The Niverville Arena is heating up as Clipper Ice Sports (CIS) turns the page on a new season.
“We’re excited with the growth in numbers for Initiation and Novice,” says CIS President Jason Hudson. “There’s also been growth with adding a third Pee Wee team, and the numbers are up [in total] to 213 for 2017–2018 season.”
Both the Atom A and Pee Wee A teams advanced in the annual Rob/West Fall Classic Tournament, held this year at the Roblin Park Community Centre in Winnipeg. The two teams each played in the finals the weekend of October 27–29.
The Atom A Clippers defeated the Maples Monarchs in the final by a score of 7–2, taking first place in the tournament. The Pee Wee A Clippers also won first place at the tournament by blanking the SW Kings 5–0 in their final.
The Novice teams are off to a good start after their first regular season games. Novice A beat Île-des-Chênes by 11–0, whereas the Novice B played Sagkeeng and came out on top in a 14–6 victory. Maddex Mason started his first game in net, making key saves. Kayden Phelan was player of the game. Novice C Blue played a nail-biter against Rat River, coming to a 10–10 draw. Meanwhile, Novice C White dominated in their 21–1 win over Grunthal.
Atom B lost a close one in their first game of the year, and Atom C is off to a slow start of 0–2.
The two Pee Wee teams who have played so far split their season openers, with Pee Wee A cracking the win column with an 8–6 victory versus Sagkeeng. Pee Wee C lost a close match to La Broquerie Grey.
The Bantam Clippers have started the season 0–1 while the Midgets have had a rough start, going 0–2 so far.
“CIS has a bright future with the continued growth of Niverville,” says Hudson. “We look forward to a successful season with a goal of adding a few more banners than last year.”
