A busy weekend of minor hockey brought mixed results for Ponoka teams.
On the good side, the Lacoka female midget squad put a pair of home victories on the board with a 1-0 win over Rocky Mountain House in Lacombe on Friday, Nov. 6, followed by a 6-4 sweep over Endmoor Saturday, Nov. 7 in Ponoka.
On Friday, Danica Polson notched the only goal of the game with Torrie Craig earning the 13 save shutout.
Saturday’s contest saw a lot more scoring, something head coach Peter Hall wasn’t too pleased with as his club held a 5-1 lead heading into the third.
“They are really getting the fundamentals together, but they got a bit too cocky and those Endmoor girls just don’t quit and play hard. We nearly let them back in the game,” said Hall.
Lindsay Jansen and Callie Braun each scored a pair in the win, with singles coming off the sticks of Carmen Vogel and Polson.
Hall feels having female hockey combined in the two communities - Ponoka and Lacombe - has really helped promote the sport and made it more competitive and exciting to watch.
“The girls are now playing at the right levels and it’s made for some very competitive hockey,” he stated.
Next on the schedule for the midget club is a trek to Maskwacis on Saturday, Nov. 14.
North Central action
Meanwhile, boys hockey squads were all on the ice in North Central Minor Hockey League action.
The Ponoka Fountain Tire Midget Wolves earned a 4-1 win on home ice Friday, Nov. 6 over Lacombe in a rather sloppily played game.
Rian Van der Westhuizen opened the scoring for the Wolves early in the first with Lacombe evening the game on a powerplay late in the frame. Lewis McDowell and Jayden Hagemann scored for Ponoka in the second with Pierce Clemmer’s powerplay goal in the third sealing the victory.
The Wolves also play on Saturday, Nov. 7 in Sylvan Lake, but the result was unavailable at press time. The team is on the road next weekend with games in Consort and Maskwacis.
As for the Bantam Moose, they managed to hang on to a 6-4 win over Delburne on Saturday in Ponoka. The hosts jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with a pair of goals by Hunter Busat and one from Joel Hollingsworth before the visitors got on the board, only to see Kaiden Thomson score with 11 seconds remaining in the first period to restore the three-goal advantage.
Cody Fox would get Ponoka’s only goal of the second on a powerplay near the midway mark, which was sandwiched between a pair of Delburne goals. The teams traded goals in the third with Seth Gratrix potting one for Ponoka.
The Moose also took on Blackfalds at home on Sunday, but the result was unavailable at press time due to an early deadline.
The Ponoka Peewee Elks were also on the ice with a pair of home games - a 6-5 loss to Maskwacis on Friday, Nov. 6 and a 5-5 draw with Eckville on Saturday, Nov. 7.
Ashton Bandet, Austin Griffiths and Colter Bresee each scored for the Elks in the opening frame as the teams went to the break tied at three. Maskwacis got the only goal of the second and added a pair of powerplay goals in the third, which proved to be the difference as Kael Street and Adam Hoag replied in the final period for Ponoka.
On Saturday, the Elks scoring came from Levi Busat with a pair and singles from Maison Senft, Hoag and Bandet.
Ponoka’s other PeeWee squad - Quality Paint and Collision - were in action in Lacombe on Saturday, Nov. 7 and, despite Zachary Rausch scoring a nature hat trick to open the game, that was all the scoring they could muster in a 10-3 loss.