Winning a national championship was a dream come true for five members of the St. Albert Bowling Centre.
The team of Cyndal Hanson and Laurel Skarlicki of St. Albert, Barb Richard of Morinville and Cindy Begalke and Dorry Meilke of Stony Plain were awarded $1,000 each, along with gold medals and a banner for their home alley, as the big winners at the recent National Classified Bowling Championships in Winnipeg. It marked the first time at a national event for all of them.
Meilke also posted the top average for class two women (193 average over 14 games) and Begalke was the leading bowler for class three women (186 average over 14 games). Begalke and Meilke are mother/daughter, as are Skarlicki (mother) and Hanson (daughter).
The match play format at nationals was class versus class. Richard was class one (0 to 155 average), Meilke class two (156 to 170 average), Begalke class three (171 to 185 average), Hanson class four (186 to 200 average) and Skarlicki class five (over 201 average).
One point was awarded per game won and three points for total team score win. The Alberta five-pin reps recorded team points in every game. After 14 games they led the tournament with 83 points. The runner up had 67 points.
The last year a St. Albert team won top honours at the event was 1991.
The St. Albert Impact U12 tier I boys repeated as tournament champions in Lethbridge recently.
In the final Impact defeated the host team 5-3. It was 2-1 at halftime. In last year’s final the tier II side also beat Lethbridge.
The tournament kicked off with a 3-2 win over Regina REU Inter. The top U12 team in Regina was undefeated in two years. In a hard-fought battle, Impact scored the game winner in the last five minutes of play.
The next match was a 4-2 decision over Calgary Chinook, who the Impact beat in the 2009 indoor provincials.
In the crossover playoffs the Impact overcame a 1-0 deficit to knock off Edmonton Scottish 6-2 for a berth in the final.
The Impact are Marcus Paruby, Dan Sperling, Aymar Sigue, Noah Cunningham, Steven Pavicic, Erik Archimowitz, Nathan Brooks, Elijah Palkun, Zach Rochat, Jonah Tobinski, Nick Parrotta, Zach Black, Luke Cupelli and Mike Fiacco. The head coach is Jamie Rochat and his assistants are John Fiacco and Cliff Black.
The Impact are heavy medal favourites for the upcoming St. Albert Canada Day Classic tier I, II and III tournament as previous winners the last two years.
It’s been a busy offseason so far for the St. Albert Steel.
The Alberta Junior Hockey League team shipped centre Mike Giese and right winger Rob Zandbeek to the Drayton Valley Thunder to complete the future considerations portion of a Jan. 10 transaction involving goalie Braely Torris, who was flipped by the Steel to the Brooks Bandits for futures.
Giese, 19, recorded eight goals, 17 points and 100 PIM in 50 games in 2008/09. In 105 games with the Steel the past two seasons he posted 14 goals, 29 points and 177 PIM.
Zandbeek, 19, registered seven goals, 15 points and 103 PIM in 44 games last season. The St. Albert product compiled eight goals, 20 points and 150 points in 86 games over two seasons with the Steel.
The Steel also acquired forward David Carr, 19, from the Fort McMurray Oil Barons in exchange for forwards Justin Rose and Markus Gerbrandt.
Carr is entering his fourth and final AJHL campaign after collecting 30 goals, 69 points and 154 PIM in 152 games in three seasons with Fort McMurray. The 2008/09 season was his most productive, with 16 goals, 34 points and 69 PIM in 61 games. His brother, Dan, is a highly-skilled left-winger with the Steel.
In exchange for the older Carr, the Steel gave up a pair of 18-year-olds in Rose and Gerbrandt. Rose hooked up with the Steel halfway through last season from the midget AAA Fort Saskatchewan Rangers. In 19 AJHL games he had two goals, four assists and 29 PIM. Gerbrandt played midget AAA in 2008/09 for the Canadian Athletic Club, scoring 16 goals (11 on the power play) while adding nine assists in 34 games.
Meanwhile, forward Steve Wall has surfaced with the Merritt Centennials of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League after a brief stint with the Steel. The St. Albert product was pointless in 12 games with the Steel after coming over from the Spruce Grove Saints for future considerations in his rookie AJHL season.
