Pacific Region
The best-of-three Pacific Region midget AAA female national qualifier between the St. Albert Slash and Greater Vancouver Comets continues tonight at Akinsdale Arena.
Faceoff is 7:30 p.m.
The best-of-three series opener was played Friday and the score was unavailable at press time.
If required, game three is 2 p.m. Sunday.
The winner advances to the 11th annual Esso Cup, April 21 to 27 at Sudbury, Ont.
Last year the Slash repeated at nationals to finish 34-11-1 overall as the 2018 Hockey Alberta’s Team of the Year after going 38-4-1 in 2016-17.
The last two Pacific Region series against the Comets were Slash victories by scores of 2-0 and 3-2 in 2017 in St. Albert and last year the teams exchanged 4-2 wins and in game three Madison Willan’s third-period goal was the 1-0 winner in Richmond, B.C.
The Slash skated into the Pacific Region with a record of 30-3-1 after placing first in the Albert Female Hockey League at 26-3-1 with an average 3.96 goals scored and only 0.86 goals against.
The Comets finished the British Columbia Midget AAA Female Hockey League regular season and playoffs with a 36-0 mark and in league play averaged 6.78 GF and 1.28 GA in 32 wins.
Storm football
The St. Albert Storm lines up against the Edmonton Seahawks today in the Capital District Minor Football Association midget spring league.
Kickoff is 12 noon at Clarke Stadium.
Both teams are coming off victories in the league’s season opener in Lacombe. Scores were 14-7 for the Storm against the Fort McMurray Ravens and 21-19 for the Seahawks against the Edmonton Mustangs.
It was 7-6 Ravens in the fourth quarter when Ewan Vanderheide produced his second touchdown with a six-yard run and Zach Froese added the two-point conversion.
Vanderheide’s first TD was a 28-yard gain to open the scoring in the third quarter.
The St. Albert High Skyhawk racked up 218 yards on 18 carries and Froese, a quarterback with the Sturgeon Spirits, scrambled for 58 yards on seven runs. Froese was also 4-for-13 passing for 22 yards and one interception.
Defensively, Jacob King of the Paul Kane Blues picked off one pass and the leading tacklers were Kolby Phillips of the Spirits with nine, Jonas Hazelaar of the Bellerose Bulldogs was credited with four and Jared Granoski and Evan Selzler of the Skyhawks each had three.
Phillips and Vanderheide also recorded one quarterback sack apiece.
