DIDSBURY – The Didsbury Ramblers tier 1 Atom hockey team is busy getting ready for Atom B provincials.The Ramblers, one of two Atom teams in Didsbury, qualified after winning three straight games at the recent zone 6 playdowns.
The squad beat Olds 10-0, Kneehill 12-2, and Bieseker 11-1 in the zone final.
The provincials for the Ramblers will take place March 15-18 in Beaverlodge.
This season Didsbury Minor Hockey had 63 players playing on five teams with two Tykes (ages 5-6), one Novice (ages 7-8) and two Atoms (ages 9-10).
League president Dave Boyle said that the number of players has been steady for the past couple of years.
"We had pretty good growth in our entry level program," said Boyle. "We made efforts to reduce our fees. We're actually the cheapest in the county as far as I know. We've worked really hard to do that."
Boyle said the season has gone very well for the association starting with a successful 3 on 3 tournament in September.
"Financially we had a tremendously successful 3 on 3 tournament at the beginning of the year," he said. "We do a Novice and Atom 3 on 3 tournament before evaluations and condition camp gets going as a fundraiser.
"In the past we've had 11 to 12 teams play, but this year we had 18 teams participate. That allowed us to increase the revenue generated, which in turn allowed us to reduce the cost of the program to our kids."
Boyle said the youngest group, the Tykes, recently wrapped up their season.
"They don't really have a championship they play for," he said. "They had their year-end tournament in Cremona last weekend as part of the 2 and 27 league."
The Novice team had a good year and is still playing (in playoffs), said Boyle.
"They finished about mid-range in the standings. For a community our size, we're pretty satisfied with that," he said.
The second Atom team played in the tier 4 league and ended middle of the pack.
"They were eliminated by Olds in the first round of their playoffs," he said.
