Copperheads double up Strathmore to complete 2-0 weekend

Posted on November 1, 2023 by Sunny South News

By Garrett Simmons
Sunny South News

The Coaldale Copperheads had a successful 2-0 weekend in Heritage Junior Hockey League play.

Coaldale capped off its perfect weekend with a 4-2 win on Sunday over Strathmore, thanks to a two-goal performance from Rylan Bruns.

But it was Strathmore that got off to a good start in the contest, as the Wheatland Kings led 1-0 after 20 minutes of play.

Bruns scored his first of the game in the middle frame, assisted by Koden Lazar, before Nolan Price made it 2-1 Copperheads with a goal assisted by Brogan Booth and Brandon Creighton.

The teams traded third-period goals, highlighted by the second of the game from Bruns, set up by Lazar and Drew Constant, which made it a 3-2 game, before Peyton Twigg scored with two seconds left to salt the game away.

Kadan Fulton picked up the win in net for Coaldale, as the Copperheads outshot Strathmore by a wide 37-20 margin.

Saturday’s game lacked the drama of the tight Strathmore contest, as Coaldale scored early and often in a 7-0 win over the Ponoka Stampeders.

Coaldale fired 46 shots on net to Ponoka’s 13, in a game that was never in doubt.

Brinley Degenstein opened the scoring on a goal set up by Kobe Fujita. A powerplay goal from Booth, set up by Griffin McCulloch, made it 2-0, as Coaldale outshot Ponoka 15-4 in the opening frame.

The Copperheads fired 15 more shots in the second but only managed one goal, which came off McCulloch’s stick. Riley Preachuk and Adam Kenney had the assists.

Despite outplaying Ponoka, the game was up for grabs until early in the third, when Coaldale quickly put it away.

Bill Houenagnon’s early goal set the tone for the final 20 minutes, as Nathan Verloop and Peyton Twigg had the assists. Kenney’s second of the game made it 5-0, as Booth and Creighton had the assists.

Fujita scored Coaldale’s sixth goal, set up by Verloop and Degenstein, before Preachuk made it 7-0. Twigg had the lone assist.

Joseph Rolfson made 13 saves to record the shutout.

As the calendar turns to November, Coaldale has another two-game weekend coming up, which kicks off with a Friday contest in High River. The Copperheads return home Saturday for an 8 p.m. game against the Three Hills Thrashers.