Copperheads split first weekend games of 2024

Posted on January 11, 2024 by Sunny South News

By Garrett Simmons
Sunny South News

As the calendar flipped to 2024, it was a tale of two games for the Coaldale Copperheads.

The Heritage Junior Hockey League was back in business on Saturday and Coaldale picked up where the team left off in 2023, as the Copperheads picked up a 7-3 win over the High River Flyers.

High River actually led off the scoring in the contest, as the Flyers scored the first goal of the game 4:30 into the first period.

But it was all Coaldale after that, as Nathan Verloop tied the game on a goal assisted by Peyton Twigg and Caden Heins. Nolan Price made it 2-1, as Griffin McCulloch and Brandon Creighton drew the helpers. Brogan Booth’s goal put the Copperheads ahead 3-1, as Nolan Price and Adam Kennedy had the assists.

High River made it 3-2 with a goal near the end of the first but in the end, that was as close as the Flyers would get.

Tyran Kiss scored the only goal of the second period, on a set-up from Heins and Verloop, as the team’s entered the final 20 minutes with a 4-2 lead.

Heins scored the first two goals of the third period to make it 6-2 Copperheads. Kiss and Potts assisted on Coaldale’s first goal of the period, while McCulloch and Price had the helpers on the sixth goal.

Riley Preachuk made it 7-2, as Kobe Fujita and Ryan Holm had the assists.

Coaldale was outshot by High River 41-27 and went 1-3 on the powerplay. High River went 1-4 with the man advantage.

Kaiden Fulton picked up the win in goal, as he made 38 saves.

On Sunday, the Copperheads fell 6-1 to the Medicine Hat Cubs, in a game where the home team from the Hat raced out to a 4-0 lead before Drew Constant scored on the powerplay late in the second to make it 4-1. Brogan Booth and Rylan Bruns had the assists.

But that was the only goal Coaldale could muster.

Now, the Copperheads turn the page and prepare for another two-game weekend. On Saturday, Coaldale will head to Sylvan Lake to face the Wranglers and on Sunday, the team will be on the road for another game against the Rocky Rams.

The Copperheads sit in third place in the South Division with a 19-7-1 record, good for 39 points. Okotoks sits in first with 48 points and the Cubs hold down second with 41 points.