The 32nd annual Mac’s Midget Hockey Tournament in Calgary starts Boxing Day for the St. Albert Raiders and St. Albert Slash.
At the Max Bell Arena the Raiders play the UFA Bisons at 12:45 p.m. and the Slash face-off against the Red Deer Chiefs at 4:30 p.m.
In their pool four round-robin draw the Raiders also have games scheduled against the Red Deer Rebels (11:45 a.m. Dec. 27 a Max Bell), Saskatoon Contacts (9 a.m. Dec. 28 at Father David Bauer Arena) and the North Island Silvertips from Vancouver Island (11:45 a.m. Dec. 30 at Centennial Arenas).
In the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League the Raiders have the best overall record at 16-4-5 as the north division leaders. Their last game before the Mac’s was Sunday’s 5-3 win over the Rebels (12-6-3) at Akinsdale Arena. They closed out the month of December with four wins, one loss and three ties. For more Raiders’ coverage, see page XX.
As for the Slash, the rest of their pool eight round-robin games in the female division will also be played at Max Bell against the Notre Dame Hounds (1 p.m. Dec. 27), Westman Wildcats (10:30 a.m. Dec. 29) and the Calgary Chaos (3:30 p.m. Dec. 30).
In the Alberta Major Midget Female Hockey League the Slash are 10-7-6 for third place in the north standings after Sunday’s 3-3 tie with the visiting Calgary Flyers (17-3-3), the top south division team. See page XX for game coverage.
The Mac’s tournament features 25 male teams and 15 female teams. The championship finals go Jan. 1 at Pengrowth Saddledome and will be aired live by Shaw TV.
The tournament website is www.macstournament.ab.ca
Jamie King, the four-time reigning St. Albert men’s club champion, skipped his competitive rink to a zone berth at the city playdowns Sunday at the Sherwood Park Curling Club.
In the C event qualifier for northerns, the King foursome of third Glen Kennedy, second Dustin Eckstrand and lead Todd Brick defeated Lional Chartrand 7-4 in eight ends. With the hammer, King blanked the first end and scored a deuce in two, followed by a steal of one in three. In seven a steel of three by King made it 7-2.
Chartrand advanced to the C finals with a 6-5 decision over Mike Hutchings, a Bellerose Composite High School teacher and two-time defending St. Albert men’s bonspiel champion who competed at the 2009 provincials.
King opened the 12-team city zones with losses of 8-2 in six ends against Les Rogers in the A event and 6-3 in nine ends against Warren Cross in the B event. King and Cross played again in the C semifinals, with King coming out on top 7-6. King battled back from deficits of 4-1 after three ends and 5-3 after the fifth end. A steal of two in seven gave King his first lead of the game at 6-5.
Six berths were available for the Jan. 14 to 17 northerns at Wetaskiwin. The 2010 provincials are Feb. 3 to 7 at Olds. King, the fifth man for Kevin Koe at the Roar of the Rings, was the provincial finalist in 2003 and 2005. At the 2009 provincials at Wainwright he was eliminated in the C semifinals.
