things got started with the Yellow Grass Wheat Kings travelling to Rouleau to face the Ramblers. While Yellow Grass kept pace with the Ramblers in the second and third periods, the two goals for the home team in the first period proved to be the difference, with the Ramblers winning 6-4. Ethan Mattern and Austin Woodley scored twice for Rouleau, with Brant Perkin and High Nestor also scoring in the win. Zach Douglas, Tucker Neuberger, Ethan Klebeck, and Todd Johnson replied for Yellow Grass.
In Lafleche, the Flyers entertained the Coronach Merchants. The Merchants jumped out to a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes, but the Flyers weren’t able to finish the comeback, falling 4-3. Kyle Bouvier, Chris Bartlett, Tristin Rousseau, and Karsten Elder all found the back of the net for the Merchants, with Luke Packet, Kayson Packet, and Brady Starke replying for the Flyers.
The Assiniboia Rebels doubled up the visiting Hodgeville Huskies 10-5 in an offensive showcase at the Southland Co-op Centre. Braydon Delorme got the home crowd buzzing with a hat trick in the win. Daxin Peterson and Josh Bryant scored two goals each for Assiniboia as well, with Matt Morhart, Travis Marit and Scott Anderson rounding out the scoring for the home side. Carter Lamotte scored twice for the Huskies, with the other goals coming from Dalton Menke, Travis Kennedy, and Dayne Feicht.
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In the Big Six Hockey League, the home teams would come out on top in the two games played Friday night. The Midale Mustangs hit the road, travelling to Moosomin to face the Rangers. The Rangers would score five goals in the third period en route to a 9-3 victory. Bud Holloway, had four goals, with Carter Sawchuk netting two more. The other Moosomin goals came from Chad Hebert, Koby Morrisseau, and Collin Paull. Midale’s Steven Lindenbach scored twice in reply, with the other goal coming from Cain Thomson.
The Carlyle Cougars would jump out to an early lead and never looked back as they beat the visiting Oxbow Huskies 6-1. Ben Johnstone, Marc Shaw, Ty Brown, Jon Gaudet, and Taysen Holt scored for the Cougars in the win. The lone goal for Oxbow was scored by Colton Snell.
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Friday night action in the Qu’Appelle Valley Highway Hockey League had the Lumsden Monarchs at home against the Milestone Flyers. It would be a big night for Kevin DuFour as he scored four goals en route to an 11-2 win for the Monarchs. Jordan Heywood scored twice with the other goals coming from Brody Luhning, Carter Folk, Liam Brennan, Ty Barnstable, and Bryce Platt.
The Raymore Rockets would come out strong against the Bethune Bulldogs and kept the momentum up all game as they won 8-0. Shayde Peterson had two goals, with Tanner Eberle, Arthur Miller, Payton Gorski, Hunter Larocque, Austin Yano, and Austin Linnen also tallying in the win. Daniel Wapple would make 33 saves for the victory.
The Balgonie Bisons started their weekend off with a win, beating the Southey Marlins 6-3. Tyler King, Eric Bollefer, Eric Macoretta, Connor Giebel, Tyler Giebel, and Zach Kosteniuk all scored for the Bisons in the win. Mason Mullaney had two goals, and Jared Legien one, in reply for the Marlins.
Saturday night showdown: High-scoring affairs and shutout performances
The busiest league Saturday night was the Notekeu, with 4 games on the schedule. The fun started in Gravelbourg as the Hornets took on the Rouleau Ramblers. The home team would come out with the win as the Hornets skated to a 7-3 victory. Ahmed Ally scored twice for the Hornets with Julien Michaud netting two as well. The other goals for the Hornets came from Dylan Harden, Chris Dykema, and Blake Duquette. Tristan Third, Austin Woodley, and Cody Quinney replied for the Ramblers.
The Avonlea Arrows and Assiniboia Rebels combined for 21 goals in Assiniboia with the Rebels ultimately coming out on top, winning 13-8. Bryce Hall, Zack Evans, and Josh Bryant with a pair of goals each for the Rebels. The other goals came from Jacob Eger, Daxin Peterson, Braydon Delorme, Dakota Helland, Derek Lessmeister, Riley Malone, and Erik Paradis. Kyle Kvisle and Josh Jelinski had hat tricks for Avonlea with James Dombowsky and Riley Knoll also scoring.
The Radville Nationals would score five unanswered goals on home ice, as they beat the Yellow Grass Wheat Kings 5-2. Davin Bourassa, Kyle Perras, Chance Olsen, Clinton Pirio, and Codie Nagy all scored for the Nationals. The two goals from the Wheat Kings came from Judson Christopherson and Brandt Hudson.
The Lafleche Flyers picked up their first win of the season when they played the Hodgeville Huskies at home. Rylan Switzer, Ryan Brisebois, Brady Starke, Taylor Cowie, and Tucker Packet scored for the Flyers at home, with Joey Van Dusen, Benton Wilson, and Carter Lamotte scoring for the visiting Huskies.
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There was just one game in the Big Six, with the Moosomin Rangers picking up where they left off against Midale Friday night. They travelled to Carnduff to take on the Red Devils, where they won 10-1. Bud Holloway scored twice, with Ryker Cole, Carter Sawchuk, and Taylor Sanheim adding two each as well for the Rangers. The other goals came from Drayson Skulmoski and Koby Morrisseau. The lone goal for the Red Devils was scored by Mark Moriarty.
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The Qu’Appelle Valley Highway Hockey League would see a pair of shutouts to close out the weekend. The action started in Balcarres, where the Broncs blanked the visiting Balgonie Bisons 6-0. Marshall Wilton, Jaren Martin, Spencer Trapp, Eamon Milligan, Riley Krane, and Keegan Milligan all scored for the Broncs in the win. Reece Hodson got the shutout between the pipes.
The other shutout happened in Bethune, where this time it was the home team unable to find the back of the net as the Southey Marlins beat the Bulldogs 4-0. Alex Hunt, Max Kotyk, Cole Kaiswatum, and Derek Frater scored for Southey in the victory. Taylor Unruh would make 35 saves for the shutout.