Okotoks welcomes the Western Canada Bantam championships

OKOTOKS - Eilte Bantam AAA hockey players in Western Canada will be converging in Okotoks and the Pason Centennial Centre for the Western Canada Bantam Championships, March 30-April 3.

This prestigious event features elite level 13 and 14-year-old male players in Western Canada, many of whom will be drafted in the upcoming 2016 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft. Five teams, representing all four western provinces, will compete in a round-robin format tournament starting March 31. The top two teams advance to the championship final on Sunday afternoon.

Alberta will be represented by two teams. The Lethbridge Val Matteoti Golden Hawks are the Alberta champions, after sweeping Sherwood Park in three games to win the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League title. Lethbridge will be joined by the host Rocky Mountain Raiders.

Other teams representing their respective provinces are: Winnipeg Monarchs (Manitoba), Yorkton Xerox Terriers (Saskatchewan) and Burnaby Winter Club (British Columbia).

“The Town of Okotoks and the Host Committee are very proud to host the 2016 Western Canadian Bantam Hockey Championships,” said Travis Thiessen, co-chair of the event. “This tournament is known for its prestigious role in the development of elite hockey players as they chase their hockey dreams and we are honoured for the opportunity to host the western province representatives and promote our town in putting on this event.”

Action gets underway on Thursday, March 31 with Yorkton and the Raiders opening the tournament at 9 am. Lethbridge faces Winnipeg at 11:45. All games are at the Pason Centennial Arena. The remainder of the tournament schedule is:

Thursday, March 31

• 9:00 am: Rocky Mountain vs Yorkton
• 11:45 am: Lethbridge vs Winnipeg
• 2:30 pm: Yorkton vs Burnaby
• 5 pm: Opening Ceremonies
• 5:45 pm: Winnipeg vs Rocky Mountain

Friday, April 1

• 9 am: Burnaby vs Lethbridge
• 11:45 am: Yorkton vs Winnipeg
• 2:30 pm: Rocky Mountain vs Lethbridge

Saturday, April 2

• 9 am: Winnipeg vs Burnaby
• 11:45 am: Lethbridge vs Yorkton
• 2:30 pm: Burnaby vs Rocky Mountain

Sunday, April 3

• 10 am: Third Place Game, 4^th vs 3^rd
• 1 pm: Championship Final, 2^nd vs 1^st

There also will be special events on Friday and Saturday evening, each of which have a limited number of tickets available to the public.

On Friday, April 1, the ATB Hot Stove Lounge will be held at the Okotoks Best Western Plus. The event starts at 6 pm, and features former NHLers Rob Brown, Rhett Warrener and Jason Wiemer. Tickets are $125 each or $800 for a table of eight, and are available by contacting Travis Thiessen at [email protected].

On Saturday, April 2, the tournament banquet will be held at the Foothills Centennial Centre. The event starts at 6:30 pm, and sponsored by the Western Hockey League. Tickets are $45, and available by contacting Marilyn Andrews at [email protected].

For updated results, tournament information, or to purchase game tickets, go to the tournament website.

RED DEER - The rosters have been announced for Hockey Alberta’s 2016 Alberta Cup.

Eight teams will take to the ice at the Canmore Recreation Centre April 28-May 1. The teams include two from each of Calgary and Edmonton, and one each representing the South, Central, Northeast and Northwest zones of the province.

Twenty 2001-born players comprise each roster, along with volunteers serving as head coach, assistant coaches, trainer, and director of operations. Rosters were selected based on performances at zone camps held March 25-27 throughout the province.

The 2016 Alberta Cup marks the 30th Anniversary of the very first Alberta Cup which was held in Edmonton in 1986.

2016 Alberta Cup Rosters

The teams will play in a four-day, tournament-format competition. The event also features an education seminar hosted by the Western Hockey League (WHL).

“The coaching staffs were faced with some very difficult decisions when it came to selecting the 20 players for each team. For the athletes who have earned a roster spot, congratulations. But the work is just beginning, not just for this edition of the Alberta Cup, but also in the competition to earn a spot on the Team Alberta squad that will compete later this year,” said Michael Kraichy, Hockey Alberta’s manager of Team Alberta.

Eighty players will be invited to the U16 Male Provincial Camp in July. This year, players are also vying for spots on Team Alberta at the Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup in October in Calgary.

Alberta Cup graduates include Matt Dumba, Braden Holtby, Jay Bouwmeester, Dion Phaneuf, Scott Hartnell, Jordan Eberle, Devan Dubnyk, and Andrew Ference.

Click here for more information on the Alberta Cup.

Hockey Alberta is proud to announce the 12 officials that have been selected to officiate at the Western Canada Bantam Championships this week in Okotoks.

The 12 officials are:

Curtis Johanson - NC Zone	Michelle Barry - Central Zone
Ty Elliot - NC Zone	Matt Dewald - Central Zone
Brandon Cimino - North Zone	Aiden Forester - Central Zone
Darian Taileur - North Zone	Tyler Watson - Central Zone
Thomas Siepp - NE Zone	Jayden Paul - Central Zone
Kyle Klenk - NE Zone	Todd Layton - Central Zone

Hockey Alberta and the Officiating Committee would like to congratulate each official on their selection.

The Western Canada Bantam Championships run March 31 - April 3 in Okotoks. Click here for the tournament’s website.

Thursday, March 10

IQALUIT - After another busy day of hockey in Nunavut, Team Alberta North skated away from the 2016 Arctic Winter Games with a pair of medals - a gold for the males, and silver for the females.

After finishing round-robin play in second place with a 3-1 record, the male squad drew Team Alaska in the semi-finals, who had a matching 3-1 record.

Team Alberta North edged Alaska 3-2 in the early-morning tilt, and moved on to face NWT in the gold medal final.

Despite a furious comeback by NWT, Alberta North managed to weather the storm and hold on for the 5-4 win, sealing the gold medal.

On the female side, Team Alberta North found themselves in a similar matchup against Team Alaska in the semi-finals, and came out on the winning side of a 2-1 score.

In keeping with the trend, it was a Team Alberta North and NWT gold medal final once again, but this time it was NWT who came away with gold after a 5-1 win.

In other tournament action, Team Alaska landed a pair of bronze medals, as the male squad took down Team Nunavut 9-1, while the females edged the Yukon 2-1.

For the full Arctic Winter Games ice hockey schedule and results, click here.

For more information on the Arctic Winter Games, click here.

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Wednesday, March 9

IQALUIT - After the last day of round-robin play at the Arctic Winter Games, both Team Alberta North squads finished with 3-1 records.

The males lost their first game of the tournament Wednesday morning to NWT by a score of 5-0, but rebounded with a 5-2 over Alaska later in the day. The win set up a three-way tie for first place between Team Alberta North, NWT and Alaska.

Through the tie breaker formula, Team Alberta North finished second, and NWT third, so the two teams will meet again bright and early on Thursday at 6 a.m. (MT).

Meanwhile, the females continued to find their stride, winning their second and third straight games on Wednesday after opening the Arctic Winter Games with a loss.

They started the day with a 3-1 win over Team Yukon Wednesday morning, and finished the round-robin on a strong note with an 11-0 triumph over Nunavut.

The pair of wins gave Team Alberta North sole possession of second place on the female side, setting up a semi-final against third-place Alaska Thursday morning at 8:30 (MT).

The winner of each semi-final game will advance to the gold medal final on Thursday evening.

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Tuesday, March 8

IQALUIT - Despite experiencing some lengthy delays due to a massive blizzard in Iqaluit, both Team Alberta North squads came up with wins on Day Two of the Arctic Winter Games.

In a game that was supposed to start at 9 a.m. (ET), Team Alberta North Male finally got things going at 6 p.m. (ET) against the Yukon. The extra rest proved benificial for the males, as they cruised to an 11-0 to start the Arctic Winter Games with a 2-0 record.

The females finally hit the ice to battle Team Alaska at 7 p.m. (ET), about six hours later than the scheduled time. After a 4-2 loss on Monday, the team rebounded well with a 3-2 win, moving to an even 1-1 record so far at the games.

It’s a quick turnaround for both teams, as they’ll hit the ice again at 9 a.m. (MT) Wednesday. The males are set to go against NWT, while the females will go head-to-head with the Yukon.

The females play their second game of the day at 1 p.m. (MT) against Nunavut, while the males hit the ice again at 4 p.m. (MT) to take on Alaska.

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Monday, March 7

IQALUIT - An up and down opening day for Team Alberta North at the 2016 Arctic Winter Games on Monday.

The male squad opened their Winter Games Monday morning in Iqaluit with a 10-3 win over the host team.

The females didn’t fare as well, falling 4-2 to Team NWT.

The males are back it at Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. (MT) against the Yukon , while the females hit the ice at 11 a.m. (MT) against Alaska.