The St. Albert Fury didn’t lose a game as the U12A division champions at the 25th annual Esso Golden Ring last weekend in Calgary.
In the gold-medal game the Fury edged the Sherwood Park Shiver 3-2 for their sixth win in the tournament.
The loss was the Shiver’s second of the season. Their first defeat was also against the Fury.
In the round robin, the Fury posted wins of 5-1 against the Leduc Jaguars, 7-6 against Calgary Bowview Sonic and 9-2 against Calgary NW NRG. After beating Calgary NW Vimma 7-4 in the quarter-finals, the Fury knocked off the top-ranked Calgary South Sizzle 6-1.
In previous tournaments the Fury won gold at Red Deer Friends on Ice and were silver medallists at the St. Albert Turkey Ring and Sherwood Park Platinum.
In the Black Gold League, the Fury finished the first session at 5-1 and have the same record in the next session with four games remaining.
The team’s overall record is 27-5.
The Fury are Taylor Johnson, Kennedy Palmer, Jayme Stadnyk, Maddy Sanders, Mykenzie Howard, Brooklyn Johnson, Amelie Gautier, Shahn Yaceyko, Alex Whelan, Erika Dubrule, Ryiah Siffledeen and Caity Palfy. Head coach is Martin Gautier. Assistant coaches are Chris Stadnyk, Wendy Whelan, Darryl Dubrule and Katrina Acheson. The manager is Jennifer Siffledeen.
Tim Enger of St. Albert will help coach the World Team against the United States U19 national football team Feb. 2 at Austin Westlake High School Stadium in Austin, Texas.
The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) named 40 players and eight coaches from eight countries and four continents to the World Team roster. It’s comprised of players representing American Samoa (three), Austria (five), Canada (22, including seven Albertans), Finland (two), Germany (three), Japan (two), Mexico (one) and Sweden (two). They were selected from a provisional list of players nominated by the IFAF federations. They will practice nine times in Austin from Jan. 28 to Feb. 1.
The head coach is Greg Marshall from the University of Western Ontario.
Enger, the first head coach of the senior St. Albert High Skyhawks and former head coach of Team Alberta, will handle the developmental team roster of 30 players. They were selected from 12 different countries that will not be part of the final roster with the exception of five players who will be chosen from that group to make up the 45-man line-up. Enger will co-ordinate their activities during practice to form scout teams when needed to go against the offence, defence or special teams. He will also run player seminars as to what to expect at the higher levels of football and how recruiting works with United States or Canadian universities.
Last year the Football Alberta technical director served as an assistant coach with the bantam St. Albert Fury and the junior St. Albert Hawks.
In the 2010 inaugural event in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the United States won 17-0. The World Team held the hosts scoreless until the final play of the first half.
The Ben Bellamy rink of St. Albert curled up a storm at the Optimist juvenile northern Alberta playdowns last weekend in Spruce Grove.
Bellamy, third Kenton Maschmeyer, second Brett Winfield and lead Jaques Bellamy finished 3-0 as the A event winners in the 12-team draw.
In the final they defeated Justin Hedley of Westridge 9-4. The teams shook hands after Bellamy scored four in seven. After giving up a deuce in one, Bellamy counted three in second and stole one in four en route to the victory.
Provincials are March 4 to 6 in Coaldale. Nationals start March 30 in Toronto and Etobicoke.
The northern Alberta men’s playdowns are under way in Leduc for a trio of local curlers.
St. Albert resident Dan Holowaychuk is the second on Wade White’s rink from the Saville Sports Centre. Holowaychuk was the winning skip at the 1989 Tournament of Champions representing the St. Albert Curling Club. He was also the fifth man for the legendary Ferbey Four.
St. Albert product Glen Kennedy is skipping the Saville line-up of Dustin Eckstrand, Steven Meadows and Kris Meadows. Kennedy reached the provincial final as the second for Mark Johnson’s rink in 2006. He was also the third for Carter Rycroft’s U20 junior national silver medallists in 1998. The past two years he curled for Jamie King in the playdowns.
King is the third for Warren Hassell’s Lloydminster-based rink. The St. Albert product was the fifth man for the 2010 Brier and world championship-winning rink skipped by Kevin Koe. The 2003 and 2005 provincial finalist is also the five-time defending St. Albert men’s club champion.
For scores and draw times, visit www.northernalbertacurling.com.
