Coaldale Copperheads Game Schedule

Training camp details are as follows:

Ice Times:
Sun, Sept 7 - 7:00-8:30
Tue, Sept 9 - 7:00-8:30
Thur, Sept 11 - 7:00-8:30
Fri, Sept 12 - 7:00-8:30
Sat, Sept 13 - 7:00-8:30
Sun, Sept 14 - 7:00-9:00

$100.00 fee per player for training camp. The fee must be paid at the first ice time you attend. No exceptions.

Please complete and bring along a copy of the training camp registration form with you to the first ice time you attend. The training camp registration form can be found below. Click on the link to be taken to the form. Thanks.

Any questions please feel free to contact Kevin or Kelly Wiebe at 345-3129 or Gord Pickles at 381-9548.

Hope to see you at training camp.

Coaldale Copperheads - Training Camp Form
CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE TO OPEN THE TRYOUT REGISTRATION FORM. PRINT OFF THE TRYOUT REGISTRATION FORM AND BRING IT ALONG WITH YOUR TRYOUT FEE TO THE FIRST ICE TIME YOU ATTEND.

The Copperheads hosted the Okotoks Bisons Saturday night in Game 3 of the best of 5. Coaldale only managed to put 2 goals past the Bisons goaltender. The goals from Justin Barnes and Levi Wiebe were not enough to win the game however, as the Bisons responded with 6 of their own. Mike Wilk made 46 saves in the loss for Coaldale.

The Copperheads then traveled to Okotoks Sunday for the fourth game of the best of five series. The Copperheads once again came up on the short end with goals from James Foxall and Ty Daychief. The Bisons managed to get 5 goals past the Copperheads goaltender Mike Wilk. Wilk made 34 saves in the loss.
The Okotoks Bisons win the Best of Five series 3-1.

The Copperheads would like to thank the fans, community, volunteers and sponsors for all their support. We look forward to another great year ahead. Information regarding the team can be found on this website.

The Copperheads organization hopes everyone has a wonderful summer and looks forward to seeing you in the fall for the 2008-2009 season.

Copperheads faced off against the Red Deer Vipers Saturday losing 5-4 as the Vipers took advantage on numerous power play opportunities in the third period to score three unasnswered goals. The Coaldale connection line of Trevor Klassen, Levi Wiebe and James Foxall each scored once and tallied three points a piece in a losing effort. The other goal was scored by Jon Deagle. Copperheads still retain first place in the Mountain Division of the Heritage Junior League with three games remaining of regular season. Next home game is this upcoming Saturday, Feb 9 at 8:30 at the Coaldale arena facing High River Flyers. The following day the team travels to Banff. Last home league game will be Feb 16 at 8:30 pm playing the Claresholm Storm which could easily be a deciding game for first place in their division. Copperheads encourage everyone to use up their season tickets as only valid for these remaining games. Playoffs will follow at a best of five affair. For more information-
www.coaldalecopperheads.com
www.heritagejuniorb.com

The Copperheads hosted the Banff Academy Bears Saturday night at the Snake Pit. The Copperheads entertained their sponsors with a wine and cheese event during the game in appreciation for all their support during the 2007-2008 season. After the first period the score was tied at one. The Copperheads came out flying in the second and were able to put 7 goals past the Banff goaltender. Banff managed only one gaol during the second leaving the Bears down 8-2 heading into the third. Banff came back hard in the third putting 3 goals behind Coaldale's Stefan Migotti. Coaldale potted two of their own and at the end of the game the Copperheads earned the win 10-5. Justin Barnes led the Copperheads with 3 goals and 2 assists. James Trentini, Mike Soroff, Sean Culbert, Trevor Klassen, Arric Stafford, Jon Deagle and Braden Dyck each had multiple points in the victory. Stefan Migotti had 24 saves in net for the win. The Copperheads travel north to Red Deer for their next game vs. the Vipers on February 2nd. Coaldale returns home on February 9th, to host the High River Flyers at 8:30pm. Don't miss it!!

The Coaldale Copperheads have been dominating the opposition as of late.

The local Junior club has secured a three-point lead over the Claresholm Storm, leading the Mountain Division with 23 points.
On Saturday Jan. 5, the local squad headed up to take on the Blackfalds Ford Wranglers who are currently sitting in 2nd place of the tough Lake Division. The Copperheads went into the dressing room in the first intermission after dominating the Wranglers 2-0. Scoring for the Copperheads were Justin Barnes from Jon Deagle, and Trevor Klassen from James Foxall and Levi Wiebe. A tough second period saw the Copperheads go behind 3-2. The Copperheads rallied in the third with Wiebe working down low with a give and go with Foxall which resulted in a top shelf, tying goal for Wiebe with 4:50 remaining.

A hooking penalty from Mike Soroff late in the third period sent out Deagle and Barnes out to penalty kill. Deagle chipped the puck up the boards to a speeding Barnes. The Blackfalds goalie rushed out of the net to clear the puck but was out skated by Barnes who then took the puck at an extreme angle and hit the post. As the puck twirled across the crease in what seemed to be eternity, Barnes took a hit from a Blackfalds defender, after which he recovered and skated around the back of the net to dive out in front to knock the winning, short handed goal in, just as the hapless Goaltender was sliding across the crease. With only 2:19 remaining the Copperheads secured the dramatic win over last years league and provincial champions. Mike Wilks was stellar in net with 35 saves for the win.

The road swing then took them to west to take on the Rimbey Rock. The Copperheads previously had beat the Rock 3-2 at home. Warm-ups saw starting goalie Wilks injured, so the Stefan Miggotti got the nod. The first period was sluggish for the local boys as they went into the first intermission down three to one on a goal from Barnes assisted by Deagle and Braden Dyck. In the second period things turned around as the snakes put heavy pressure on the Rock. Great goaltending was finally cracked by Ty Daychiefs top corner rocket, assisted by Dyck and Arric Stafford.

Going into the third period down 4-2 the Copperheads were relentless, out shooting the hometown Rock 17-3 to no avail, as the Rock scored one unanswered goal late in the third to cap the win 5-2. Copperhead stats show the shots as 41-20 for Coaldale.
This last Saturdays game on Jan. 12 saw the Copperheads welcome the Ponoka Stampeders to the Snakepit. Early first period action seen the visitors take an early 2-0 lead with the the Copperheads keeping it close with a late period goal. Defensemen Matt Pomrienke took a pass from newcomer Matt Klatt, putting a low blast on goal which was tipped by Sean Culbert.

During the first break Co-Coach Mark Forth verbally displayed his displeasure with the home boys effort and the locals responded in the second period. Hot goaltending was an issue again as the Copperheads peppered the Stamps goalie with 16 shots with one goal from Barnes assisted by Lee Geers and Dyck. The third period saw the the Copperheads totally dominate the Ponoka crew, outshooting them 19 to 7 with three unanswered goals. Brent Mehrer from Josh Elliott started it of only one minute and 33 seconds in with Mike Soroff, scoring 45 seconds later, from Barnes and Piecharka. Geers iced the win late in the third with an awkward angle goal high over the goalies left shoulder.

The Copperheads established a new team record for shots on goal with 50, Ponoka replying with 27 shots on Wilks. The team has a road swing next weekend facing first place Stettler Lightning and Didsbury's Mountainview Colts, one of the toughest barns to play in the heritage league.

Next home game is against the Banff Bears Saturday Jan. 26, at 8:30 pm featuring a wine and cheese sponsor appreciation night.

The month of November the Copperheads found they were on an eleven game losing skid (excluding one win over the last place team Banff (1-17-0) At this time the Copperheads executive decided a coaching change was needed. Assistant coaches Mark Forth and Justin McCool have taken over the Copperheads as of Dec. 1/07. Since the coaching change the Copperheads have elevated their record to .500 with four wins, four losses and one tie. Of these four losses all but the game against Airdire were very close scoring games. With these latest stats as of the end of Dec. the Copperheads have pulled into first place in the Mountain Division in the Southern Conference of the Heritage League.

Recent roster additions include rookie defensemen Mike Brown, who played on the Taber Golden Suns Midget AA in the 06/07 season. As well, the injury to overage James Trentini has opened an opportunity for veteran defenseman Arric Stafford to help shore up the Copperheads blue line. Stafford, also an overage, has been practicing with the Copperheads since early October, as a summer surgery made an appearance at try-outs in September impossible. Other injuries at the time being include forward Trevor Klassen and rookie defenseman Logan Mackintosh.Klassen should be in the lineup for the upcoming road swing to Rimbey and Blackfalds this upcoming first weekend of Jan. 2008. Mackintosh is slated for return in mid-Jan.

The Copperheads are currently in the mountain division with 19 pts. The power play continues to flounder, with a 16.2%, last overall of the 16 teams in league. Penalty killing is another matter, where a respectable 81% is good for sixth overall.

With only four home games left and seven away, the team is looking for a solid finish...setting a goal of keeping the first overall position in our division. This would be beneficial spot, as first place would play the last place of the Foothills division for playoffs. First round play-offs are a best of five affair.

Throughout Christmas home games the Copperheads collected non-perishable items for trade of $5 admission to the game. The overage players forwarded the items to the Coaldale Food Bank for their needs. During these games the team had stocking stuffers for sale and held a silent auction. For more community awareness the Copperheads in January are going on a bottle drive and providing a wine/cheese evening for their sponsors during one of their home games.

As the 2007-year has gone by the Copperheads are very thankful for the opportunity to have joined the Heritage League. They are pleased with the quality the league provides and are looking forward to continuing being competitive and bringing enjoyment to our hometown community.

In an effort to encourage local hockey fans to help stock the shelves of the Coaldale Food Bank, the local junior hockey team traded food donations for game admission over the holiday season.
Throughout the Christmas season the Copperheads accepted food donations in trade for the $5 admission to home games. Overage players on the team forwarded the donated items to the local food bank to help families in need in the community.
During these home games the team had stocking stuffers on sale and also hosted a silent auction. In an effort to raise more community awareness for the team in Coaldale the players held a bottle drive last week and a social for their team sponsors during one of their home games in the works.
In Dec. 28 action the Copperheads defeated the High River Flyers and captured first place in their division. Coaldale took the game by a 6-3 score with goals by Jon Deagle from Braden Dyck and Arric Stafford, by Justin Barnes unassisted, from Dyck from Barnes and Deagle, from Ty Daychief from Deagle, from Dyck from Barnes and from Josh Elliott unassisted.
Shots on goal were 34 for Coaldale and 27 from High River. Coaldale's goalie Mike Wilk was credited with the win.
The next home game for the Copperheads will be this Saturday, Jan, 12 at 8:30 p.m. against Ponoka at the Coaldale arena, the Snake Pit.
In the month of November the Copperheads found they were on an 11-game losing skid, with the exception of one win over the last place team, Banff. At this time the Copperheads executive decided a coaching change was needed. Assistant coaches Mark Forth and Justin McCool have taken over the Copperheads as of the first of December.
Since the coaching change the Copperheads have elevated their record to .500 with four wins, four losses and one tie. Of these four losses all but the game against Airdrie were very close scoring games. With these latest stats as of the end of December the Copperheads have pulled into first place in the Mountain Division in the Southern Conference of the Heritage League.
Recent roster additions include rookie defensemen Mike Brown, who played on the Taber Golden Suns Midget AA in the 2006-2007 season. As well, the injury to overage James Trentini has opened an opportunity for veteran defenseman Arric Stafford to help shore up the Copperheads blue line.
Stafford, also an overage, has been practicing with the Copperheads since early October, as a summer surgery made an appearance at try-outs in September impossible.
The Copperheads are currently in the Mountain division with 19 points. The power play continues to flounder, with a 16.2 per cent, last overall of the 16 teams in league. Penalty killing is another matter, where a respectable 81 per cent is good for sixth overall.
With only four home games left and seven away, the team is looking for a solid finish, setting a goal of keeping the first overall position in their division. This would be beneficial spot, as first place would play the last place of the Foothills division for playoffs. First round play-offs are a best-of-five affair.

COALDALE ? The Coaldale Copperheads are definitely a work in progress.  Evidence on display Sunday showed the first-year Heritage Junior Hockey League franchise is making plenty of progress ? both on and off the ice.
Copperheads were bested 5-4 in the Coaldale Sportsplex Arena by the Cochrane Generals. Cochrane improves to 19-5 (38 points), while Coaldale goes to 6-14-3 (15 points.) The standing differential was certainly not evident in the flow of play. In fact, the Copperheads led in shots on goal 37-27.
The game was tied 1-1 after 20 minutes, with the Generals assuming narrow command 3-2 following two frames. The home troop almost tied the encounter with 1.3 seconds left, only to be foiled on the doorstep at the end of a frantic power-play attack.
Levi Wiebe, Brent Mehrer, Josh Elliott and Braeden Dyck scored for the home team. Dyck added an assist, with other helpers earned by Justin Barnes, James Foxall, Kash Shade, Arric Stafford, Jon Deagle and Sean Culbert. Stephan Migotti guarded the cage.
The Heritage circuit (www.heritagejuniorb.com) is a 16-team Junior B loop with franchises ranging north almost to Edmonton. Coaldale is in the Southern Conference's Mountain Division along with Claresholm Storm, High River Flyers and Banff Academy Bears. Copperheads occupy the second rung.
The Heritage rules allow each team to carry four 21-year-olds (termed "overages") and Coaldale has a full complement of 1986-born performers on board. The other Copperheads range from 18-20 years old.
The team is filled with players who capped their minor hockey careers at the Midget AAA, AA and A levels. A few have Alberta and Saskatchewan Junior A league experience. Away from the rink some Copperheads hold down full-time jobs, while others are full-time students at either Lethbridge College or the University of Lethbridge.
There was almost no Junior B team in the area this year. The Southern Express, who had led a nomadic existence, folded over the summer. Copperheads had their first organizational meeting August 16 and were playing league games in just over six weeks.
A determined Coaldale-centric board, consisting of president Kevin Wiebe, general manager Gord Pickles, treasurer Gord Elliott, Kelly Wiebe, Don Foxall and Kevin Fujita are at the forefront. The Wiebe's and Foxall have children on the roster. All obviously have the best interest of the enterprise as a whole at heart.
"Last year I traveled with the team and saw how successful the league was in some small towns so when the Express failed I thought Jr. B would be a good fit in Coaldale," said Kevin Wiebe, himself a former Lethbridge Y's Men's Native Son Jr. B player in the early 1980s.
It's no trivial pursuit. The budget, prominently including transportation and ice rental, is "about $60,000." Each player was assessed a $1,000 bill (still less than many elite minor outlets) and the board is supplementing that investment in almost every way imaginable.
"Bustin' our ass," was Wiebe's frank appraisal.
The taxidermist quickly credits the Coaldale business community, including most prominent sponsor Info Market GMAC Group Real Estate, for backing the cause. Patrons (and there were about 200 on hand Sunday in a game that helped support the town's Food Bank) are charged admission and pay for programs. As well, a 50-50 draw and silent auction were visible and pushed. In addition, a wide array of colourful Copperhead logo-adorned paraphernalia, including toques, hats, fleece jackets, golf shirts, stickers and mini sticks could be acquired.
"In five years I want no added player fees for sure, and some added perks as far as equipment goes," said Wiebe. "We want to give (players) a place to play, but at the same time we give them an avenue to further their game if they want. What we really want to do is to provide a good life experience for these guys."
The team has plenty of elite playing experience behind the bench with former Western Hockey League players Mark Forth and Justin McCool co-coaching.
The on-ice leader is 21-year-old captain and leading scorer Justin Barnes. The Lethbridge Athletic Association and Winston Churchill graduate played three campaigns for the Southern Express.
"It's a lot better out here than it was," said Barnes, a SportChek employee, after Sunday's encounter. "It's organized and we actually have a fan base. That's huge. That was ultimately the downfall before. No money coming in."
Copperheads have scored 79 goals and given up 100 in the regular season. Most losses have been tight and they've beaten the defending league champ from Okotoks. Every team makes the playoffs and Coaldale's skipper is looking forward to ending his Jr. B career in style.
"We just want to have a good season and make some noise in the playoffs. We're close every game. We just have to figure out that one thing that's going to make us win big."
The board certainly aspires to that goal ? and a whole lot more ? down the road. They'd love Coaldale's snakepit (elite town minor teams are called the Cobras adding to the serpentine theme) to be a long-term Copperhead den.
"I hope to see them here 30 years from now," said a smiling Wiebe.
© Copyright by Lethbridge Herald.com

Coaldale Copperheads News On October 6th, the Copperheads hosted the Stettler Lightning in their Home Opener. That night was a heartbreak for Copperhead fans as they saw their home team lose by a score of 10-2. Goals by Trevor Klassen and Brent Mehrer were the only positives. Mike Wilk and Stefan Migotti combined for 53 saves in the loss.

On the second evening of a 3 game home stand, the Copperheads hosted the Mountainview Colts on October 7th. At the end of the first period the Copperheads were down by a score of 3-2 with goals by Justin Barnes and Levi Wiebe. Coaldale scored another half-way through the second to even the score at 3. However, a power-play goal by Mountainview at the 11 minute mark of the third sealed the victory for the visiting Colts. Stefan Migotti had 33 saves for Coaldale in the loss.

The third game on Thanksgiving Day, saw Coaldale hosting the Banff Academy Bears. At the end of the first period the score was tied at 2, with goals by Barnes and Foxall. In the second, each team posted another goal to end the period at 3-3. The Copperheads headed into the third determined to win and it payed off early with 2 quick goals by Trevor Klassen and Braden Dyck. Braden's goal happening on a power-play at 4:54. Coaldale sealed the victory on a power-play goal when Levi Wiebe put one in the empty net with only 6 seconds remaining. Mike Wilk made 32 stops in goal for the victory.

The Copperheads next game was October 13th in Coaldale against the High River Flyers. A penalty filled first period, only seen 1 goal by each side. The second period was no different with only 1 goal scored by each team. At the 8 minute mark of the third period Coaldale was on the power-play, when Braden Dyck hammered one past the Flyers goaltender with assists from Trevor Klassen and Justin Barnes. Coaldale ended up hanging on for the victory. Mike Wilk made 30 saves between the pipes for the Copperheads.

Coaldale played in High River October 19th against the Flyers, and were down at the end of the first by a score of 2-1, with the lone un-assisted goal coming from the stick of Justin Barnes. A penalty filled second period saw Coaldale and High River each respond with a goal each. At approximately the five minute mark of the third, Cam Nixdorf scored a power-play goal from James Foxall and Justin Barnes to tie the score at 3-3. Overtime solved nothing, as the final score ended up being 3-3.

The Copperheads at home October 20th against the Okotoks Bisons. Coaldale opened up the regular season with an overtime victory in Okotoks against the Bisons on September 30th. At the end of the first Coaldale was down 1-0. Okotoks added another goal on the power-play late in the second to make it 2-0 for the visitors. Copperheads lone goal came late in the third from Justin Barnes and assisted by Brett Piecharka nd Braden Dyck. Coaldale could not get another past the Bisons goaltender and the final score ended up 2-1 for Okotoks. Stefan Migotti had 38 saves in the loss for Coaldale.

Thanks for supporting Coaldale Copperheads Junior Hockey. Be sure to pick up a Copperheads program for your chance at some great prizes. Season Tickets are still available, so pick your's up soon! Be sure to check out our Copperheads merchandise for sale at every home game. They will make great stocking stuffers!!

Directions to the Snake Pit
Click the link above for directions to the Coaldale Snake Pit.