The puck dropped Friday in the best-of-three qualifying round between the St. Albert Merchants and Spruce Grove Regals in the Capital Junior B Hockey League playoffs.
The score from Spruce Grove was unavailable at press time.
Game two goes Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena.
If needed, game three is Wednesday in Spruce Grove at 7:30 p.m.
In the west division the Merchants (19-18-0-1) finished fifth, one point back of the Regals (19-17-0-2). They scored more goals than St. Albert (196-165), but the Money Men were the better team defensively (157-184).
In the season series the Regals won 4-2 in September and 6-4 in October. The Merchants took the next two games by scores of 4-3 in December and 7-5 in January.
In league play the Merchants were 10-8-0-1 at home and 9-10 on the road.
Their last game before the playoffs was Wednesday’s 7-5 victory over the first-place Beverly Warriors (27-6-0-5) at Clareview Arena. Stefan Meunier (ninth), Jake Behiels (30th), Curtis Mostowich (fourth), Alex Hawirko (16th), Brayden Switner (seventh), Jamie Umbach (11th) and Brady Reid (ninth) scored. Nicolas Addessi and Reid added two assists apiece. Justin Pawlenchuk (9-8, 4.60 GAA) was in net.
Behiels was the team’s highest scorer with 42 points in 30 games, as well as the top goal getter.
Chris Clark was runner-up in the points’ race with 39 in 37 games. He was also tagged with a team-leading 204 penalty minutes.
The most convincing victory this season for the St. Albert Skyhawks was Wednesday’s 99-11 rout of the winless Oscar Romero Ravens at the SkyDome.
Everybody scored for the 2010 3A provincial gold medallists and metro Edmonton premier women’s champions.
The win was the 24th in 25 games in premier for the Skyhawks, dating back to the 2009/10 regular season.
The Skyhawks (10-1) share top spot in premier with the O’Leary Spartans (10-0), the top 4A team in Alberta.
The Skyhawks wrap up league play Feb. 23 against the Spartans at O’Leary High School. Tipoff is 4:45 p.m. If both teams continue their winning ways leading up to the big game, the Skyhawks would have to beat the Spartans by more than seven points to finish first by the tiebreaker formula. Last month the Spartans downed the Skyhawks 72-65 at the SkyDome.
The top two teams in premier earn first round playoff byes. The semifinals are March 3 and the final is March 6 at O’Leary. Last year the Skyhawks edged the Spartans 74-72 for their first premier women’s title in school history.
Next week the Skyhawks host the St. Francis Xavier Rams (3-7) Monday and the rival Paul Kane Blues (7-3) Wednesday. Game times are 4:45 p.m.
In previous meetings, the Skyhawks thumped the Rams 75-45 in premier and 79-44 in the semifinal of the 21st annual Optimist Showdown in St. Albert. The Skyhawks also beat the eighth-ranked 4A Blues 50-39 in premier and 72-59 in the Showdown final.
The number-one 3A team in the province is 20-7 overall.
Rick Stanley, head coach for the Paul Kane Blues, was unveiled Friday as the new general manager of the Edmonton Energy in the International Basketball League (IBL).
The former Alberta Golden Bear and long-time bench boss of the Jasper Place Rebels will be in charge of western Canada’s only professional basketball team. This is the Energy’s third season as the IBL enters its seventh year. League play tips off May 13.
Under Stanley’s direction the Blues are 8-1 in pool A in the metro Edmonton premier conference, and 17-8 overall.
Last weekend at the Western Canada Redmen tournament in Calgary, the Blues finished third. They beat G.P. Vanier by 14 in the quarter-finals, lost by two to the Cardston Cougars because of poor shooting from the line and in the third-place match humbled the LCI Rams 93-79.
In the final the Redmen sunk Cardston 101-73. The Redmen are ranked third in 4A and Cardston is listed as an honourable mention. The Blues are unranked after starting the season ranked eighth overall.
This weekend the Blues are competing at the Spartan Showdown tournament at O’Leary High School.
League play resumes Monday, when the Blues host the Archbishop Jordan Scots (4-4- in pool A) at 4:45 p.m.
The playoffs start Feb. 28.
Chad Hill is back as head coach of the St. Albert Storm in the Capital District Minor Football Association’s midget spring league.
Last year Hill guided the Storm to a tier II playoff championship. In an overtime thriller, the Storm knocked off the Edmonton Chargers 29-22. They finished 4-2-1 after going 3-4 in 2009 under head coach Mark Dobko as the tier III champions. The highest finish previously for the Storm was 4-3 as tier I finalists in their inaugural 2006 campaign.
This year in tier I it’s a five game round-robin winner-take-all format. The schedule runs from early April to mid-May.
Hill is the head coach of the junior and senior Bellerose Bulldogs in the metro Edmonton league. The Bellerose Composite High School teacher also played for the Storm when it was the only high school football team in St. Albert.
His coaching staff this year on the Storm includes Sean Brass, Bucky Dryer, Zack Wilkie and Ryan Moulds. A few more assistants will be added in the coming weeks.
Storm registration is now under way for players in Grades 9, 10 and 11. For more information, visit www.samfa.ca or email midget director Rod Wilkie at [email protected]. Hill can be contacted at [email protected].
