What a difference a year makes.
Last year the RawTec Maulers were struggling to stay above .500 at the Christmas break, just barely sitting in seventh place at 13-11-4, with no one player recording more than 18 points.
This season the RawTec Maulers sit in fourth place with a record of 18-9-1 for 37 points at the holiday break, four back of the league-leading Regina Pat Canadians (19-5-3), three behind the second place Moose Jaw Generals (18-6-4) and just two behind the third place Notre Dame Hounds (19-8-1).
The youthful Maulers, one of the youngest teams in the SMAAAHL, have also found out how to fill the net. As of today the Maulers are second in league scoring with 111 goals for, three behind the Hounds, while their 84 goals against is sixth best in the 12-team SMAAAHL.
Leading the way for the RawTec Maulers offensively through 28 games are Damian Bentz (20 goals, 14 assists), Derrick Budz (13 goals, 18 assists) and first-year midget Brett Kemp (12 goals, 19 assists), all of whom are in the top 10 in league scoring.
Rookies Kaeden Taphorn (10 goals, 12 assists), Carson Miller (11 goals, seven assists) and Keenan Taphorn (three goals, 14 assist) have all contributed well in their first SMAAAHL season while Mauler captain Carson Sass leads all Yorkton defencemen in scoring with five goals and 11 assists.
First-year midget goaltender Jordan Schmuland has seen the majority of the action between the pipes, posting a record of 13-5-1 with one shutout, a goals against average of 2.67 and a save percentage of .906. Back up net minder Alex Geddes is 5-4-0 in limited action this season with a GAA of 3.62 and a save percentage of .855 in his first season at the AAA level.
The RawTec Maulers have 16 games remaining in the regular season, seven at home where they鈥檙e 12-2-1 and nine on the road where they sport a record of 6-7-0. Their next game is Thursday, January 7 in Regina with their next home game taking place Wednesday, January 13 at the Farrell Agencies Arena against the Notre Dame Hounds (8:00p.m.).
Mac鈥檚 Tournament
The Yorkton RawTec Maulers are currently competing at the 2015 Mac鈥檚 鈥楢AA鈥� Midget Hockey Tournament in Calgary.
The Maulers lost to the Foothills CFR Chemical Bisons 4-1 in their opening contest of the tournament. Derrick Budz scored the lone goal for the Maulers in the loss while Schmuland stopped 26-of-30 shots in the loss.
The RawTec Maulers took on the Cariboo Cougars on Monday and Ontario Avalanche on Tuesday, however results were not available at press time.
Their final game of the tournament is today when they play the Lloydminster Bandit Pipeline Bobcats.
