Copperheads start HJHL season 0-2 with pair of losses on home ice

Posted on October 1, 2026 by Sunny South News

By Garrett Simmons
Sunny South News

It was an uneven start to the regular season for the Coaldale Copperheads in Heritage Junior Hockey League play.

As the Copperheads kicked off the 2026/2027 campaign at home on Saturday, Cochrane ruined the party with a 3-1 win.

After a scoreless 20 minutes, Cochrane scored the only goal of the middle frame, as visitors skated into the third with a 1-1 lead.

Bretty Hudey tied things up with a powerplay goal, assisted by Cohen Richardson and Arjun Sahota.

That is all the scoring Coaldale could muster, as Cochrane added two unanswered goals to leave town with the win.

Brylin Noble made 25 saves in the game for Coaldale, as the Copperheads directed 27 shots at the Cochrane netminder.

Sunday, Coaldale had the offence in high gear but couldn’t slow down a potent Mountain View Colts attack as the Copperheads skated to a 6-5 loss.

Kobe Fujita had the home crowd fired up early, as he scored twice in the first to put his team up 2-0. Eric Price assisted on both goals, while Hudey added a single helper.

The Colts tied things up in the second before Fujita completed his hat trick with a goal assisted by Ethan Siemens and Chase Stronge.

But the lead was short lived, as the Colts scored a minute later, and then added another tally with 12 seconds left in the second, as the visitors built a 4-3 lead.

Stronge tied the game with a third-period marker, assisted by Barrett Van Nistelrooy but once again, the Colts scored twice in quick succession to lead 6-4.

A late goal from Paul Vanden Elzen made it 6-5, as Fujita and Drake Olinek drew assists.

That was as close as the home side would get, as the Copperheads dropped to 0-2 on the season.

Cole Lavorato made 42 saves for the Copperheads, as Coaldale was outshot 48-27.

This weekend, Coaldale will travel to Strathmore for the team’s first road game of the season.

On Saturday, the Copperheads will look to put home ice to good use in an 8 p.m. game at The Snakepit against Rocky Mountain House.