Local Sports
Two Big Wins For The Vipers Over The Weekend!
By Sheldon Spackman
It was a great weekend for the Red Deer Vipers as they picked up two big wins, including one over the Heritage Junior Hockey League’s number one team, the Cochrane Generals.
That happened on Saturday night in Cochrane no less, as the Vipers won 6-4. Despite the Vipers out shooting the Generals in the first period, it was Cochrane who had a 1-0 lead after twenty minutes of play.
The second period was a huge one though for Red Deer. They got goals from Declan Johnston, Kale Lapointe on the power play, another from Lapointe which was unassisted and a third one from Lapointe for the second period hatrick. Cochrane scored once as well on the power play to make it 4-2 Red Deer after two periods of play.
The third period saw Cochrane score first on the power play to shorten the Vipers lead to 4-3 but Red Deer scored twice more with goals from Declan Johnston and a fourth goal of the game from Kale Lapointe to give the Vipers a 6-3 lead. The Generals would score one final goal before the period came to an end but fell short 6-4 to Red Deer.
The Generals loss dropped their record to 19-3-0 with 38 points but still first in the HJHL’s South Division and first overall. The Vipers played again the next day on Sunday against the Academy Bears in Banff, winning 4-3.
The Vipers were again the dominant team in this one, out shooting the Bears 53-31. They got first period goals from Declan Johnston and Logan Linnell and had a 2-1 lead after twenty minutes of play. The second period saw Banff score the only goal of the period and it came on the power play, tying it up at 2-2 after forty minutes. Banff took a 3-2 lead early in the third but the Vipers answered back with two more of their own with goals from Mack Differenz and Justin Van Tetering which was a short handed goal, to make it a 4-3 final in favour of Red Deer.
The Vipers record now stands at 13-6-0 with 26 points and third place in the HJHL’s North Division. Having won back to back games now, the Vipers next action is Saturday, November 26th at the Collicut Centre in Red Deer when they host the 8-9-1 Stettler Lightning at 8:00pm. The Lightning have 17 points and are fifth place in the North Division.
Elsewhere in the HJHL over the weekend, on Saturday, the Mountainview Colts lost to the Strathmore Wheatland Kings 6-3 in Didsbury, while the Thrashers lost to the Okotoks Oilers 10-3 in Three Hills and Stettler fell to the Copperheads in Coaldale 9-1.
The Lightning had more success on Sunday however, as they beat the High River Flyers 7-5 in Stettler, while the Wranglers put it to the Copperheads 6-1 in Blackfalds.
From Red Deer Minor Baseball Board of Directors
Following many discussions within the Red Deer community, the baseball community, our association members, as well as our board of directors we have made the decision to move forward with rebranding our teams, currently known as the Braves. For our association the Braves name symbolized warrior strength, bravery and resilience, all qualities we were proud to align with; and although the initial moniker of our teams was never intended to carry a derogatory or disrespectful connotation, for some, it has. The topic of our rebrand has been polarizing and arguments both for and against have been passionately presented. We have made the decision to move forward in the direction we feel is best for our association.
In alignment with the membership majority vote, the Red Deer Minor Baseball Board of Directors is excited to announce that we will now be known as the Red Deer Rangers.
The Red Deer Rangers will retain our current navy and crimson colors and will not adopt the colors or logo of the MLB, NHL, or any other Rangers franchise. We are looking forward to forging our own identity and embracing our own look.
As you can appreciate this is a complex initiative that will take time. We will remain the Braves for the 2024 season and aim to have our rebrand complete for the 2025 season.
All participants that submitted the Rangers name during our rebranding poll, will be entered into a draw to receive the first Red Deer Rangers jersey.
We hope you will join us in celebrating this positive endeavor as we create a new inclusive legacy for our association that all can be proud of.
RDMBA Board of Directors
From Red Deer Minor Hockey
The Red Deer Minor Hockey Board of Directors is pleased & honored to announce, after an extensive search, that Lane Moore has accepted the position of General Manager of Red Deer Minor Hockey. Lane will start his new role early in the new year & is very excited about leading our organization into the future as we aim to provide a positive learning and maturing experience for all of our young athletes & coaches in a minor hockey setting.
Lane comes into the role of General Manager with an extensive resume, in both hockey and administration. Lane has led the Bentley school as principal for the last 17 years & was an educator prior to that. On the hockey side, Lane’s passion for coaching & engaging with young athletes, dates back to 2002. His most recent involvement as a coach with Red Deer Minor Hockey saw Lane lead the U17AAA North Star Chiefs for 2 seasons (21-22, 22-23). Prior to his work with Red Deer Minor Hockey Lane served as President of Rimbey Minor Hockey for several seasons.
One of Lane’s biggest strengths is his ability to create highly effective teams by building a common mission & vision & then executing on those through visionary leadership. These attributes shone through during this General Manager search and we are thrilled for Lane to lead this organization now & into the future as we aim to be one of the premier Minor Hockey Associations in the province.
Lane, his wife Kathleen & their three children Easton, Cooper & Lexi call Red Deer home. His son Cooper is the captain of Red Deer U18AAA Optimist Chiefs & his older son Easton is pursuing his hockey career and post-secondary studies in Massachusetts. Please join us in congratulating Lane Moore as the new General Manager of the Red Deer Minor Hockey Commission, welcome Lane!
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