Bulldogs hockey seeing results at all levels

Justin Seward
Commentator/Courier

The Irvine Minor Hockey Association has seen encouraging results at all levels and it has shown heading into the second season.
The bantam and atom CAHL teams finished atop of their divisions and now are into the semi-final series of their playoff runs.
The atoms swept their series with Bow Island/Foremost, while the bantams are awaiting the winner of the Raymond/Coaldale series.
Both teams played in the ‘B’ division in provincial playdowns, a step up from the ‘D’ division, and were eliminated in the second round.
With that being said, it is sure nice to reward the hard work the kids put in throughout the year.”
Peewees finished third in their division and swept their first two rounds and will face Vauxhall in the final.
“We’ve got a good group of coaches and mentors with the team that work together right from our initiation level all the way up to bantams,” said Irvine Minor Hockey president Sheridan Siewert.
“We have a lot of kids and parents that are dedicated to putting the miles on the road and putting the time in at practice. It’s been paying off. We’ve had a number of successful years where we’re bringing home provincial or league banners.”`
There is a lot of battling left to be done in order to bring home banners this season, he added.
“We pride ourselves in our teams,” said Siewert.
“I guess every year we start, we expect to see some banners. We don’t make that our main focus for our seasons.
The house league teams are still playing as a part of the Medicine Hat league team, with the atoms competing in play downs and the novice teams wrapping up their season in the next couple of weeks.
Player registration was up to 122 players from a just over 60 a few seasons ago and the sport has been more appealing to families with the introduction of girls teams and house league options.