Hawks to start season at home on Nov. 7

Championship contender: The Maple Creek Senior Hawks in action against Eatonia Huskies in the final game of last season, which ended their dreams of a historic three-peat of WMHL championships. Lane Sanderson (#12) will be 
captain again for the upcoming season under new head coach Wayne Resch. FILE PHOTO

By Marcus Day

Maple Creek News

Several new players, a new coach, and a new season.

Maple Creek Senior Hawks will start the 2026/27 hockey season at 8pm on Saturday, November 7, against Leader Flyers.

It promises to be a thrilling home encounter against one of the possible contenders for the White Mud Hockey League (WMHL) championship.

The next weekend will be just as challenging – successive games against reigning champions, Shaunavon Badgers; the first one on Friday, November 13 will be at home, starting at 8pm.

“The Hawks are excited to welcome some new young players and dedicated veteran players to their lineup,” said Al Fournier, who will manage the team with Derek Behrman.

“We look forward to having the support from the Maple Creek fans and contend for a league championship.”

Among the new Hawks players will be five from Frontier Flyers, which won’t be competing in a six-team league this season. They are Clay Lightfoot, Shay Erickson, Tryten Carleton, Jesse Arendt, and Garett Mitchell. There will also be players such as Matthew Knight coming up from the Under-18s.

The influx of youth will give the Hawks more strength in depth.

Of course, fans will see plenty of familiar faces too – Cody Florkowski, for example, and Levi Lamotte, Brendan Kohls, Brady Resch, Dayton Reinboldt, and captain Lane Sanderson.

Sadly, Behrman, a fixture for many years, seems unlikely to be lacing up his boots this year. The veteran campaigner, an integral part of the Hawks teams that won back-to-back WHML championships in 2024 and 2025, has decided to step away from the ice and give his body more time to recover from decades of intense hockey.

How will he cope without the adrenaline rush of on-ice competition?

“It will be a very different experience, that’s for sure,” he said.

Behrman won’t be present for Saturday’s hockey curtain-raiser. As daycare cooperative board president, he will be at the group’s duelling pianos fundraiser at The Armoury. Another absentee from the playing roster will be 6ft 6-inch defensemen Marc McNulty, who is recovering from a serious foot injury.

The man guiding the team from the bench will be new head coach, Wayne Resch, whose resumé includes an U18 provincial championship. He has also coached the U15s.

Here is the Senior Hawks Board: President – Barb Sanderson; Secretary/Treasurer – Russ Boschee; Managers – Derek Behrman and Al Fournier; Head Coach – Wayne Resch; Assistant Coaches –  Garett Stoke & Blaine Schwab: Board Members – Brandt Seifert, Chez Lyman, Chris Kohls & Randy Sawatsky.

• Six teams will be competing this season in the White Mud Hockey League: Maple Creek Hawks, Shaunavon Badgers, Leader Flyers, Eatonia Huskies, Gull Lake Greyhounds and Cabri Bulldogs.