The Two Hills Longhorns are having another successful hockey season and boast a 9-1 record, good enough for second place in the division and league. Leading the SaskAlta Senior Hockey League is the Dewberry Mustangs with a perfect 11-0 record.
“It’s been going great,” says Longhorns coach Curtis Sorochan, who has been with the team either as a player or coach since its inception seven years ago. The team’s only loss this season comes at the hands of the Mustangs, he explains, adding, the game was a close one.
That game took place on Dec. 2, and ended with a score of 4-3, according to the SaskAlta website. Sorochan is confident the Longhorns will fare well when playoffs roll around in February. In 2006-07, the team won the SaskAlta hockey league championship and made it to the semi-finals at provincials.
Many years ago, Two Hills had a senior hockey team known as the Eagles, but the team folded. Interest in senior hockey came back, and the Longhorns were founded.
“We decided ... we’d give it a shot,” says Sorochan, who had a hand in establishing the team, first as a player, then for the past two seasons, as head coach. Now players from the surrounding area travel to Two Hills to play hockey, he says.
A number of St. Paul players are on the team’s roster this season, including Brett Bacque, who was sitting in fifth place in the league with 19 points after seven games played, according to the SaskAlta website.
Other St. Paul players include Real Langevin, Myles Whitford, Scott Ward, Lance Laschowski and Jeff Laschowski. Jason Kalynchuk, from Elk Point, also plays for the Longhorns.
The team includes some past St. Paul Canadiens’ Junior B players, such as Trevor Kassian and Neil Stefiuk, says Sorochan.
The team overall is a very strong group, says the coach.
“There’s no weak guys anyway.”
Players throughout the league vary in both experience and age, says Sorochan. There are players as young as 18 and 19, but also players in their mid 30s. The Longhorns played an away game against the Onion Lake Border Chiefs on Saturday and won 11-7.Chiefs on Saturday.
