Coach of the Month - January

RED DEER - Hockey Alberta’s January Coach of the Month, sponsored by Players Bench Team Apparel, is Shawn Van Buuren of the Coaldale Cobras Peewee 2 and Coaldale Bantam teams.

AIRDRIE - It was a thrilling finish at the 2020 Alberta Winter Games in Airdrie on Monday, with Zones 4 and 7 winning gold in Female and Male hockey, respectively.

The female gold medal game went back and forth for the entire 60 minutes where Zone 3 and Zone 4 would need extra time to find a winner. Zone 4 scored the gold medal clinching goal just 1:41 into the extra frame, making the final score 2-1. Zone 7 claimed bronze with a 2-1 victory over Zone 5.

AIRDRIE - The Zone 5 Male hockey team learned a valuable off-ice lesson during the 2020 Alberta Winter Games, after a visit from the Kindness Ninjas Sunday afternoon.

The ’Kindness Ninjas’ are Kindergarten students at Windsong Heights Elementary School in Airdrie, part of a program to help teach the impact of kindness in the classroom, school, community and beyond.

The Ninjas stopped by the Ron Ebbesen Arena after Zone 5’s final round-robin game, as part of an initiative put forth by the team’s Director of Operations, Kim Buchan.

The parents of the Zone 5 players presented the Kindness Ninjas with blankets to donate to the homeless, as part of their "Blankets of Hope" initiative.

According to Buchan, the parents were challenged to perform a good deed as a group, following a good deeds challenge put out to the team in December.

She said she got the idea to work with the Kindness Ninjas after seeing a news story involving former Calgary Flame Lanny McDonald.

"One of our discussions with the boys was that it all starts with being a good person, and it starts with character," said Buchan. "It shows them that even the little things can mean a lot."

Buchan said she was put into contact with the two Kindergarten teachers involved with the Kindness Ninjas, and arranged for the students to come to the arena on Sunday.

"Sport is such an important part of childhood, I feel," said Allie Apels, Kindergarten teacher at Windsong Heights. "I think it’s great to see that you can be on a team, and you can work together to spread kindness and have common values beyond the rink."

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Home Ice Feature stories will focus on interesting stories about the individuals and groups who make a difference within the hockey community in Alberta. If you have a suggestion for a Home Ice Feature story, email [email protected].

RED DEER - Hockey Alberta is pleased to announce Serge Lajoie as Head Coach of the Team Alberta U16 Male squad that will compete in the 2020 WHL Cup.

This will be Lajoie’s second time at the helm of Team Alberta, having guided the U16 team to gold at the 2013 WHL Cup.

"We are excited to bring Serge back into the fold again this year," said Mike Kriachy, Manager, Team Alberta. "He’s been an integral part of the Team Alberta program in previous years, and will bring a lot to the program again this time around."

Lajoie is currently the Head Coach of the OHA Edmonton Midget Prep team, and previously served as Head Coach of the University of Alberta Men’s Hockey Team, winning a U SPORTS National Championship in 2018.

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Hockey Alberta is also now accepting applications for two Assistant Coach positions, and one Video Coach position for Team Alberta U16 Male.

U16 Coach Application >

Key dates for the U16 Male program include the Alberta Cup (April 29 - May 3, Red Deer), Team Alberta Summer Camp (July 6-12, Red Deer), and the WHL Cup (TBD).

The deadline for all coaching applications is March 4 at 4pm.

ST. JOHN’S, NL - Two of Alberta’s Bantam Female players got a once in a lifetime experience while participating in the Global Girls’ Game this past weekend.

Bryn Weinkauf (Daysland) and Emily Harty (St. Albert) arrived in St. John’s on Friday to take in the Global Girls’ Game activities. They got the opportunity to spend the weekend participating in activities focusing on empowerment and team-building in order to foster greater self-confidence, learn from one another, and form friendships, before taking part in the Global Girls’ Game.

The game was neck and neck until the final period when Team Blue (in red, since it’s Canada) pulled ahead for the 7-5 win.

The Global Game embodies the spirit of enjoyment, teamwork, and collaborating with those from diverse backgrounds. The unique game began on February 8 and was played in 28 different countries across the globe before being handed off to Canada to play the final segment. The goal of the game is to unite all females currently playing hockey as one global family. A cumulative score was kept across all 28 countries with Team Blue defeating Team White by a score of 127-111.