Coaldale teams compete in CAHL playoffs as hockey season winds down

Posted on February 28, 2023 by Sunny South News

By Garrett Simmons
Sunny South News

It’s playoff time in the Central Alberta Hockey League.

In U11 play, Coaldale enters the post-season as the top team in the Tier 3 Red Division after a 13-1-2 regular season.

Coaldale’s U11 Tier 5 team is in a playoff battle with Fort Macleod. Coaldale won game one on Saturday by a 6-4 score at home.

Every Gudmundson and Lance Leusink had two goals each, while Foster Hurt had a goal and an assist and Ryland Brady had two helpers. Dylan Yackulic had a single goal and Lucas Kenyon added one assist. Colton Selk made 29 saves in goal.

Game two in Fort Macleod on Sunday was a different story, as Fort Macleod took a 4-1 decision, thanks to three goals in the third period. Brady had the lone goal for Coaldale, while Lance Leusink made 24 saves in net for Coaldale.

Coaldale’s Tier 4 U13 squad dropped a playoff series two games to one to Cardston, after a 10-5-1 regular season.

Coaldale won game one 4-3, as Rudy Wojszel had two goals and one assist. Nova Mulder had two assists and Caleb Burton and Dominec Di-Loreto added single markers. Ace Pezderic had an assist. Elliott Hass made an amazing 52 saves in the win.

Game two went Cardston’s way in a 7-4 contest, as Coaldale goaltender Brant L’Hirondelle faced a barrage of 56 shots.

Wojszel and Burton had two goals each, while Pezderic, Adam Klassen, Brayden Zasadny, Phoenix Weinkauf, Makenna Malm, William Thompson and Zack Geres all had one assist each.

Cardston took game three by a 5-3 count, despite a 38-save performance by Hass in goal. Pezderic had a goal and an assist for Coaldale, while Mulder and Beckett Hurt added single goals. Klassen, Burton and Wojszel had single assists.

Coaldale’s U15 Tier 3 team wrapped up a playoff victory over Picture Butte with a 6-2 win on Friday in Coaldale. Tucker Newberry and Kenneth Galbraith led the way with a goal and an assist each, while Ryder Bousfield had two assists. Hudson Adams, Grady Knoblich, Jonah Hass and Lane Broderson had one goal each. Killian Erick and Ethan Verhoot had assists, as Dakota Hurst faced 33 shots and took the win in goal.

In game one of the next series against Claresholm, Coaldale fell 4-1 in Saturday’s game. Hass had the lone Coaldale goal, assisted by Verhoot and Marco Burnett. Hurst and Colton Peters shared the workload in goal.

On Sunday, Claresholm earned a 1-0 win, as goaltender Tyce Dagnone made 20 saves for the shutout. Hurst was nearly as good for Coaldale, as the goalie made 28 saves in the hard-luck loss.

In U18 action, Coaldale scored a big 7-1 win over Taber in Saturday’s Tier 3 playoff game. Dalton Damen had two goals and one assist, as Tyler Wiebe and Schae Van Buuren added two goals each. Kevin Erick had a goal and an assist and Hector Peralta-Lopez, Ethan Moulton, Jackson Stone, Kade Wakefield, Chase Petersen and Donovan Malm had one assist each. Logan Van Der Leest made 14 saves in goal for the win.