From RDC Athletics

Butler and Thudium celebrated across ACAC Men’s Hockey

Tanner Butler and Chase Thudium of the RDC Kings received special recognition on Friday, March 22 for their outstanding play during the 2018-19 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Men’s Hockey season.

Butler was named the ACAC Men’s Hockey Player of the Year and a member of the First All- Conference team. Thudium was also selected to the ACAC Men’s Hockey First All-Conference team. The gifted student-athletes helped guide the RDC Kings (19-7-1-1) to third place in the standings.

Butler, a graduating fifth-year, led all ACAC defencemen in regular season scoring, recording ten goals and 20 assists in only 26 games. Four of his markers were on the power play and one was a game-winning-goal. Impressively, Butler ranked 11th in overall league scoring while playing a sound defensive game.

Thudium, a Business Administration student, finished tied for top spot in league goal scoring with 18. He also ranked second in points (37), only one behind ACAC leader Dean Allison of SAIT. The talented winger from Sylvan Lake scored three goals on the power play, one short handed and one game-winning-goal, and was a threat to score every time he stepped on the ice.

In the quarter-final, the Kings swept the Concordia University Thunder in two games and then pushed the MacEwan University Griffins to overtime in all three games of the semi-final, but dropped a very close series.

Butler, a well-rounded defender from Souris, Manitoba, had two goals and two assists in a pair of games against the Thunder in the opening round of the playoffs. Against MacEwan University in the next round, the Kinesiology student added two goals in three games and nearly helped the RDC Kings topple the two-time defending champions.

While Thudium missed the quarter-final due to injury, he was a difference maker against the Griffins. The second-year forward had one goal and two assists in three games. One of his helpers was on his brother Dylan’s overtime winning goal in game two at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre.

Last season, Butler was named to the ACAC First All-Conference team and received the honour of being selected as the Red Deer Bottling RDC Male Athlete of the Year. This was Thudium’s first selection, in only his second year.

The prestigious awards were announced prior to game one of the 2019 ACAC Men’s Hockey Championship held on March 22 at NAIT Arena in Edmonton. The MacEwan University Griffins and NAIT Ooks are competing for top spot in the best of three final.

For more information about RDC Kings Hockey, please visit rdcathletics.ca.

From RDC Athletics

Red Deer College Athletics is proud to announce our Boston Pizza Athletes of the Week.

1. Shayla Sklaruk – Queens Indoor Track  Hometown – Stony Plain, AB
Bachelor of Education Elementary (1st year)

This past weekend, Shayla was a key contributor for the RDC Queens, helping her squad win silver at the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Indoor Track Championships at Repsol Sport Centre in Calgary. Over two days of competition, the Bachelor of Education student earned three gold medals along with the silver.

Shayla won gold in the 300 m (42.33), over two and a half seconds faster than silver medalist Shaunice Burgers from MacEwan University (44.87). The first-year runner also captured gold over 600 m (1:38.81), crossing the finish line over six seconds quicker than the second place runner (1:44.97).

Shayla, who’s from Stony Plain, was also a member of the gold medal winning 4 x 400 m relay team (4:20.21). Lauren Pasiuk, Jill Stewart and Sandra Garcia-Bernal joined Sklaruk on the first place relay squad.

2. Matt Hope – Kings Indoor Track  Hometown – Red Deer, AB
Bachelor of Education Secondary (3rd year)

Matt Hope was an important member of the Red Deer College Kings’ bronze medal performance at the ACAC Indoor Track Championships in Calgary last weekend.

Individually, the third-year earned bronze in the men’s 1,000 m final (2:36.15), less than three and a half seconds behind first-place Leonard Chesoo (2:32.89) of Concordia University. Then in the 1,500 m, the Bachelor of Education Secondary student from Red Deer added another bronze to his collection, with a time of 4:08.57. Matt’s result was impressively over 11 seconds faster than fourth place.

Competition for Red Deer College teams has wrapped up for another season, with many successes to be celebrated on and off the playing surface. Throughout the course of the year, thousands of sports fans have enjoyed the excitement of high quality competition at the ACAC and Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) level.  Six RDC teams had the honour of playing in the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre, while all student-athletes were able to benefit from the learning and training opportunities in the new facility. In addition, many student-athletes found time to give back to the communities that support them, positively influencing children, teens and members of the public.

At the upcoming 2019 RDC Athletics Awards Night on Tuesday, April 16, the volunteerism, medals, and team work will be honoured in the Arts Centre, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

For more information on RDC Athletics, the student-athletes and teams, please visit: rdcathletics.ca