An Okotoks girl who took up hockey a mere three years ago is already already better than her dad ever was.
At least that’s what Kelly Hansen tells his 14-year-old daughter.
Kelly tried out for a Midget AAA team as a boy and didn’t make it, but Megan was recently named to the Big Country Zone 2 team playing at the Alberta Winter Games.
“I tell her that she’s already a better hockey player than I ever was, that makes her feel good,” said Kelly.
On Jan. 14, Hockey Alberta announced rosters for teams …

One win and one loss left an Okotoks boxer with something to build on for his next bout.
Simon Denness headed north to Edmonton for the 2010 Alberta Bronze Gloves boxing tournament and came away holding his head high. Denness stopped his first opponent in the third round with body shots and performed well against a superior opponent in his second bout.
“I think we were the best fight of the whole competition, technically. It looked like a proper boxing match,” said Denness of his second fight.
Some of the other fights resembled …

The Okotoks Junior A Oilers have added some size to their defence and a spark of energy on the ice as they prepare for the stretch run of the Alberta Junior Hockey League regular season.
The Oilers obtained six-foot, 210-pound defenceman Brad Ryan from the Fort McMurray Oil Barons for Midget–aged Gui Glasspoole on the Jan. 10 the trade deadline. They also acquired forward Nolan Huysmans from the Grande Prairie Storm for forward Roger Craig.
Ryan is kind of coming home as he hails from nearby Calgary.
“I had mixed emotions,” the …

It’s been on the lips of every Okotoks Junior B Bison to pull a jersey over their heads this season.
Rattling around in the back of their minds, a favourite topic of conversation in the locker room, is a return engagement with the Blackfalds Wranglers which may well determine who’s the top dog in the Heritage Junior Hockey League regular season.
Bisons’ goaltender Christian Chivilo said players have been looking forward to the Jan. 22 game at the Murray Arena for some time.
“We know it’s going to be probably our biggest game …

It pays to be an all-around gymnast when you are trying to qualify for the Alberta Winter Games next month.
Two Okotoks area gymnasts from the Mountain Shadows Club made the Zone 2 team despite not turning in their best performance in their strongest events at the qualifying meet in Red Deer in late December.

Karina Richichi, 12, made the team in the P2 category, while Morgan Kravtsov, 11, qualified in the P3-P4 division. (P3-P4 is the highest division at the Winter Games, while P2 is the next …

An Airdrie rink is two-thirds the way from sweeping the Foothills Men’s Curling Triple Crown.
Lane Kent won the Highwood Men’s Bonspiel when he beat the Mike Libbus rink from the Oilfields Curling Club 7-2 in the A final Sunday at High River. Kent won the first leg of the Triple Crown when he captured the Oilfields Bonspiel in Black Diamond in December.
The Triple Crown has rinks receiving points for each victory in the respective bonspiels in Black Diamond, High River and Okotoks. Five points is given for each win in …

For badminton players the road to the Alberta Winter Games went through a club on the north side of Okotoks.
All eight players on the Zone 2 badminton team for the Alberta Winter Games in Cold Lake Feb. 4-7 are members of the Edison Badminton Centre in Okotoks. They qualified for the Games, which are for badminton players 17-and-under, at the Zone 2 playdowns held at the Edison club in December.

John Chernoff, a Grade 10 student at Edison School, made the team by winning the boys single championship at the …

The presence of some aspiring Olympians made it much harder to find a seat at the observation window overlooking the Oilfields Ladies Bonspiel in Black Diamond last weekend.

The South Korean women’s national curling team was participating in the event and the newcomers attracted a large crowd of spectators at the bonspiel on Jan. 8-10. In addition, it increased the pressure on the local teams who were playing in front of a much larger crowd than they are accustomed and playing against a team that has national and international experience.
“Before I …

The Okotoks Bisons Junior B hockey club hosted its annual alumni game on Jan. 8 at the Murray Arena in Okotoks. More than 40 players, past and present, participated in the event with some players dating back to the 1990 season. The event was a fundraiser for the Okotoks Food Bank. Click here to see the photo gallery www.westernwheel.com/western-wheel-photo-slideshow/bisons-alumni

The Okotoks Junior A Oilers more than handled a visit from some Bandits.
The Oilers scored six unanswered goals in downing the Brooks Bandits 6-1, Jan. 12 in Alberta Junior Hockey League action at the Centennial Arena in Okotoks.
It was the Oilers’ fourth-consecutive victory.
Justin Cochrane led the Oilers with two goals and an assist and was named the Oilers’ game star for his efforts.
Brandon Hoogenboom, Brett Adnum, Quinn Sproule and Ben Gamache also tallied goals for Okotoks.
Gamache’s goal was a short-handed effort in the final minute of play of the first …