Generals, Eagles Seek To Host 2017 Allan Cup

The Bentley Generals hosted the Allan Cup in 2013
and hope to do so again in 2017

The 2017 Allan Cup championship tournament finds itself without a host.

Both the Bentley (soon to be Lacombe) Generals and Innisfail Eagles hope to fix that. 

The Kenora Thistles, who hosted the Allan Cup in 2011, were to do so again next year. That changed when the Thistles suddenly folded this month. Team President Gary Forsyth confirmed the news through a post to the Allan Cup message board.

In light of the news, Hockey Canada has issued a nation-wide call to find a replacement host for the 2017 tournament. Both the Generals and Eagles, along with Stony Plain, will be bidding to take over from Kenora.

It's Official, Bentley Generals Moving to Lacombe

Photo: Rod Ince, Fast Photo

The Bentley Generals will moving base camp a few miles east next year.

Lacombe City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve a $3.4-million plan to build new dressing rooms for the Barnett Arena, including a new team area for the Generals.

Team officials weren't sure what to expect ahead of Monday's vote. They were relieved once council approved the plan following a short discussion.

In response to questions from a couple of city councillors, Generals officials at Monday's meeting said they will make their new area available for use by other groups during their off-season. Negotiations will take place over the coming months.

The two sides will also look at how they can work together on fundraising endeavors for the arena expansion. Council is optimistic the project can be done for less than the budget $3.4-million.

Work on the new dressing rooms is expected to this spring and be completed in time for the Generals to play in Lacombe full-time next season.

Bentley Generals On Verge of Moving to Lacombe

The Bentley Generals, two-time Allan Cup champions, await a vote from Lacombe City Council on Monday that would pave the way for them to relocate there next season.

Team officials say they have held on long enough (too long, perhaps) but a move is needed in order to keep the club competitive moving forward.

My story on the impending council vote and potential move...

http://www.1067thedrive.fm/news/bentley-generals-on-verge-of-relocating-to-lacombe/

Feb 10: Local Sports Recap

The Red Deer Rebels finished off their 4 games in 5 nights road trip with a 7-1 loss in Prince George on Saturday. The Rebels picked up just 1 one a possible 8 points on the trip. They return home this week for games on Wednesday (Medicine Hat) and Saturday (Saskatoon) sitting in 8^th place in the WHL Eastern Conference standings.

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Regular season play wrapped up in the Chinook Hockey League over the weekend...

Friday
Innisfail Eagles 1, Fort Saskatchewan 0








Saturday
Bentley Generals 6, Stony Plain 3

 






Final Regular Season Standings
1. Bentley 42 points
2. Innisfail 32 points
3. Fort Saskatchewan 31 points
4. Okotoks 15 points (not taking part in AAA Provincials)
5. Stony Plain 14 points

(PLAYOFFS INFO BELOW...)

Generals Briefing With Brandin Cote

Despite being the host team this time around, the road to the Allan Cup remains a long and eventful journey for the Bentley Generals.

The Generals, under the guidance of new Head Coach Brandin Cote, split their first two games to open the Chinook Hockey League season last weekend.

They have two more league games this weekend before heading to Saskatchewan for a two game trip next weekend.

Following that, they welcome their long time rivals, the Fort St. John Flyers, for a pair of exhibition games on the Remembrance Day long weekend.

On Thursday, I chatted with Cote about a number of topics concerning his club... including opening weekend, new faces on the Generals roster, and how he's settling into his new gig...

A Fresh Cote

Bentley Generals Head Coach
Brandin Cote

Coming off of a season in which they failed to make the Allan Cup for the first time since 2006, the Bentley Generals knew that the time for change had finally come.

After winning the cup in 2009, the Gens did an admirable job of scrapping their way back to the final tournament twice more only to come up just short. 

"We had to make some changes," team manager Jeff McInnis said on Wednesday.  "We were stagnant and we knew that.  We've learned a lot of lessons over the years. We watched other teams who are stagnant and you're saying 'gee, why don't they make changes?' But then you realize how hard it is to make changes when you're dealing with players who become your friends.  But you have to kind of separate that."

Letting go of a former NHL coach of the year definitely counts as change.  But in the minds of Bentley Generals management (McInnis and Team President Wes Gyori) it was the right thing to do.

Generals Look To Be "Hosts With The Most"

Tickets for the 2013 Allan Cup are now on-sale.

The Bentley Generals plan on giving their faithful 'army' plenty to cheer about, on and off the ice.

The 2009 Allan Cup Champs and three time runners-up will host the 105th edition of the Senior AAA national hockey championship at the Red Deer Arena from April 15th - 20th, 2013.

1,500 full tournament ticket packages are available.  You can also sign up to help out as a volunteer.  

Complete details are available on the tournament's official website - allancup2013.ca

The Eagles Have Landed Sutter

The 65th season of Innisfail Eagles hockey has taken flight, quickly.

The Chinook Hockey League team confirmed today that Brian Sutter is their new Head Coach, bringing along longtime assistants Brian Stephenson and Jason Lenz and other support staff with him.

Brian spent five of the past six seasons coaching the Bentley Generals.  He guided them to four Allan Cup appearances including their championship win in 2009.

Sutter Era Over In Bentley

As it turns out... Brent isn't the only Sutter who won't be coaching the same club next season.

The Bentley Generals have parted ways with Brian Sutter.

MONDAY MASH-UP

Scott Kalinchuk scored in overtime to give the Bentley Generals a 3-2 win last night over the Lloydminster Border Kings.

 With the win... the Generals clinch their sixth straight Chinook Hockey League.

The best-of-three league final series turned out to be quite a classic. LBK won the opener in overtime on Thursday, Bentley won at home 6-3 on Saturday before taking last night's finale in OT. The Generals trailed 2-1 late in the third period until Jason Lundmark found the back of the net setting the stage for Kalinchuk's heroics. It's possible that these two teams will meet at least once more this season if the Generals qualify for the 2012 Allan Cup which the Border Kings are hosting.

Bentley will now take on Horse Lake in one of two Senior AAA Provincial semifinal series. 

Horse Lake eliminated Fort Saskatchewan over the weekend. Sylvan Lake will take on Stony Plain in the other semifinal series. 



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The Red Deer Optimist Rebels clinched first place in the Chrysler (south) division of the Alberta Midget Hockey League with wins 5-0 over the UFA Bisons on Saturday and 8-2 over the Edmonton KC Pats on Sunday.  

In that game, Scott Feser led the scoring attack with two goals and two assists.  The Optimist Rebels can clinch first overall in the AMHL with a win over Lethbridge next Sunday.



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Red Deer's foursome of Jocelyn Peterman, Brittany Tran, Rebecca Konschuh and Kristine Anderson will represent Canada at next month's World Junior Curling Championship in Sweden.

 They won the Canadian title Saturday in Ontario with a 12-6 win over Manitoba. 

The team is coached by Red Deer's Nancy McInernay.



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Notre Dame won the boys title at Lindsay Thurber's 30th annual senior basketball tournament. Hunting Hills won silver in the girls division. 



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The RDC Queens hockey team has rallied its way into the ACAC playoffs.

The Queens 4-0 fell at Grant MacEwan but have tied SAIT with 18 points in the standings.  RDC owns the tie breaker and still has two games remaining while the Trojans have none.

Staying with RDC... the Queens volleyball squad split a pair of matches versus NAIT this past weekend to finish 4th overall in the ACAC. The Queens and NAIT will meet in the opening round of playoffs.

Kings volleyball finished first overall thanks to a pair of wins over NAIT. Unfortunately, Briercrest was in first place at the Christmas break and as a result won the right to host the ACAC championship tournament instead of the Kings.

Kings basketball are second in the south division. They fell to both Keyano and Grant MacEwan over the weekend. Queens basketball also lost to Keyano and GMac.

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Best Grammys Tweet - @rcress8872 "The state of music in 2012, the 4 most talented musicians on the Grammys are in their 60's (Bruce, Brian Wilson, Stevie & Sir Paul) #Grammys"

In all fairness... the Foo Fighters were killer with their performance, proving that rock is alive and well (at least somewhat)!

Paul McCartney's closing performance from last night borders on perfection! Seriously. The second half of Abbey Road is one of the greatest pieces of music of all time... and Sir Paul sang it bang on, note for note, more than 40 years later... check it out, incredible stuff! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUs_dXXGs44

A Great Night for KidSport, Not So Much for the Rebels

"4" was not a good number last night for the Red Deer Rebels.

They had only 4 defenceman dressed for their game versus the Calgary Hitmen. They gave up four goals before most fans finished their first beer. And they now sit four points out of a playoff spot.

After two solid efforts this week in Medicine Hat and Edmonton, the Rebels sleepwalked through the first period of last night's game... and it cost them big time. Now winners of 15 of their last 17 games, the Hitmen took full advantage on their way to winning 6-2.

Trevor Cheek opened the scoring 2:40 into the first. Cody Sylvester made it 2-0 at 8:11. Danny Gayle scored the eventual game winner at 12:07 and that would be it for Deven Dubyk on the night. The Rebels netminder giving up three goals on seven shots, none of which he really had much chance on. Then, following the entry of Bolton Pouliot and a Rebels timeout, Jimmy Bubnick made it 4-0 at 12:31 and this one was essentially over.

The Rebels did their best to make a game of it in the second period. John Persson got them on the board on a 5-on-3 powerplay early in the middle frame. Alex Petrovic cut the deficit to 4-2 late in the frame. But unlike the Tri-City game last weekend there would be no third period magic for the Rebels on this night... much to the chagrin (to the majority) of the announced crowd of 5787 fans.

In Swift Current... the Wheat Kings scored five unanswered goals for a 6-3 win over the Broncos. Brandon now leads the Rebels by four points for the eighth and final playoff spot in the WHL Eastern Conference. The Rebs do still hold two games at hand... but they need to put together a string of wins for those to be a factor.

The good (fantastic) news last night from the Enmax Centrium came from the overwhelmingly successful jersey fundraiser for KidSport. The silent auction for the one night only Finning Canada Rebels jerseys raised $26,250... well above the goal of raising $20,000. Really, this should surprise no one given the outstanding track record of generosity shown by Rebels fans and Central Albertans in general.

Plenty of smiles all around... last night on the faces of the winning bidders who were on the ice to receive their game worn jerseys... and plenty more to come from the dozens of kids who will get to take part in sports thanks to the money raised.

OTHER NOTES...

- Marc Mackenzie was listed as the 'fifth defenceman' on the Rebels roster for this game

- Mathew Dumba's seven game point streak game to an end last night

- For the third time in as many games, Charles Inglis recorded two points

- Following the game, Jesse Wallin confirmed our fears that Aaron Borejko will be out for the foreseeable future... perhaps for good. Borejko suffered his second concussion of the season and is in rough shape. We'll get an official update likely tomorrow, but it doesn't look good.

- Injury updates on Fafard (upper) Doetzel (upper) will likely come tomorrow as well

- Next game action for the Rebels... Wednesday night at home versus the Prince Albert Raiders.

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The Bentley Generals are off to the Chinook Hockey League final after beating the Stony Plain Eagles 4-2 last night in Stony. The Generals sweep the best-of-three semifinal series 2-0. They now await the winner of tonight's game in Lloydminster between the Border Kings and Sylvan Lake Admirals, that series is tied 1-1.

The Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs kicked off Senior AAA provincial playdowns with an 8-4 win over the Horse Lake Chiefs. The winner of this best-of-three series will play the Generals in the provincial semifinals. Sylvan Lake and Stony Plain are set to meet in the other semifinal series.

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Last night in Heritage Junior B Hockey League action...
- Red Deer Vipers 7, Three Hills Thrashers 3
- Strathmore Wheatland Kings 2, Blackfalds Wranglers 1

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RDC Athletics results form last night...
- Queens Volleyball beat Augustans three sets to none
- Kings Volleyball beat Augustana three sets to one

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If you're in or around Red Deer today and have no plans for Superbowl... join us at 106.7 The Drive for our Superbowl Party at Bo's Bar and Grill (2310 50th Avenue 403-309-2200)

Rebels Crowned By Oil Kings, Generals and Admirals Win, Big Night for RDC... and more!

Another missed opportunity for the Rebels.

They got some much appreciated help from the Lethbridge Hurricanes as they beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 4-2.

Unfortunately, they couldn't help themselves by beating the Edmonton Oil Kings... losing 3-2 last night at Rexall Place.

As a result, the Rebels remain two points back of the Wheaties while having played two less games.

You can't fault them for a lack of effort, the Rebels brought plenty of it. But it wasn't quite enough on this particular night.

Obvious bright spot... Charles Inglis continued with his red hot play of late, scoring both Rebels goals. He now has 14 on the season, 6 with the Rebels, and 4 in his last two games. He has clearly regained the form that made him attractive to the Rebels when they gave up Daulton Siwak to bring him in.

Obvious low point... the continuation of tragic ongoing storyline for the season... injuries. The Rebels will be minus the services of Aaron Borejko, again. The 20-year-old defenceman was hit from behind by Kristians Pelss in the dying minutes of last night's game (in fairness, Borejko did put him into an awkward position when the hit took place). Borejko suffered a cut to his face which required stitches. He will not play tonight versus the Hitmen and it remains to be seen just how long he will be out of the lineup for.

Yes, the Rebels return to the Enmax Centrium tonight to take on the hottest team in the entire WHL. Not so long ago, the Rebels and Hitmen were fairly close together in the standings. That was until the Hitmen went on an absolute tear... they have won 8 of their last 10 games. You'd be hard pressed to find many L's in their last 20 games. Although, Calgary did lose 2-1 to the Kootenay Ice last night in Cranbrook.

Game time tonight is at 7:30pm. But I have a feeling more than the usual amount of fans will be ready when the doors open at 6:30. Tonight is the night that the Rebels are wearing their new 'one night only' jerseys in support of KidSport. READ HERE for the full details. It's sure to be a great event.

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With the Rebels out on the road, I ventured out to Bentley to take in Chinook Hockey League playoff action between the Generals and Stony Plain Eagles. Those who know me are well aware of how much I love Senior AAA hockey, that will happen when you get to cover four Allan Cup tournaments in four different provinces.

The Generals were 6-1 victors over the Eagles last night. Bentley has a number of former Rebels in their lineup again this season... including Diarmuid Kelly ('01 Memorial Cup champion), Scott Doucet, and the one and only Pete Vandermeer who now plays alongside brother Joe in Bentley.

Former Swift Current Broncos goalie Travis Yonkman made 17 saves for the win. (GAME SUMMARY). The Generals and Eagles play game two of their best-of-three semifinal series tonight in Stony Plain. Game time is 7:30.

The other CHL semifinal series has the Sylvan Lake Admirals taking on the regular season champion, and 2012 Allan Cup host, Lloydminster Border Kings. Lloyd won the series opener 7-3 this past Wednesday.

But the Admirals, thanks to an outstanding 36-save performance by former Grande Prairie Storm goalie Jordan Ramstead, were 3-0 winners on home ice last night.

The third and final game of that series goes tomorrow at 5pm in Lloydminster.

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The Red Deer Optimist Rebels were 4-1 winners last night over the Calgary Royals in their final game before the Alberta Midget Hockey League All-Star Game. The ASG goes tomorrow afternoon at 1:30pm at the Bill Hunter Arena in Edmonton... and the baby rebels will be well represented... http://www.amhl.ab.ca/

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It was a great night for RDC Athletics...

- Queens Hockey 2, Mount Royal 1
The Queens finish off their home-and-home sweep of the first place Cougars to pull within one point of the final playoff spot

- Kings Volleyball defeated Augustans three sets to two
- Queens Volleyball swept Augustana three sets to none
- Kings Basketball 81, MRU 71
- Queens Basketball 59, MRU 59 - the lone blemish on the night for RDC

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CONGRATS to Sylvan Lake resident Lyndon Rush... he and Jesse Lumsden won GOLD in two-man bobsled in World Cup competition in Whistler! (READ STORY HERE!)

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Great to see that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins finally returns to the Oilers lineup tonight. Sounds like he was pretty excited to see his former Rebels teammates last night in Edmonton... and I have no doubt the feeling was mutual. (How good would he look in Rebels silks right about now? lol)