Here are the team previews for the WHL Central Division as compiled and released by the Western Hockey League...
Calgary Hitmen
General Manager: Kelly Kisio
Head Coach: Mike Williamson
2012 pre-season: 4-2-0-0
2011-12 Record: 44-25-2-1, 91pts (2nd in Central Div., 3rd in Eastern Conf.) GF: 273 GA: 221
2011-12 Power Play / Penalty Killing ranking: PP: 20.9% (12th); PK: 81.0% (4th)
2012 Playoffs: Lost in five games to Brandon in first round
2011-12 Top Scorers:
Jimmy Bubnick 72gp-36g-41a-77pts
Cody Sylvester 66gp-23g-45a-68pts
Victor Rask 64gp-33g-30a-63pts
Showing posts with label Edmonton Oil Kings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Edmonton Oil Kings. Show all posts
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Friday, May 25, 2012
Shawinigan Sha-won-again, and other Friday Thoughts
It's the Friday of a short work week. I am a full practitioner of 'Mail It In' Fridays so in honour of that here are a few not-so-in-depth thoughts...
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Samuelsson Suspended for Slamming Kambeitz
First off... I apologize for taking a two-day sabbatical following the end of the Rebels season. But there really wasn't much I could say that hadn't been said already. "The boys battled hard. Too many injuries. Damn, we missed the playoffs." Other than that, I had nothing lol.
Thankfully, the WHL issued a brief statement yesterday that provided plenty of fodder for talk around the water cooler last night and this morning...
"#WHL Suspension @EdmOilKings Henrik Samuelsson, two games for clipping major and g.m. at Red Deer on March 17"
You can view the footage courtesy of "Rebels This Week" (Kudos to Calvin for getting the exclusive, this is the only place to see the hit in question!)
When I saw the hit live on Saturday night, I thought the clipping major and game misconduct assessed to Samuelsson was appropriate (my view of the hit came from the end of the rink from behind Samuelsson, far to the left of the view shown on the video) and that supplementary discipline would also be in order. What I saw at the time was the Oil Kings forward drop down low to send Rebels Captain Adam Kambeitz flying head over heels through the air. I didn't like it. I even tweeted at the time that Henrik "took a page out of dad Ulf's playbook with a below the belt hipcheck."
But after having now viewed the video clip countless times (and from a new angle) I'm changing my opinion... somewhat. When compared to what we've seen happen with Mathew Dumba on multiple occasions this season, the hit likely deserved a minor penalty at worst. A major and a game misconduct, I suppose so. A two-game suspension now seems too much punishment in my opinion.
Don't get me wrong, I am all for eliminating dangerous hits from hockey. But if you watch the clip closely you can see that Kambeitz adds to the danger by leaping into the hit. Had he remained on his feet, he likely does not get flipped up in the air like he did. The obvious good news is that Kambeitz was not injured on the play.
Anyhoo... those are my thoughts. I'd be interested to hear what you have to say. Here is another perspective from Guy Flaming, host of The Pipeline Show on The Team 1260 radio in Edmonton. He also did colour commentary for the game here on Saturday in which the hit took place.
Samuelsson's time with the Oil Kings has certainly been eventful. This marks the third time Samuelsson has been suspended this season. He was given one game for a charging major and game misconduct he received on January 15th in a game versus Calgary. He was also given a one game suspension for a kneeing major and game misconduct from a February 22nd game versus Kelowna. That's a lot of discipline considering Henrik only joined the Oil Kings in mid-January.
---
Peyton Manning is apparently after more than just another Superbowl ring.
Had he simply been "in it to win it" he would have made the choice to sign with the San Francisco 49ers, who out of his three finalists are clearly the team best-suited to win the Lombardi Trophy sooner than later.
Contrarily, had he chosen with his heart, Manning would have signed on to play with the Tennessee Titans. He is still very much revered in that state after his outstanding college career.
But in the end, he chose to become a Denver Bronco (thereby marking the end of Tebow Time in the Mile High City). What this tells me is that Manning was looking for a situation where he would have the most control over his situation, which is fair when that's what you've been used to for 14 seasons. In San Francisco, even though he would have had his best shot at "winning now" Manning would have been at the mercy of Jim Harbaugh... who is clearly in full control of the 49ers ship. Peyton would also have had to deal with the possibility of playing against brother Eli on the road to the Superbowl, something he also wanted to avoid. It also can't be understated just how well Manning and John Elway have hit it off over the past few days. Combining the minds of two of the very greatest quarterbacks to play the game will do nothing but wonders for the Broncos. Sorry, Tebow.
---
Thankfully, the WHL issued a brief statement yesterday that provided plenty of fodder for talk around the water cooler last night and this morning...
"#WHL Suspension @EdmOilKings Henrik Samuelsson, two games for clipping major and g.m. at Red Deer on March 17"
You can view the footage courtesy of "Rebels This Week" (Kudos to Calvin for getting the exclusive, this is the only place to see the hit in question!)
When I saw the hit live on Saturday night, I thought the clipping major and game misconduct assessed to Samuelsson was appropriate (my view of the hit came from the end of the rink from behind Samuelsson, far to the left of the view shown on the video) and that supplementary discipline would also be in order. What I saw at the time was the Oil Kings forward drop down low to send Rebels Captain Adam Kambeitz flying head over heels through the air. I didn't like it. I even tweeted at the time that Henrik "took a page out of dad Ulf's playbook with a below the belt hipcheck."
But after having now viewed the video clip countless times (and from a new angle) I'm changing my opinion... somewhat. When compared to what we've seen happen with Mathew Dumba on multiple occasions this season, the hit likely deserved a minor penalty at worst. A major and a game misconduct, I suppose so. A two-game suspension now seems too much punishment in my opinion.
Don't get me wrong, I am all for eliminating dangerous hits from hockey. But if you watch the clip closely you can see that Kambeitz adds to the danger by leaping into the hit. Had he remained on his feet, he likely does not get flipped up in the air like he did. The obvious good news is that Kambeitz was not injured on the play.
Anyhoo... those are my thoughts. I'd be interested to hear what you have to say. Here is another perspective from Guy Flaming, host of The Pipeline Show on The Team 1260 radio in Edmonton. He also did colour commentary for the game here on Saturday in which the hit took place.
Samuelsson's time with the Oil Kings has certainly been eventful. This marks the third time Samuelsson has been suspended this season. He was given one game for a charging major and game misconduct he received on January 15th in a game versus Calgary. He was also given a one game suspension for a kneeing major and game misconduct from a February 22nd game versus Kelowna. That's a lot of discipline considering Henrik only joined the Oil Kings in mid-January.
---
Peyton Manning is apparently after more than just another Superbowl ring.
Had he simply been "in it to win it" he would have made the choice to sign with the San Francisco 49ers, who out of his three finalists are clearly the team best-suited to win the Lombardi Trophy sooner than later.
Contrarily, had he chosen with his heart, Manning would have signed on to play with the Tennessee Titans. He is still very much revered in that state after his outstanding college career.
But in the end, he chose to become a Denver Bronco (thereby marking the end of Tebow Time in the Mile High City). What this tells me is that Manning was looking for a situation where he would have the most control over his situation, which is fair when that's what you've been used to for 14 seasons. In San Francisco, even though he would have had his best shot at "winning now" Manning would have been at the mercy of Jim Harbaugh... who is clearly in full control of the 49ers ship. Peyton would also have had to deal with the possibility of playing against brother Eli on the road to the Superbowl, something he also wanted to avoid. It also can't be understated just how well Manning and John Elway have hit it off over the past few days. Combining the minds of two of the very greatest quarterbacks to play the game will do nothing but wonders for the Broncos. Sorry, Tebow.
---
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Taming the Tabbies, "Fightgate" Update
A feather in the cap last night for Deven Dubyk.
In his final appearance in the rink where he spent his first three WHL seasons, Dubyk made 28 saves to backstop the Red Deer Rebels to a 4-2 win over the Medicine Hat Tigers.
By all accounts, it was a solid team effort. A perfect way for the Rebels to say "thank you" to the guy who gave them so much in so little time.
Dubyk made a very difficult decision when he joined the Rebels in late December... passing up a chance to play in the RBC Cup with the host Humboldt Broncos. The Rebels are thankful he made the decision that he did.
His overall solid play kept the injury-riddled Rebels in countless games over the past three months. Obviously, the Rebels did not win nearly as many of those games as they would have liked. But Dubyk at least gave them a chance more often than not. As I mentioned in a previous blog... his numbers don't jump right out at you (3.05 GAA, .905 save %) but if you think the Rebels season was bad enough already... not having Dubyk between the pipes would have made it look much worse.
Back to last night's game... Alex Petrovic started his farewell week by scoring a pair of goals, his 11th and 12th of the season. As Director of Player Personnel for the Florida Panthers Brian Skrudland told me last month, Petrovic is a lock to play for their AHL affiliate in San Antonio next season. So let's enjoy his final few games with the Rebels because his presence will definitely be missed next year.
Tyson Ness scored his 20th goal of the season last night. Ness has taken full advantage of the extra ice time he's received this year. He will be a valuable leader for the Rebels as a 19-year-old next season.
Just two games left for the Rebels, both of them at home, Friday versus Lethbridge and Saturday versus Edmonton.
----
Meantime... Edmonton Oil Kings Head Coach Derek Laxdal is softening on his stance, somewhat.
You'll recall that he accused the Rebels of using some dirty tactics during last Saturday's game at Rexall Place... setting the stage for what could be an explosive game this Saturday at the Enmax Centrium.
But in another article featured in today's Edmonton Journal, Laxdal wasn't so sure that will be the case...
Saturday’s game against Red Deer could be a rough one. The teams combined for 156 penalty minutes at Rexall Place on Saturday and Laxdal was vocal after the game, repeatedly saying that the Rebels — who were eliminated from the playoffs —were unprofessional in how they conducted themselves.
Laxdal now brushes off the suggestion that the Rebels’ final game of the season Saturday could get out of hand.
“It’s the game of hockey,” he said. “The game gets physical and we’ve got to play through it. We’ve got to focus on getting those two points and focus on the way we play.
“We want to play a physical hard game. If it gets out of control a little bit, that’s the referee’s job to settle it down. It’ll be fine.”
We shall all find out together on Saturday.
In his final appearance in the rink where he spent his first three WHL seasons, Dubyk made 28 saves to backstop the Red Deer Rebels to a 4-2 win over the Medicine Hat Tigers.
By all accounts, it was a solid team effort. A perfect way for the Rebels to say "thank you" to the guy who gave them so much in so little time.
Dubyk made a very difficult decision when he joined the Rebels in late December... passing up a chance to play in the RBC Cup with the host Humboldt Broncos. The Rebels are thankful he made the decision that he did.
His overall solid play kept the injury-riddled Rebels in countless games over the past three months. Obviously, the Rebels did not win nearly as many of those games as they would have liked. But Dubyk at least gave them a chance more often than not. As I mentioned in a previous blog... his numbers don't jump right out at you (3.05 GAA, .905 save %) but if you think the Rebels season was bad enough already... not having Dubyk between the pipes would have made it look much worse.
Back to last night's game... Alex Petrovic started his farewell week by scoring a pair of goals, his 11th and 12th of the season. As Director of Player Personnel for the Florida Panthers Brian Skrudland told me last month, Petrovic is a lock to play for their AHL affiliate in San Antonio next season. So let's enjoy his final few games with the Rebels because his presence will definitely be missed next year.
Tyson Ness scored his 20th goal of the season last night. Ness has taken full advantage of the extra ice time he's received this year. He will be a valuable leader for the Rebels as a 19-year-old next season.
Just two games left for the Rebels, both of them at home, Friday versus Lethbridge and Saturday versus Edmonton.
----
Meantime... Edmonton Oil Kings Head Coach Derek Laxdal is softening on his stance, somewhat.
You'll recall that he accused the Rebels of using some dirty tactics during last Saturday's game at Rexall Place... setting the stage for what could be an explosive game this Saturday at the Enmax Centrium.
But in another article featured in today's Edmonton Journal, Laxdal wasn't so sure that will be the case...
Saturday’s game against Red Deer could be a rough one. The teams combined for 156 penalty minutes at Rexall Place on Saturday and Laxdal was vocal after the game, repeatedly saying that the Rebels — who were eliminated from the playoffs —were unprofessional in how they conducted themselves.
Laxdal now brushes off the suggestion that the Rebels’ final game of the season Saturday could get out of hand.
“It’s the game of hockey,” he said. “The game gets physical and we’ve got to play through it. We’ve got to focus on getting those two points and focus on the way we play.
“We want to play a physical hard game. If it gets out of control a little bit, that’s the referee’s job to settle it down. It’ll be fine.”
We shall all find out together on Saturday.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Monday, Monday... So Cruel To Me (Rebels Fan)
As if Mondays aren't already tough enough to deal with...
Rebels fans are dragging themselves to work while dealing with the reality that the dream of getting into the WHL playoffs is officially over.
That dream ended with a thud over the weekend. Three losses in three nights. All of them of the blowout variety... 5-2 to Edmonton on Friday (which included two empty netters), 7-4 in Edmonton on Saturday, and 5-2 yesterday in Calgary.
Yesterday's game in Cowtown was a recipe for disaster before it even started. The Hitmen were at home looking to clinch home ice advantage in the first round of playoffs. A huge crowd of more than 13,000 Hitmen supporters were on-hand at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Chad Robinson and Cory Millette were lost to injury. And... the Rebels were playing their third game in less than three days while losing an hour to the spring ahead time change.
That's a rather nasty recipe.
To their credit... the Rebels did battle with everything they had left in their tank. It was 3-2 early in the third period before the Hitmen scored a pair to pull away for the win. Calgary can now finish no lower than 4th in the conference and are just two points behind Medicine Hat for third. The Rebels will likely finish 9th as they are six points ahead of 10th place Swift Current.
Meanwhile... some rather interesting accusations were made by Oil Kings Head Coach Derek following Saturday night's game in Edmonton (7-4 win for Edmonton).
Laxdal, as quoted in Chris O'Leary's Edmonton Journal article, accused Rebels GM / Head Coach Jesse Wallin of sending players on the ice specifically for the purpose of injuring and fighting some of the Oil Kings players.
From the article...
The word repeatedly used by Oil Kings head coach Derek Laxdal after the game was "unprofessional."
"When their coaches start chirping our bench, I have a problem with that," Laxdal said. "And I think that's very unprofessional.
"We don't tell our players to go out and hurt other players and I saw their coaches talk to one of their players. I think that's very unprofessional and that's all I have to say about that."
Wallin was somewhat caught off-guard when asked about the allegations...
"Tell a player to go out and do something. Derek Laxdal said that? Wow. It surprises me that Derek Laxdal would say that," Wallin said. "I've never told a player to go out and do anything. If Derek Laxdal would like to address that with me, he's more than welcome to come down and do so.
"That didn't happen. Absolutely not. Never done that, never will."
Regardless, Laxdal set the stage for some potential fireworks to go off during the regular season finale this coming Saturday at the Enmax Centrium...
"It was very cheap and very unprofessional. We picked up an injury from it and that's going to hurt us down the stretch here. But we've got guys we can put in the lineup. We have to go in (to Red Deer) next Saturday night. What comes around, goes around."
My personal opinion... I have a hard time believing Wallin and the Rebels would use such tactics... simply because they don't have a full roster as it is. Having players sit in the penalty box with majors, or get tossed from the game altogether, wouldn't really help that out much. Admittedly, I don't know Laxdal as well as I do Wallin. But it seems quite surprising that he would straight out accuse the Rebels of playing dirty pool like that.
As a rather colourful football once proclaimed... "Get Your Popcorn Ready!"
Just three games left for the Rebels to play out starting tomorrow night in Medicine Hat. Friday, they host Lethbridge before Saturday's potentially explosive home game versus Edmonton.
---
Another playoff game... another shutout for the Red Deer Midget AAA Optimist Rebels.
They blanked the Calgary Northwest Flames 3-0 in yesterday's opening game of the Alberta Midget Hockey League south division final at the Red Deer Arena.
Red Deer scored all three of their goals in the third period. Scott Ferguson (Rebels prospect), Kirk Johnson and Brady Bakke each scored once.
Dasan Sydora made 24 saves for his third shutout in four playoff games.
Game two of the series goes Wednesday night in Calgary. [www.amhl.ab.ca]
---
It was an all Red Deer final at the Sutter Cup midget-15 playoff tournament in our city.
The IROC Chiefs beat the North Star Chiefs 2-1 to win gold.
Both teams earn spots at Provincials later this month in Calgary.
---
What an absolutely fantastic Saturday night in Lacombe!
More than 350 supporters turned out for the 3rd annual fundraising gala in support of MEGlobal Athletic Park.
Darren Gagnon of Lacombe Ford and his tireless group of volunteers did another great job of putting together this event. And this year's list of CFL celebrities was perhaps the best yet...
- Hamilton Tiger-Cats QB Henry Burris
- Calgary Stampeders RB Jon Cornish
- Calgary Stampeders DB Keon Raymond
- Edmonton Eskimos P Burke Dales
- Edmonton Eskimos Alumni Ed Jones, Bing Norrie, Fred Dunn, and Bill Marchuk
Not gonna lie... it was pretty weird to see Henry wearing TiCat colours (and Burke wearing Esks colours for that matter) but both wore their new silks with pride and had a ton of fun on the night. In fact, Dales was not originally scheduled to attend this year's event. But he had such a blast last year that as soon as he found out about this year's gala he wanted in again. Awesome stuff.
Jon Cornish said the same thing. He attended the inaugural gala in 2010 along with Joffrey Reynolds and had a blast. 'Corn Dog' was the life of the party this time around.
I was lucky enough to sit at a table with Keon Raymond (thanks to a friend of mine who made a generous donation to the athletic park!) just one day after he won the Stampeders President's Ring Award and signed a contract extension. Needless to say, he was in a good mood.
One of my favorite parts of this event is that personalities from most all of the radio stations in our market join forces for the emcee duties. Savage and T-Bo from The Drive along with Al and Marilyn from Zed, Lindsay from Kraze and Tank from Sunny did a helluva job and made the night quite entertaining for everyone.
The event raised tens of thousands of dollars (I hope to get a final total in the next day or two) for the athletic park... which you can find out more about by visiting www.lacombeathleticpark.ca
---
The 2012 Red Deer Community Sport Awards were handed out at the Sheraton hotel on Friday... (nominees and winners are listed)
Junior Male Athlete of the Year
Nick Marchuk
Brett Pasula
Mathew Dumba
WINNER: BRETT PASULA
Junior Female Athlete of the Year
Jordan Hudson
Emma MacDermaid
Molly Li
WINNER: EMMA MCDERMAID
Open Male Athlete of the Year
Darcy Kuemper
Keegan Soehn
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
WINNER: KEEGAN SOEHN
Open Female Athlete of the Year
Zina Kosher
Julie Young
Jodi Sanguin
WINNER: JODI SANGUIN
Senior Male Athlete of the Year
Birchmans Pereira
WINNER: BIRCHMANS PEREIRA
Senior Female
Marianne Badenhorst
WINNER: MARIANNE BADENHORST
Team of the Year
Lindsey Thurber Junior Raiders
Midget AAA Optimist Rebels
Peterman Curling Team
WINNER: LINDSEY THURBER JUNIOR RAIDERS
Coach of the Year
Doug Quinn
Esad Elkaz
Rene Simon
WINNER: ESAD ELKAZ
Kendall Dunkle Award
Shawna Pearman
Tammie Lynn Paul
WINNER: SHAWNA PEARMAN
Official of the Year
Harvey Penhale
Donna Hately
WINNER: DONNA HATELY
Youth Official of the Year
WINNER: JENNIFER HOVDE
Local Business of the Year
KFC
Vellners Leisure
Eastside Marios
Runners Den
Dairy Queen
WINNER: KFC
Lifetime Achievement
COWINNERS: GREG ATKINSON & KEN VANLOON
Spirit of Sport
WINNER: BLAIR MURRAY
Volunteer of the Year
WINNER: DR. AZIZ REHAMN
Congratulations to all!
---
It's been a long, long time since the Calgary Flames had reason to be excited about one of their draft picks... but Sven Baertschi is changing that in a real hurry.
Baertschi scored his first ever NHL goal, in just his second game, in yesterday's 4-3 Flames win in Minnesota.
WHL fans are certainly aware of what the Swiss forward brings to the table... the Portland Winterhawks forward is 9th in league scoring with 94 points in just 47 games played (putting him on pace for 144 points in a full 72 game season).
The last draft pick to create anywhere close to this much buzz in Calgary... it probably was Dion Phaneuf back in 2004.
The Flames still have a long way to go when it comes stocking their cupboards with young talent... but Baertschi is an excellent start.
---
No Alberta sweep when it comes to Canadian curling titles.
Kevin Koe's rink simply ran out of mojo in their 7-6 loss to Ontario's Glenn Howard in the Brier final in Saskatoon.
Alberta rallied form behind in playoff wins over the Territories and Manitoba. They fell behind early against Ontario as well... but Howard would have no part in letting Koe and Co. pull out more late game heroics.
In fact, Ontario played a near perfect game. The final score definitely flattered Alberta.
So... our province will have to be content with winning three of four major national curling titles (Scotties, Canadian Men's and Women's Juniors).
---
Rebels fans are dragging themselves to work while dealing with the reality that the dream of getting into the WHL playoffs is officially over.
That dream ended with a thud over the weekend. Three losses in three nights. All of them of the blowout variety... 5-2 to Edmonton on Friday (which included two empty netters), 7-4 in Edmonton on Saturday, and 5-2 yesterday in Calgary.
Yesterday's game in Cowtown was a recipe for disaster before it even started. The Hitmen were at home looking to clinch home ice advantage in the first round of playoffs. A huge crowd of more than 13,000 Hitmen supporters were on-hand at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Chad Robinson and Cory Millette were lost to injury. And... the Rebels were playing their third game in less than three days while losing an hour to the spring ahead time change.
That's a rather nasty recipe.
To their credit... the Rebels did battle with everything they had left in their tank. It was 3-2 early in the third period before the Hitmen scored a pair to pull away for the win. Calgary can now finish no lower than 4th in the conference and are just two points behind Medicine Hat for third. The Rebels will likely finish 9th as they are six points ahead of 10th place Swift Current.
Meanwhile... some rather interesting accusations were made by Oil Kings Head Coach Derek following Saturday night's game in Edmonton (7-4 win for Edmonton).
Laxdal, as quoted in Chris O'Leary's Edmonton Journal article, accused Rebels GM / Head Coach Jesse Wallin of sending players on the ice specifically for the purpose of injuring and fighting some of the Oil Kings players.
From the article...
The word repeatedly used by Oil Kings head coach Derek Laxdal after the game was "unprofessional."
"When their coaches start chirping our bench, I have a problem with that," Laxdal said. "And I think that's very unprofessional.
"We don't tell our players to go out and hurt other players and I saw their coaches talk to one of their players. I think that's very unprofessional and that's all I have to say about that."
Wallin was somewhat caught off-guard when asked about the allegations...
"Tell a player to go out and do something. Derek Laxdal said that? Wow. It surprises me that Derek Laxdal would say that," Wallin said. "I've never told a player to go out and do anything. If Derek Laxdal would like to address that with me, he's more than welcome to come down and do so.
"That didn't happen. Absolutely not. Never done that, never will."
Regardless, Laxdal set the stage for some potential fireworks to go off during the regular season finale this coming Saturday at the Enmax Centrium...
"It was very cheap and very unprofessional. We picked up an injury from it and that's going to hurt us down the stretch here. But we've got guys we can put in the lineup. We have to go in (to Red Deer) next Saturday night. What comes around, goes around."
My personal opinion... I have a hard time believing Wallin and the Rebels would use such tactics... simply because they don't have a full roster as it is. Having players sit in the penalty box with majors, or get tossed from the game altogether, wouldn't really help that out much. Admittedly, I don't know Laxdal as well as I do Wallin. But it seems quite surprising that he would straight out accuse the Rebels of playing dirty pool like that.
As a rather colourful football once proclaimed... "Get Your Popcorn Ready!"
Just three games left for the Rebels to play out starting tomorrow night in Medicine Hat. Friday, they host Lethbridge before Saturday's potentially explosive home game versus Edmonton.
---
Another playoff game... another shutout for the Red Deer Midget AAA Optimist Rebels.
They blanked the Calgary Northwest Flames 3-0 in yesterday's opening game of the Alberta Midget Hockey League south division final at the Red Deer Arena.
Red Deer scored all three of their goals in the third period. Scott Ferguson (Rebels prospect), Kirk Johnson and Brady Bakke each scored once.
Dasan Sydora made 24 saves for his third shutout in four playoff games.
Game two of the series goes Wednesday night in Calgary. [www.amhl.ab.ca]
---
It was an all Red Deer final at the Sutter Cup midget-15 playoff tournament in our city.
The IROC Chiefs beat the North Star Chiefs 2-1 to win gold.
Both teams earn spots at Provincials later this month in Calgary.
---
What an absolutely fantastic Saturday night in Lacombe!
More than 350 supporters turned out for the 3rd annual fundraising gala in support of MEGlobal Athletic Park.
Darren Gagnon of Lacombe Ford and his tireless group of volunteers did another great job of putting together this event. And this year's list of CFL celebrities was perhaps the best yet...
- Hamilton Tiger-Cats QB Henry Burris
- Calgary Stampeders RB Jon Cornish
- Calgary Stampeders DB Keon Raymond
- Edmonton Eskimos P Burke Dales
- Edmonton Eskimos Alumni Ed Jones, Bing Norrie, Fred Dunn, and Bill Marchuk
Not gonna lie... it was pretty weird to see Henry wearing TiCat colours (and Burke wearing Esks colours for that matter) but both wore their new silks with pride and had a ton of fun on the night. In fact, Dales was not originally scheduled to attend this year's event. But he had such a blast last year that as soon as he found out about this year's gala he wanted in again. Awesome stuff.
Jon Cornish said the same thing. He attended the inaugural gala in 2010 along with Joffrey Reynolds and had a blast. 'Corn Dog' was the life of the party this time around.
I was lucky enough to sit at a table with Keon Raymond (thanks to a friend of mine who made a generous donation to the athletic park!) just one day after he won the Stampeders President's Ring Award and signed a contract extension. Needless to say, he was in a good mood.
One of my favorite parts of this event is that personalities from most all of the radio stations in our market join forces for the emcee duties. Savage and T-Bo from The Drive along with Al and Marilyn from Zed, Lindsay from Kraze and Tank from Sunny did a helluva job and made the night quite entertaining for everyone.
The event raised tens of thousands of dollars (I hope to get a final total in the next day or two) for the athletic park... which you can find out more about by visiting www.lacombeathleticpark.ca
---
The 2012 Red Deer Community Sport Awards were handed out at the Sheraton hotel on Friday... (nominees and winners are listed)
Junior Male Athlete of the Year
Nick Marchuk
Brett Pasula
Mathew Dumba
WINNER: BRETT PASULA
Junior Female Athlete of the Year
Jordan Hudson
Emma MacDermaid
Molly Li
WINNER: EMMA MCDERMAID
Open Male Athlete of the Year
Darcy Kuemper
Keegan Soehn
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
WINNER: KEEGAN SOEHN
Open Female Athlete of the Year
Zina Kosher
Julie Young
Jodi Sanguin
WINNER: JODI SANGUIN
Senior Male Athlete of the Year
Birchmans Pereira
WINNER: BIRCHMANS PEREIRA
Senior Female
Marianne Badenhorst
WINNER: MARIANNE BADENHORST
Team of the Year
Lindsey Thurber Junior Raiders
Midget AAA Optimist Rebels
Peterman Curling Team
WINNER: LINDSEY THURBER JUNIOR RAIDERS
Coach of the Year
Doug Quinn
Esad Elkaz
Rene Simon
WINNER: ESAD ELKAZ
Kendall Dunkle Award
Shawna Pearman
Tammie Lynn Paul
WINNER: SHAWNA PEARMAN
Official of the Year
Harvey Penhale
Donna Hately
WINNER: DONNA HATELY
Youth Official of the Year
WINNER: JENNIFER HOVDE
Local Business of the Year
KFC
Vellners Leisure
Eastside Marios
Runners Den
Dairy Queen
WINNER: KFC
Lifetime Achievement
COWINNERS: GREG ATKINSON & KEN VANLOON
Spirit of Sport
WINNER: BLAIR MURRAY
Volunteer of the Year
WINNER: DR. AZIZ REHAMN
Congratulations to all!
---
It's been a long, long time since the Calgary Flames had reason to be excited about one of their draft picks... but Sven Baertschi is changing that in a real hurry.
Baertschi scored his first ever NHL goal, in just his second game, in yesterday's 4-3 Flames win in Minnesota.
WHL fans are certainly aware of what the Swiss forward brings to the table... the Portland Winterhawks forward is 9th in league scoring with 94 points in just 47 games played (putting him on pace for 144 points in a full 72 game season).
The last draft pick to create anywhere close to this much buzz in Calgary... it probably was Dion Phaneuf back in 2004.
The Flames still have a long way to go when it comes stocking their cupboards with young talent... but Baertschi is an excellent start.
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No Alberta sweep when it comes to Canadian curling titles.
Kevin Koe's rink simply ran out of mojo in their 7-6 loss to Ontario's Glenn Howard in the Brier final in Saskatoon.
Alberta rallied form behind in playoff wins over the Territories and Manitoba. They fell behind early against Ontario as well... but Howard would have no part in letting Koe and Co. pull out more late game heroics.
In fact, Ontario played a near perfect game. The final score definitely flattered Alberta.
So... our province will have to be content with winning three of four major national curling titles (Scotties, Canadian Men's and Women's Juniors).
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Saturday, March 10, 2012
Gone In Under 130 Seconds
They simply lost to a better team.
The effort put forth last night by the Red Deer Rebels would be good enough to beat a lot of teams in the Western Hockey League... but not the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Three goals in the span of 2:04 in the first period ended up being the difference as Edmonton clinched the Eastern Conference pennant with a 5-2 win over the Rebels at the Enmax Centrium. [GAME SUMMARY]
It was a great start to the game for the Rebels. They came out flying and took an early 1-0 lead courtesy of Marc Mackenzie (just his 2nd goal of the season). It was great to see Mackenzie finally find a way to bend the twine as has been a strong presence in the last handful of games that I've seen. I thought he was one of the few bright spots in Tuesday's loss to Calgary.
The Rebels continue to take the play to the Oil Kings. At one point, the shots on goal were something to the tune of 11-5 (sorry, I don't have the exact number written down) and had the momentum.
And then... the game turned on a dime thanks to penalty trouble.
Conner Bleackley was sent off for tripping, allowing the WHL's #2 ranked powerplay to take the ice. And, if that weren't already trouble enough, Alex Petrovic got sent off just 19 seconds later for cross-checking. Yup, trouble.
TJ Foster scored on the 5-on-3 to tie the game 1-1. 30 seconds later Foster scored again to give Edmonton a 2-1 lead.
Old mo had switched sides in a real hurry.
Curtis Lazar then scored again for Edmonton before the end of the period. Three goals in 2:04 made it 3-1 for the Oil Kings. For the rest of the night... the Rebels were in chase mode.
Try as they might, the Reb simply couldn't muster up enough offense to get back in it. Yes, Mason Burr did make it 3-2 late in the second period (congrats to Dexter Bricker for earning his first WHL point with the assist) but the game was never really in doubt once the Oil Kings took the lead.
In the third period, when the Rebels needed to mount their most desperate attack, Edmonton held them to just six shots while firing fourteen of their own on Deven Dubyk.
Simply put... the better team won the game. Not easy for the Rebels and their fans to take... but that's the lay of the land. Give the Rebs credit for another full out effort put forth. Too bad the results didn't match.
Big props go out to the faithful fans who turned out to the Enmax Centrium last night to cheer on their hometown heroes. I can't remember many games in the past few seasons where the electricity in the crowd matched last night's.
NOTES...
The Rebels really are on their last gasp. Saskatoon beat Brandon last night 6-2. The only scenario left for the Rebels to get into the postseason is for them to win all five games they have remaining and to have Brandon lose their remaining four. That would put the Rebels and Wheaties even with 76 points creating a one game tiebreaker to determine who gets the 8th and final playoff spot.
The Rebels visit the Oil Kings tonight in Edmonton. Game time is 7:30pm. Catch the broadcast with Cam Moon on 106.7 The Drive starting at 7:20. It's fan appreciation night for the Oil Kings... word is there will be more that 15,000 fans in attendance at Rexall Place.
The effort put forth last night by the Red Deer Rebels would be good enough to beat a lot of teams in the Western Hockey League... but not the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Three goals in the span of 2:04 in the first period ended up being the difference as Edmonton clinched the Eastern Conference pennant with a 5-2 win over the Rebels at the Enmax Centrium. [GAME SUMMARY]
It was a great start to the game for the Rebels. They came out flying and took an early 1-0 lead courtesy of Marc Mackenzie (just his 2nd goal of the season). It was great to see Mackenzie finally find a way to bend the twine as has been a strong presence in the last handful of games that I've seen. I thought he was one of the few bright spots in Tuesday's loss to Calgary.
The Rebels continue to take the play to the Oil Kings. At one point, the shots on goal were something to the tune of 11-5 (sorry, I don't have the exact number written down) and had the momentum.
And then... the game turned on a dime thanks to penalty trouble.
Conner Bleackley was sent off for tripping, allowing the WHL's #2 ranked powerplay to take the ice. And, if that weren't already trouble enough, Alex Petrovic got sent off just 19 seconds later for cross-checking. Yup, trouble.
TJ Foster scored on the 5-on-3 to tie the game 1-1. 30 seconds later Foster scored again to give Edmonton a 2-1 lead.
Old mo had switched sides in a real hurry.
Curtis Lazar then scored again for Edmonton before the end of the period. Three goals in 2:04 made it 3-1 for the Oil Kings. For the rest of the night... the Rebels were in chase mode.
Try as they might, the Reb simply couldn't muster up enough offense to get back in it. Yes, Mason Burr did make it 3-2 late in the second period (congrats to Dexter Bricker for earning his first WHL point with the assist) but the game was never really in doubt once the Oil Kings took the lead.
In the third period, when the Rebels needed to mount their most desperate attack, Edmonton held them to just six shots while firing fourteen of their own on Deven Dubyk.
Simply put... the better team won the game. Not easy for the Rebels and their fans to take... but that's the lay of the land. Give the Rebs credit for another full out effort put forth. Too bad the results didn't match.
Big props go out to the faithful fans who turned out to the Enmax Centrium last night to cheer on their hometown heroes. I can't remember many games in the past few seasons where the electricity in the crowd matched last night's.
NOTES...
The Rebels really are on their last gasp. Saskatoon beat Brandon last night 6-2. The only scenario left for the Rebels to get into the postseason is for them to win all five games they have remaining and to have Brandon lose their remaining four. That would put the Rebels and Wheaties even with 76 points creating a one game tiebreaker to determine who gets the 8th and final playoff spot.
The Rebels visit the Oil Kings tonight in Edmonton. Game time is 7:30pm. Catch the broadcast with Cam Moon on 106.7 The Drive starting at 7:20. It's fan appreciation night for the Oil Kings... word is there will be more that 15,000 fans in attendance at Rexall Place.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
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)
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.
---
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)
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