A tough way to end their season, the U18 Tier 2 Dewberry Marwayne Renegades lost out in playoff game 2 of round 2 against Kitscoty, but with a young team are looking forward to picking things back up next year.
Head coach, Zack Hines, said their game on March 8, was not a normal hockey game. He said it was a penalty-filled affair with the Renegades accruing approximately 80 penalty minutes, which is five to ten times what they normally have. However, even with a 9-4 score, there were a couple of highlights with a penalty shot from JD Earl, and a hat trick from Brett Saville.
“Brett Saville was likely the best player this year. He changed his whole mentality, quit worrying about everything, and figured out the way to play the game. The way he’s played from Christmas until now is phenomenal. He played perfect defensively and yet he’s scoring more; not taking selfish risks, playing team first hockey but benefiting from it. And he’s coming back so they are in good shape for next year,” said Hines.
Goalie, Aiden Fox, he said had been a stud for them all year. However, Aiden along with Defenceman Ty Hines, and Captain and Forward Gage Tupper will be moving on as they all finished their third year of midget hockey.
“A dozen of the Vermilion Jr. B Tigers played on this midget team before they went on to play junior hockey. This is the youngest team we’ve had in the last several years with only three 3rd year players on a 19-man roster,” said Hines.
Because they were a young team, he has high hopes for them to be a good team next season.