Ethan Strang scored three goals and added an assist as the Bow Valley Timberwolves grounded the Lacombe Rockets 11-1 in South Central Alberta Hockey League Peewee AA play Oct. 6 at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre.
The Timberwolves swarmed the Rockets all game, out-shooing Lacombe 51-7.
“They’re looking good so far. It’s a good group of kids,” Timberwolves head coach Gerald Bouchard said of this season’s Bow Valley peewee cast. “Our team played well.”
The team is now 3-0, adapting to the no-body-contact rule introduced this season to reduce the number of head injuries to 11- and 12-year-old hockey players. The game flowed and, while players weren’t getting thumped in the open ice or crunched into the boards, they were shoving each other as usual in the corners and around the net.
“It hasn’t been a huge adjustment for the kids,” Bouchard said of the body-contact reduction. “They’re getting used to not being able to engage with a physical presence. They know if they hit, they’re going to get a penalty.
“Has it changed a lot? I wouldn’t say it’s changed a lot. I think the game is different, but it hasn’t changed the way the kids are reacting to it. They’re playing the way the rules are and that’s it, pretty much.”
Wyatt Fluet and Kash Rasmussen had a goal and three assists each for Bow Valley. Carter Layden and Connor Bouchard had a goal and two assists apiece while Ty Parker, Trevor Simpson, Nickolas De Beurs and Kyle Crosbie had a goal and an assist each.
The peewee Timberwolves host Airdrie Lightning Oct. 13 at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports centre, 2:15 p.m. puck drop.
In midget play, Slater Ransom paced the midget Timberwolves with two goals in their 5-0 win over Lethbridge Hurricanes Oct. 5 in Lethbridge. Timothy Glenfield and Steven Tisdale had a goal and an assist each for Bow Valley with Colton Wong scoring once, and Levi Barker and Ben Willms netting two assists each. The Timberwolves are 1-1 on the season. The midget Timberwolves host Red Deer Elks Oct. 12 at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, 4:15 p.m. faceoff.
Spencer Chapman scored twice and added an assist as the bantam Timberwolves defeated the Golden Suns 5-2 Oct. 6 in Taber. Nathan Cohen-Wallis had four assists for Bow Valley with Austin Wong, Austin Strang and Christian Dees netting goals for Bow Valley, which is 3-1-1 in league play. The bantam Timberwolves host Foothills Bisons Oct. 13 at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, 5 p.m. faceoff.
