ATHABASCA – Athabasca's elder Hawks are flying high, just waiting for a chance to dive-bomb and ruin someone’s day, just as they have in first six games of the young Northern Alberta Interlock League (NAIL) season.
The Athabasca Regional Multiplex was buzzing last weekend as the U18-1 Hawks took on their counterparts from Westlock in the form of the Warriors Dec. 1, and after getting their feet under themselves in the first period, glided to a 9-2 victory, with Tristan Durell putting up four goals as part of a six-point night.
He then repeated the feat the next day against Redwater, as part of an 11-2 thumping of the visitors at the Multiplex, helping bring the Hawks’ season record to a more than respectable 4-1-1.
The Hawks lost to Slave Lake and tied Drayton Valley the weekend before, but previous to that, racked up an 11-0 win in their season opener in Fort McMurray Nov. 12, which they followed the next day with a 10-2 win against the same team on their own ice.
The U18-1 Hawks are playing in Tier 2 of NAIL and are playing in the Red Division with Westlock 1, Slave Lake 1 and Edson 1, but will of course travel outside of their division.
Durell is leading the team and the league with 16 goals and eight assists, for 24 points in six games. Owen Alix, Rowan Ponich and Marcus Sakowich each have eight points of their own. Durell also leads the team in penalty minutes. Goaltender Bowie Loomis has been standing on his head all season, starting in all six games, including a 50-shot shutout in Fort McMurray in the season opener.
They’ll be back on home ice Sunday, Dec. 11 at 2:30 p.m. against Edson before heading out on the road Dec. 16 to Bon Accord to face the CNN Knights and Dec. 18 in Westlock to finish up 2022 against the Warriors.
The U18-2 Hawks team is playing in the Blue Division of Tier 3 against a host of other regional teams this year. These Hawks sat with a 1-4-1 record after two weekend games in Edson. Edson was only up by a goal going into the closing frame of Saturday’s tilt but netted five more goals to Athabasca’s two for an 8-4 win. Rayce Dierker put home two for the Hawks while Keagan Durell and Rylan Burritt each scored one in the effort. Durell notched another goal in the Sunday morning game and was joined on the scoreboard by Alfie Wigham and Zander Gullion in the 5-3 loss.
The two U18 Hawks teams are part of an 11-team Athabasca and District Minor Hockey Association for the 2022-2023 season which includes one U7 and one U9 team; two U11 teams; three U13 teams; and two U15 teams, who will all call the Multiplex their nest this year.
Elsewhere in Hawks hockey last week, the U13-2A team is on a roll, adding two victories to their record Saturday in a doubleheader against Barrhead which they won 7-5 and 9-4. Two from Jacob Kostyk and two from Carter Leriger in the morning helped out the team, while Jasper Hynes put in four and Carter Haub netted two in the afternoon win. The team is 5-2-0 on the season.
The U13-2B Hawks skated to two ties Saturday and Sunday, one against Drayton Valley at home, and another in Barrhead, bringing their early season record to 4-0-2.
The U13-1 team, along with both U15 teams were off this weekend.
The U11-1 team is sporting a 2-6-0 record after a 10-1 Saturday win at the Multiplex over Whitecourt and a 6-3 loss in Slave Lake Saturday. The U11-2 team was also off this weekend, along with the U9s, and the U7s, who are just getting used to their home nest, have been doing their thing, building on their skating and puck skills to help the Hawks of the future soar even higher.
