4 minute read
Wild and Woolly Affair as Wainwright Bisons stomp out Vegreville Rangers in Playoff Series
Wild and Woolly Affair as Wainwright Bisons stomp out Vegreville Rangers in Playoff Series
Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser
The 2023-’24 hockey season didn’t end in the way members of the Vegreville Jr. B Rangers had envisioned, but they put up the good fight against the Wainwright Bisons on Feb. 23. When the final buzzer sounded to end the third period on home ice the score clock recorded a 12-1 victory for the visitors.
Rangers Captain Devon Hamaliuk put things in perspective, commenting that, “Well the game and series itself didn’t go as planned obviously. However, I think we showed some real heart throughout it. We knew we were up against a very well-oiled machine of a team, but we didn’t get intimidated.
We have a lot of young guys that hadn’t played in this league until this year, and I think it was a good building block for them to know what this league is about and how to come at it. This season we showed lots of potential, and improvement from the beginning to end of the season. I think the Rangers will continue to improve season after season.
When you start from the bottom there’s only one way to go, up. I’m personally proud of everyone of my teammates, and thankful for each one of my coaching staff, trainer, and executive board members for keeping the team going and giving every thing they have for the team.”
Rangers Vice President Laine Stefan shared his thoughts as well. “They, (Bisons) finished second in the league and we finished seventh. So, we were in tough as the Bison’s are a very well rounded, veteran team that are well coached. The Rangers on the other hand are the youngest team in the league with a hardworking rookie coaching staff. It was a hard hitting first game of the series with the Rangers only losing 3-0. The Bisons knew from that point on that the Rangers would not be an easy out.
The Bisons then really put the pressure on the young Rangers and took over this hard-hitting series from there on and won the series in 4 games. Despite the loss we learned a lot and this can only help the team for future years.”
Stefan pointed out that this was only the second season the Rangers had been back on the ice since the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite that, they ran a full 25-man team roster with a strong coaching staff. “We had good attendance for the whole year who were very supportive of this young Ranger team.” In terms of sponsorship from community, Stefan said, “We had great response from local businesses to sponsor the Rangers. We are a non-profit junior team so we rely heavily on these sponsors, who without them we would not be able to operate the team.”
Looking to next year, Stefan said, “With the young team we have, there will be a large number of returning players but we also will be bringing in a good number of other prospects from all over Alberta and other provinces. The coaching staff will also be returning and Head Coach Mark Chornohus will be actively recruiting over the next weeks and months, and has a number of new players indicating they will be playing for the Rangers next year. As well with our strong relationship with Vegreville Minor hockey and other surrounding Minor Hockey associations there are a good number of prospects available from the graduating U18 players that will be trying out for the Rangers next year.”
The 2024-25 season will be extra special for the Rangers as they will be marking their 50th anniversary. “There is a committee working on the 50th anniversary celebrations that will be held the weekend of Oct 25th/26th, 2024. Response has been fantastic as well over 100 some ex-Rangers that have already indicated they will be attending and there are more response coming in every day. It will be a huge event for the Rangers and the Vegreville community. We encourage all Ex Rangers to register. It would be great to see players from all the different eras.”
