Host Raiders meet BC for gold in Western Canadian Bantam final

OKOTOKS - The host Rocky Mountain Raiders will meet the Burnaby Winter Club (British Columbia champions) in the gold medal game at the Western Canadian Bantam Championships.

The Raiders (2-2) and the BC champions (4-0) will face off at 1 pm on Sunday in the Pason Centennial Arena. The gold medal game follows the bronze medal game, which pits the Lethbridge Val Matteotti Golden Hawks (Alberta champions) against Winnipeg Monarchs (Manitoba champions) at 10 am.

Rocky Mountain and Lethbridge finished with identical 2-2 records after round-robin play. However, Rocky Mountain advanced to the championship final by virtue of a 3-2 victory over Lethbridge on Friday afternoon. In fact, it took a dramatic third-period comeback, with Rocky Mountain erasing a 2-1 deficit and scoring the winning goal with three seconds remaining.

Rocky Mountain’s other victory was on Thursday, 5-1, over Yorkton Terriers (Saskatchewan champions). Losses came to Winnipeg (7-3) and Burnaby (4-3). Lethbridge defeated Winnipeg (3-1) and Yorkton (4-1), along with a 4-1 loss to Burnaby.

SPRUCE GROVE - For the third time in five years, the Brooks Bandits are AJHL Champions.

The Bandits sealed their third league title in team history Friday night in Spruce Grove with a 4-1 over the Saints, taking the Gas Drive Cup in five games. Brooks also won back-to-back league titles in 2012 and 2013, and won the RBC Cup National Championship in 2013.

The Bandits now advance to the Crescent Point Energy Western Canada Cup, which runs April 30 - May 8 in Estevan, SK.

WEYBURN, SK - The Midget Female AAA Rocky Mountain Raiders bounced back from a heartbreaking semi-final loss in a big way on Saturday, beating the Saskatoon Stars 3-0 to earn bronze at the Esso Cup.

Raiders goaltender Kate Lloyd, who was named the tournament’s top goaltender, made 21 saves for the shutout win.

Photo credit: Andy Devlin / Hockey Canada Images

The Raiders finished first in round-robin play, but found themselves in the bronze medal game following a 4-3 shootout loss to the Express du Richelieu. The Express would go on to lose 10-3 to the Brantford Ice Cats in the gold medal game.

QUISPAMSIS, NB - The Midget AAA Lloydminster Bandit Pipeline Bobcats also found themselves in the bronze medal game at the Telus Cup, but fell short of a medal with a 6-2 loss to the Lions du Lac St-Louis on Sunday afternoon.

After stumbling to begin the tournament, the Bobcats worked their way into second place in round-robin play, then fell 5-3 to the North York Rangers in Saturday’s semi-final matchup. The Rangers would go on to defeat the host Saint John Vito’s to earn its first Telus Cup in team history.

Lloydminster blueliner and former Team Alberta captain Ty Smith was named the Telus Cup’s top defenceman.

STEINBACH, MB - The Allan Cup is coming back to Alberta once again, as the Bentley Generals won the Senior AAA national title in a thrilling fashion on Saturday afternoon.

In what was a rubber match from last year’s Allan Cup in Clarenville, NL, the Generals exacted revenge against the reigning champions and tournament host South East Prairie Thunder with a 4-3 overtime victory.

Bentley’s win marks the third Allan Cup in team history, to go along with four silver medals. The Generals have appeared in the Allan Cup final seven of the last nine years.

REGINA, SK - The North Peace Navigators will be returning home to Alberta with some hardware of their own, landing a bronze medal at the Keystone Cup with a triple-overtime win Sunday afternoon.

It took nearly two full games worth of hockey to decide, but the Navigators defeated the host Extreme Hockey Regina Capitals in the third overtime frame to claim third place at the annual Junior B Western Canada championship.

The 100 Mile House Wranglers (BC) took the gold medal with a 3-2 overtime victory over the AGI Insurance Quakers (Saskatchewan).

Meanwhile, a pair of Alberta teams will vie for national supremacy this week, as the Lloydminster Bandit Pipeline Bobcats (Midget AAA) and the Rocky Mountain Raiders (Midget Female AAA) compete in the Telus Cup and Esso Cup, respectively.

The Raiders are already off to a good start at the Esso Cup in Weyburn, SK, kicking off their tournament with a 2-1 win over Brantford Ice Cats (Ontario), with forward Hailey McCallum earning the Esso Cup’s First Star of the Day honours. The Raiders are back at Monday at 12 noon against Metro Boston Pizza (Atlantic).

After making the long trip out to Quispamsis, NB, the Bobcats will begin their quest for the Telus Cup Monday at 1:00 p.m. against the Lions du Lac St-Louis (Quebec).

RED DEER - Hockey Alberta is proud to announce the assistant and video coaches of Team Alberta for the 2016 U16 Male and U18 Female programs.

Spiros Anastas (Assistant Coach), Matthieu Keillor (Assistant Coach), and Ryan Allen (Video Coach) will join Head Coach Bram Stephen on Team Alberta Male.

Anastas is currently the head coach of the University of Lethbridge men’s hockey team, and has previously served as an assistant coach in the AHL, and in the NCAA. The list of accomplishments for Anastas includes a Calder Cup with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2013, a bronze medal as an assistant coach with Team Canada at the 2015 World University Games, and a pair of gold medals with the Korean U18 and National teams in 2015.

This season marks Keillor’s sixth year with the U16 program as a coach or a mentor, most recently serving as the team’s video coach in 2015. He’s currently the head coach of the Grande Prairie Midget AAA Storm, and is also the technical director of the Grande Prairie Minor Hockey Association.

Allen is an assistant coach and the assistant general manager with the Drayton Valley Thunder of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Allen has previous experience as an assistant and head coach with the Northeast Flyers, and as an assistant coach with the Fort McMurray Oil Barons, who hosted the 2015 Western Canada Cup.

SCHOLS, GLOWINSKI, TAPP JOIN U18 FEMALE STAFF

Joining Head Coach Carla MacLeod on Team Alberta Female will be Cassea Schols (Assistant Coach), Grant Glowinski (Assistant Coach) and Amanda Tapp (Goalie/Video Coach).

Schols has been the head coach of the Banff Academy Female Prep team since 2014, and was previously head coach of the Midget AAA Edmonton Thunder. The Thunder won the silver medal in the 2014 Esso Cup. She served as an assistant coach at the Alberta Winter Games, and as a head coach at the 2015 Alberta Challenge. Schols was also the summer camp video coach for Hockey Canada’s female development team.

Glowinski is coming off his first year as the head coach of the Sherwood Park Kings Athletic Club Bantam AAA Female Royals. He’s been a hockey program instructor at Colver Bar Junior High since 2013, and a professional skating instruction coach since 2000. With Hockey Alberta, Glowinski was a head coach at the 2015 Alberta Challenge, and an assistant coach at the 2012 Alberta Winter Games.

Tapp brings over 22 years of experience as a goalie coach, this being her fourth straight year with Team Alberta Female, having previously won gold medals with the team at the 2013 U18 Nationals and the 2015 Canada Winter Games. She’s currently the video coach for the Edge School for Athletes, a position she’s held since 2014, while also working with Top Prospects Goaltending. Tapp also spent the 2014-15 season as an assistant coach with the GHC Bantam AAA Rangers.

The U16 Male Program is the third stage of the development and identification process to select a roster for Team Alberta to compete at either the U16 Western Challenge or the Canada Winter Games. The Games are held every four years, with the next event set for 2019 in Red Deer. Players in the U16 Male program will be challenging for the opportunity to compete on one of the three teams that represent Canada each year at the World U17 Hockey Challenge.

The High Performance U18 program works towards identifying the top 20 female players in Alberta, who will comprise Team Alberta U18 representing the province at the National Women’s Under 18 Championship or the Canada Winter Games. Making this team is the pinnacle of female amateur hockey in Alberta, and a major lifetime highlight for the players.

RED DEER - It was quite the busy weekend for hockey across Alberta as the Junior B provincial title was handed out, along with a handful of regional medals for Bantam and Midget teams.

The fifth and final week of Hockey Alberta Provincial Championships, presented by ATB Financial, concluded Sunday afternoon with the crowning of the Junior B champion.

In the last ever game at the historic Red Deer Arena, the North Peace Navigators edged the Wainwright Bisons 3-2 to claim the gold medal. The Navigators will move on to compete in the Keystone Cup in Regina April 14-17. Earlier in the afternoon, the Wetaskiwin Icemen skated away with the bronze medal after a thrilling 3-2 double overtime win over the host Red Deer Vipers.

The Junior A title is now the last one to be decided in Alberta, as the Alberta Junior Hockey League playoffs continue.

2016 Champions Photos

Meanwhile, Okotoks played host to the 2016 Western Canada Bantam AAA Championships. Alberta teams fared quite well. The 2016 AMBHL champion Lethbridge Val Matteoti Golden Hawks earned the bronze medal with a 2-1 overtime win over the Winnipeg Monarchs, while the host Rocky Mountain Raiders just missed out on gold, falling 3-2 to the Burnaby Winter Club.

It was more good news for Alberta teams in the Midget AAA circuit. The Lloydminster Bandit Pipeline Bobcats advanced to the 2016 Telus Cup (Quispamsis, NB, April 18-24) by sweeping the best-of-three Pacific Regional series against British Columbia’s Valley West Hawks, 2-0.

On the female side, the Rocky Mountain Raiders swept their Pacific Regional series against the Northern Cougars, punching their ticket to the 2016 Esso Cup in Weyburn, SK, April 17-23.