The St. Albert Skyhawks and Paul Kane Blues renew their intense rivalry today in metro Edmonton premier women’s basketball. Tipoff is 4:45 p.m. at the SkyDome.
The Skyhawks, ranked number one provincially in 3A, are 11-1 in premier. The Blues, ranked eighth in 4A, are 8-3 for third place, six points back of the Skyhawks and the O’Leary Spartans (11-0), the top 4A team in Alberta.
In January, the 2010 3A provincial gold medallists beat the Blues 50-39 in premier and 72-59 in the 21st annual Optimist Showdown in St. Albert final.
Next week the regular season draws to a close for the Skyhawks and Blues with big games scheduled against O’Leary. On Tuesday the Blues host the Spartans and on Wednesday the Skyhawks visit O’Leary. Game times are 4:45 p.m. Last month the Spartans downed the Blues 71-51 at O’Leary and clipped the Skyhawks 72-65 at the SkyDome.
The playoffs get under way Feb. 28. The semifinals are March 3 and the final is March 6 at 5 p.m. at O’Leary. The Skyhawks are the defending champions.
The second annual Family Day Classic, hosted by the St. Albert Soccer Association, kicks off Friday night for local teams at Servus Credit Union Place.
Travelling teams get the ball rolling Saturday.
The 50-team tournament wraps up Monday for U10 boys and girls, U12 boys and girls, U14 boys and girls A and B and U16 girls A and B in community and tier III clubs. Medals are awarded following the final game on team schedules.
All teams are guaranteed three games. A player from each team in every game will be selected to receive an unsung hero T-shirt to honour their efforts and sportsmanship.
Visit www.stalbertsoccer.com for more information.
The best-of-three north quarter-final series between the St. Albert Sabres and Sherwood Park Flyers in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League starts Saturday at 8 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena.
Game two goes Sunday in Sherwood Park at 8:30 p.m. Game three, if needed, is Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Akinsdale.
In the Nitro standings, the Sabres (23-7-3) finished second and the Flyers (17-13-3) were third. The last game between the playoff opponents was Feb. 3, a 5-0 St. Albert win in Sherwood Park.
The series winner will face off against the SSAC Southgate Lions (26-4-3) or CAC Lehigh Cement (11-19-3) in the best-of-three division semifinal. The Lions, the top team in the north with the second-best record in league play behind the Calgary Bisons (27-4-2), halted the Sabres’ eight-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory last week in St. Albert.
