All levels of the Clippers have been busy the last couple of months as the teams finally enter the second half of the season and approach playoffs.
On December 9, the Clippers’ Squirts B team participated in the Squirts Winter Classic in Steinbach. After the tournament, Deklan Billey and Riley Shaw received awards as the Hardest Working Players. Nash Smook and Kolby Mason received Player of the Game honours. Coach Dan Kosman placed third in the coaches’ skills competition, and Niverville won the competition for loudest fans. The team is planning to hit the road again for the Altona Minor Hockey Tournament on February 24.
The Novice teams kicked off the new year by moving to full-ice games.
The Novice A team competed in a Winkler tournament December 15–17. The kids came together as a team and won first place, undefeated.
Novice B has had a slow start to the second half of the season, losing some close games while missing some key players. They lost their first three league games, two of them by just one goal. After the Christmas break, they competed in a tournament in Rosenort on January 6, where goalie Taylor Radley recorded his first career shutout. The Novice Bs are playing a well-rounded game and will make a big push to finish off the regular season strong before the playoffs.
The Novice teams will be hosting their home tournament January 26–28. The Clippers organization looks forward to some big crowds.
The Atom B team played their home tournament December 1–3 and had a tough start with a loss to the St. Adolphe Hawks. But they fought back and ended up facing St. Adolphe again in the final where the Clippers came out on top to win gold in a close 7–5 match.
The Atom A squad wasn’t as successful, but they played hard, coming out on the wrong end of the A-side final.
The Bantam team had a great December with a 7–5 victory over Lorette and a 4–4 tie with Rat River. Following a finger injury, Evan Groening returned to the ice and added a hat trick in the Rat River match.
The Midgets have a record of 7–6–1 and are currently in fourth place in a very tight division. Only five points separate third from seventh place. With just two games remaining on the schedule, each win will go a long way in securing a higher seed for the playoffs.
Each and every Clippers squad is excited as they fight to climb the standings and get into playoff mode. If the weather stays mild, players can continue getting in extra skating time at the town’s new outdoor rink. This great addition to the local program allows children to work on their skills after practices and between games.
The Midget All-Star Game
On Sunday, January 21, Clipper Ice Sports hosted the Midget A All-Star Game in Niverville. All nine teams in the league were represented and divided into Team White and Team Dark. Niverville forwards Logan Unger, Chaseton Long, and Bailey Hiebert joined defenseman Zach Anderson, goalie Damien Glenham, and Coach Danielle Hiebert on Team White.
The clean, fast-paced, and hard-hitting game remained tied up at 1–1 going into the third period before Team White broke it open and came out on top with a 6–2 final score.
The CIS Executive would like to congratulate all the all-stars for their performance and the way in which they represented Niverville. They would also like to thank Darryl Rempel and his team for putting on such a successful event.
