Local Sports

While the sports world seemed to quiet down over the Christmas holiday, minor hockey roared its way into 2016, with teams hitting the ice to play games over the past weekend.

The Bonnyville Pontiacs started off 2016 with a bang, storming past the Drayton Valley Thunder in a pair of weekend road games. The Pontiacs outscored the Thunder 11-1 over the course of a the two-game roadtrip.

A 40-30 victory over the Red Deer Steelers on Nov. 14 saw the Bonnyville Renegades capture their first ever Tier III Provincial Championship. “We came out and did what we had done all year,” said Renegades head coach Kevin Sartain.

The explosive offence of the Bonnyville Bandits was unmatched throughout the season, as the team blew out opponent after opponent en route to a provincial championship.

The year of 2015 was a memorable one for the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs as the team reached the third round of the AJHL playoffs for the first time in franchise history, setting a home attendance record along the way.

Four goals by forward Alden Dupuis led the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs to back-to-back 4-2 victories over the Drayton Valley Thunder at the RJ Lalonde Arena on Friday and Saturday nights.

Bonnyville native Rob Nichols is the new Canadian Cruiserweight champion. The 35-year-old Nichols went the distance with Frank “The Hammer” White on Dec. 11 in Calgary and came out with the unanimous decision.

The FG Miller Crusaders got an extra bounce to their step this past weekend, winning silver at their first basketball tournament of the season during the St. Paul Regional Saints’ Tazmania Invitational. Sixteen teams from the local area including St.

The Warriors improved their record to three wins on the weekend, edging out the Frog Lake T-Birds by a score of 3-2 and giving the good-sized home crowd a reason to cheer for the second Sunday in a row.

The St. Paul Jr.