It was a weekend that had a little bit of everything for the Agra Risk Wheatland Kings: team bonding, Thanksgiving celebrations, and a hard-fought overtime thriller at home.
The boys took Friday off the ice and onto the field, trading sticks for bats at the Strathmore Ag Grounds for the team’s annual softball game. The friendly competition was followed by a Thanksgiving potluck, where players and staff gathered to share a meal and some laughs before heading to The Fortress to cheer on the local boys on the U17 AAA Okotoks Oilers, a reminder of just how connected this group is to the local hockey community.
Then came Saturday, and the part that really matters. The Kings returned to the Fortress to host the reigning HJHL champions, the Sylvan Lake Wranglers, in what turned out to be one of the most intense games of the season so far.
In a back-and-forth battle that kept fans on the edge of their seats, the Kings emerged with a 4-3 overtime victory — their fourth straight win — improving to 6-2-0 on the year and sitting just one point out of the top spot.
It was a night of milestones for the Kings. Rookie forward William Lapohn and birthday boy Cody Mountjoy both scored their first career HJHL goals, with Mountjoy’s coming fittingly on his 18th birthday. Tanner Phillips added another tally for Strathmore, keeping his offensive touch alive.
But when it really mattered — with the game on the line in overtime — Captain Cole Tweit called game. Just minutes into the extra frame, he buried the winner to send the Family Centre into celebration and seal the Kings’ statement win over the defending champs.
The Kings now look ahead to another road-heavy weekend, boarding the bus once again for back-to-back matchups — in Okotoks on Friday and Medicine Hat on Saturday — as they look to keep their win streak alive and climb to the top of the division standings.
