Coaldale tastes victory twice as Copperheads move into first in South Division

Posted on November 20, 2025 by Sunny South News

By Garrett Simmons
Sunny South News

The Coaldale Copperheads picked up two big weekend wins to stay ahead of Okotoks in the South Division standings.

A 5-3 Friday win over Airdrie, combined with a 6-5 Saturday victory against Strathmore, has the Copperheads one point clear of Okotoks, as the two teams now have 23 and 22 points, respectively.

Friday in Airdrie, Coaldale’s offence exploded for four third-period goals, as the visitors skated to a two-goal win.

Caden Still’s first-period goal, assisted by Eric Price, had the Copperheads up 1-0 after 20.

After a scoreless second, Ryan Holm made it 2-0, as he converted on a play set up by Nathan Verloop and Cohen Richardson.

 Airdrie scored to make it 2-1 but only 27 seconds later, Verloop made it 3-1, on a goal assisted by Ryan Burrows and Griffin McCulloch.

Airdrie fought back to make it 3-2 but once again, Coaldale extended the lead to two, this team via a Barrett Van Nistelrooy goal. Richardson had the assist.

Another Airdrie goal made it a one-score contest, before Lucas Alexander scored with 52 seconds left to put the game on ice.

Everett Hauck made 27 saves on 30 shots in the game, while Brylin Noble made eight saves on the eight shots he faced in one period of action.

Against Strathmore, the teams went back and forth in a crazy first period that saw the game tied at three.

McCulloch opened the scoring with a goal assisted by Richardson and Verloop, and Holm made it 2-0 later in the frame, as Verloop and Drake Olineck had the helpers.

Strathmore scored the next three goals to take a 3-2 advantage, before Richardson scored to tie the game, as his powerplay tally was assisted by Verloop.

Richardson scored his second of the game, just past the midway point of the second, on another power play marker. This time, Verloop and Holm had the assists.

The lead was short lived, as Strathmore scored a minute and two seconds later, before Still scored another power play goal for the Copperheads to make it 5-4. Verloop and Richardson had the assists.

In the third, Still made it 6-4 on a goal assisted by Olineck and McCulloch.

A Strathmore shorthanded goal later in the third made things closer but in the end, Coaldale held on.

Hauck made 26 saves on 31 shots to earn the win.

Coming up, Coaldale will host Red Deer on Saturday for an 8 p.m. contest. On Sunday, the Copperheads hit the road to take on Rocky Mountain House.