Suns battle for wins over weekend action

Posted on January 16, 2025 by Vauxhall Advance

By Cole Parkinson
Vauxhall Advance

It was another busy Alberta Elite Hockey League (AEHL) weekend for the Taber Golden Suns as teams battled for points.

U11

The U11 team was back in action after an extended AEHL Christmas break. It was a two-game weekend for the Suns as they were on the road Saturday to take on the Wheatland Hawks. After a dominating first frame, the Suns poured it on for a 5-1 win. Carter Wiest had a pair of goals, Paxton Foote had two assists, Nash Dyck, Maddex Howg, and Tommy Palaschak each scored once, and Asher Skretting, Bentley Dyck, and Boone Depew all added a single assist. Tove Morgan posted a 15-save win in the Taber net.

Sunday saw the team back home to take on the Brooks Jr. Bandits. In a lopsided affair, the Suns skated to a 21-0 win. Nash Dyck had four goals and six assists, Depew had five goals and three assists, Foote had a hat trick and three assists, Blake Bryan scored four and added two assists, Howg had another goal and three assists, Heston Honess had two goals and an assist, Korbin Rodwell and Palaschak notched two assists each, and Justice Luther had an assist. Rem Jardine was perfect in net with a 13-save shutout.

Next AEHL action for the U11s comes on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2 when they hit the road to take on Brooks and Okotoks.

U13

Two games came and went for the U13 squad as they were at home to take on Medicine Hat and Okotoks. Saturday saw the Hounds in town for a rematch from the previous weekend. Like the weekend before, the Hounds were able to best Taber, this time with an 8-3 victory. Boston Constant scored a goal and had an assist, Travis Jackson and Declan Okell had the other Taber goals, while Callaghan Tjeerdema and Eli Robb had an assist each. Nash Stober was the starting netminder and made 28 saves on 36 shots.

Despite dropping the first game of the weekend, the Suns came back Sunday with a great effort. Thanks to a Declan Okell hat trick, the Suns bested Okotoks 3-1. Robb added two more assists, while Jackson had a single. Drew Tame was rock solid in the Taber crease with a 39-save win.

The Suns are back on the ice this weekend with three games. Friday sees the team out in Vauxhall to take on the Lethbridge Hurricanes at 6 p.m. On Saturday, the two teams meet again, this time in Lethbridge at 7 p.m. The weekend wraps up with a Sunday road game at 1:15 p.m. against the Wheatland Braves.

U15

The first AEHL games of 2025 for the U15s came this weekend. Saturday was a home game against the Central Alberta Selects that saw the visiting team skate to a 7-1 win. Hayden Eldridge had the lone Taber goal with Paxton Powell and Nash Skanderup drawing the assists. Jack Lukacs was in net and made 37 saves on 44 shots.

The team hit the road on Sunday for a matchup against the Airdrie Lightning. The Suns again were only able to score a single goal as they fell 4-1. Eldridge scored again for Taber as Ben Van Der Linde and Madix Miller had the assists. Ashton Jensen was in net for Taber and made 18 saves on 22 shots.

Two more games come this weekend for Taber as they hit the road for both. Saturday’s action takes them to Medicine Hat as they take on the West Central Tigers at 7:45 p.m. Sunday is a game against Red Deer at 11:15 a.m.

U18

After a rough start to the new year, the Suns hoped to turn things around as they had a pair of games against the East Kootenay Avalanche. The first game was all East Kootenay as they marched to a 7-1 win. Dalton Damen scored for Taber, and Nixen Miller had the assist. Dakota Hurst was busy in the Taber net as the goalie turned away 71 of 78 shots.

Unfortunately, Sunday wasn’t much better as they were once again bested 8-3. Grayson Beigel had a pair of goals while Heston Hansen had the other. Zander Weatherhead and Damen had an assist each. Dagrin Bahr-Hemsing saw his fair share of shots in the Taber net as the goaltender made 62 saves on 70 shots.

It’s another two-game weekend for the Suns as they prepare for another road trip. First up on Saturday is a game at 7:30 p.m. against the Wheatland Chiefs. On Sunday, they head to Calgary to take on CRAA Gold at 3:45 p.m.