SUBMITTED PHOTO The Novice 2 Sun Devils pose after winning their division at the Redneck Rumble lacrosse tournament in Strathmore on Sunday, June 2, 2019
It was a golden weekend for Medicine Hat’s novice- and midget-aged lacrosse teams.
Both the Novice 1 and 2 Sun Devils won their respective divisions at the Redneck Rumble tournament in Strathmore, going a combined 8-0. The midget team also topped the podium, while peewee and bantam teams earned bronze.
For the Novice 1’s, wins over the Calgary Hornets (11-2), Calgary Knights (7-2) and Strathmore Venom (9-3) led them to the final, a rematch against Venom. They didn’t let up, winning 7-3 with Owen Pasiciel netting three goals according to the tournament’s online scoring.
Meanwhile at the exact same time as the other Devils’ gold medal game, the Novice 2 team was on court for their final, an 11-7 win over Blackfalds. Ilusha Khazov and Torren Zentner each had three goals in the final, a rematch of a 10-2 round robin victory. They also beat the Calgary Hornets 16-3 and the host Venom 15-4.
Midget
Medicine Hat’s midget Sun Devils outscored their opposition by a 47-17 count, including a 13-3 win in the championship game Sunday over the Calgary Hornets.
Tyler Broesky had four goals in that last game, finishing the weekend with 10 goals. Callen Prosofsky and Bryson Helmle added two each, while Ty Moore, Carter Hyland, Quinn Canadine and Reece Robinson had the others.
The Hornets gave the Devils their closest game of the weekend on Saturday, a 9-5 decision. Other scores were 14-6 over Strathmore and 11-3 over Blackfalds.
Bantam
A slow start to the weekend in Strathmore ended well for the bantam Devils, who won their last two games against Blackfalds to secure a third-place finish in the four-team event.
Medicine Hat lost 11-3 to Strathmore on Friday, then 6-4 to the Calgary Sabrecats early Saturday. They bounced back with an 11-6 win over Blackfalds Saturday night, then won the rematch 6-4 Sunday to reach the podium. Hudson Gainer’s hat trick paced the Sun Devils in the bronze matchup, but it was Jack Henry who got player of the game honours.
Peewee
Despite a pair of narrow losses the peewee Sun Devils still wound up with something around their necks at the Redneck Rumble.
A 4-3 overtime loss to the Calgary Hornets was a rough way to start, but they beat Strathmore 9-3 on the strength of six Ryder Farrell goals.
Their chance at the gold medal game came went by the wayside in a 5-3 loss to Blackfalds, but they rebounded with a 6-3 win over the host Venom Sunday to wind up third.
Farrell, with two goals, plus Trey Plaksey, Kristopher Jamieson, Hunter Skrove and Nathan Stehr scored in the bronze final. Jaxon Buscholl was in net.
