The 100 Mile Bantam Rep Wranglers sponsored by Napa Auto Parts, were off to the Rockies to play in a tournament this past weekend in the Windermere Valley. Mother Nature was not on the Wranglers side and having only two teammates make it past road closures due to snow and avalanche control, the team had to forfeit their first game.
Their second game was against Canmore Eagles. The Albertan team came out strong and scored two goals in the first half of the period. Then Kyson Hopson took a shot from the blue line and scored with an assist from Alex Kuyek. To tie the game up Colton Huber Hopkins scored with a beauty of a pass from Aidan Moore. Then Hopson brought the Wranglers ahead with a breakout goal with a sweet pass from Mary Isaac. Next, the Eagles scored three. Moore tipped a goal in from a snapshot from Brayden Meyers-Brundage.
100 Mile, playing with only eight skaters due to one leaving with an injury, the team continued to fight but could not keep up with the full Canmore team of 19 skaters. In the third, 100 Mile was able to get one last goal with a textbook pass from Colton Sanford up to Hopson followed by Moore putting it in the net. Goalie Ryan Chamberlain made some great key saves at key times. He faced 54 shots on goal. The Eagles took the win 7-5.
Their next game was against the Creston Chiefs. The Chiefs came out strong and potted five goals in the first. The 100 Mile Wranglers lost a key defenceman due to a penalty and was not able to catch up to the Creston team. Kyson Hopson was able to get two goals by their goalie with both assists going to linemate Alex Kuyek. Goalie Joey Isaac made some acrobatic saves and faced 65 shots. The Chiefs won 10-2.
The Wranglers last game was against the Indus Hurricane near Calgary who the Wranglers had to forfeit to the previous night.
The 100 Mile team got on the board first with a beauty of a goal by Aidan Moore with an assist from Kyson Hopson and Brady Huryn. Indus then got two. With just over a minute left in the first, Hopson scored with an assist from Mary Isaac and Colton Sanford. The Hurricane potted one and then Wranglers player Hopson snipped one past the goalie with an assist from Moore.
The 100 Mile squad pulled ahead with another goal from Alex Kuyek and the assist going to Huryn. The Wranglers lead did not last long as Indus tied it up to end the second. Goalie Ryan Chamberlain found his groove and did not let any goals past him in the third. 100 Mile seemed to come alive again even though they only had three skaters on the bench. Hopson opened up the scoring spree with four goals with assists going to M. Isaac (three), Huryn (one) and Sanford (one). Forward Colton Huber Hopkins then scored two back to back goals with assists from Hannah Duff, Moore, and Huryn. The 100 Mile team wasn’t done yet with another goal from Moore and assists going to Hopson and M. Isaac. The Wranglers took the win 11-4.
Overall, the Wranglers placed fifth in the tournament. The 100 Mile team was given praise by other teams, parents and coaches at how well they played with a short bench. The team played their hearts out and had fun playing the sport they love.