10 for 10 is anything but good in this case for the Red Deer Rebels.
Last night's 5-1 to the Moose Jaw Warriors means the Rebels are now 10 points behind Brandon for the final playoff spot in the WHL's Eastern Conference with just 10 games left to play.
10 out of 10 experts would tell you those are not exactly very good odds.
It was the Warriors' big guns who led the way last night. Quinton Howden had a goal and two assists. James Henry had a goal and an assist. Sam Fioretti netted two goals.
It's the third time that Moose Jaw scored at least five goals versus the Rebels this season... a far cry from last season when Darcy Kuemper shutout the Warriors three (nearly four) times in sweeping the season series.
Tyson Ness scored the Rebels lone goal of the game in the first period just after the end of a five minute powerplay.
There was one reason for Rebels fans to smile last night as Captain Adam Kambeitz returned to the line-up, ahead of schedule, after missing an entire month with his ankle injury.
Conner Bleackley traded in his full cage for a half visor as he is now a full-time Rebel (since his midget AAA UFA Bisons are done for the season).
The Rebels play their last of eight straight games away from home tonight versus the Regina Pats. Game time is 6pm. Cam Moon has the pregame show on 106.7 The Drive starting at 5:50pm.
NOTE - The Rebels administration office is closed today to allow staff to move into their newly-expanded digs at the Enmax Centrium.
ANOTHER NOTE - The latest episode of Southside Dodge Rebels This Week is now up and ready for viewing. This week we take an exclusive tour of Rebels second-to-none players facilities... AND we chat with the 'legendary' Jared Waldo of Rebel Rebellion!
---
While the Rebels were on the ice last night in Moose Jaw... I was down at the Red Deer Arena to watch the Optimist Rebels begin their post-season.
After getting a bye from the opening round... the Optimists opened up their second round series versus the Calgary Buffaloes with a 3-0 win last night at the Red Deer Arena.
The game was not nearly as close as the score might indicate. Red Deer out shot Calgary 54-18.
Quinn Brown, Dylan Thudium and (Rebels prospect) Scott Feser scored for the baby rebs. Dasan Sydora earned the shutout between the pipes.
The stats would indicate that it indeed was a good overall effort by Red Deer, coach Douq Quinn said as much following the game. That being said, the Rebs took a few too many penalties for Quinn's liking. Thankfully, they did a solid job of penalty killing including three separate five-on-three situations.
Red Deer Captain Brady Bakke also feels his team can do a much better job of putting the puck in the net, noting that many of his team's 54 shots on goal were not really of the 'quality scoring chance' variety.
Regardless, the Optimist Rebels will visit Calgary for game two (best of five series) versus the Buffaloes on Saturday.
---
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Road Warrior Rebels Visit Moose Jaw
The Red Deer Rebels are quickly approaching a point that no team wants to get to.
The point where the number of games they have left is equal to the number of points they need to make up in order to make the playoffs.
That is exactly the situation the Rebels will find themselves in if they are unable to get any points out of tonight's game in Moose Jaw... ten points out with ten games left.
Anyone hoping for an easy game for the Rebels had best look elsewhere. The Warriors are second in the WHL Eastern Conference and are 7-2-0-1 in their last ten games. It wasn't so long ago (Feb 11 to be exact) that the Warriors scored eight times in an 8-5 win at the Enmax Centrium. But the Rebels, much to my frustration more often than not, have a habit of playing up/down to their opponent's level. So we'll see how this one turns out I guess.
The Rebels expect to have Conner Bleackley in their lineup tonight.
Game time tonight from Moose Jaw is at 6pm. Mooner has the pregame show on 106.7 The Drive starting at 5:50.
The four game Saskatchewan roadie wraps up tomorrow night in Regina. The Rebels return to the Enmax Centrium for a Friday night tilt versus Swift Current and a Saturday night game versus Saskatoon.
---
Let's chat a moment about the Calgary Flames...
Last week, Flames GM Jay Feaster promised to clean house if his team didn't its act together for its final two games before the NHL trade deadline.
The Flames then proceeded to blow leads in back to back games... losing to both Phoenix and Philadelphia on home ice.
That would have led one to believe that Feaster might follow through on his word and make some big time changes to his club... which sleepwalked while going winless in its entire four games home stand).
But alas, trade deadline day came and went without so much as a ripple from Flames camp much less a tidal wave.
And now Flames fans are left to suffer through the rest of the season...which will most likely end with missing the playoffs for the third straight time.
But Feaster is suddenly happy with his team. Mere days after (rightfully) lambasting them for lack lustre play on home ice he decides to stick with what brought him to the dance.
Problem is... there are no pretty girls at this particular dance.
Feaster beams with pride about his two deals in January to bring in Blair Jones and Mike Cammalleri... but the fact is the Flames remain a sub-par team barely capable of scoring more than one goal per game. Were it not for #34 between the pipes the Flames would, as Mr. Feaster so eloquently put it himself, be somewhere worse than 30th place.
I'm not particularly surprised by Feaster's inaction. He has shot his mouth off before and is sure to do it again at some point.
Flames nation will simply have to wait until the end of the season... when Brent Sutter falls on the sword for not leading this non-playoff worthy roster into the playoffs... and when a number of overpaid / underachieving free agent eligible players leave town... for changes to occur.
At least they got a head start by re-signing Tim Jackman for two more years...
---
It's now up to Kevin Koe to keep Alberta's perfect curling season intact...
The Wild Rose Province has already laid claim to both of this year's Canadian junior titles (Brendan Bottcher and Jocelyn Peterman) as well as the Scotties (Heather Nedohin) so it seems only fair that Koe and Co. follow suit and win the Brier in Saskatoon.
Not that it will be easy for Koe, who does already have one Brier title to his credit. Brad Gushue (NL), Glenn Howard (ON), Brad Jacobs (N ON) and Rob Fowler (MB) are also among the favorites. The Brier gets underway this Saturday.
Meantime... Red Deer's Jocelyn Peterman, Brittany Tran, Rebecca Konschuh and Kristine Anderson leave today for Sweden where they will represent Canada at the World Junior Curling Championship.
---
The point where the number of games they have left is equal to the number of points they need to make up in order to make the playoffs.
That is exactly the situation the Rebels will find themselves in if they are unable to get any points out of tonight's game in Moose Jaw... ten points out with ten games left.
Anyone hoping for an easy game for the Rebels had best look elsewhere. The Warriors are second in the WHL Eastern Conference and are 7-2-0-1 in their last ten games. It wasn't so long ago (Feb 11 to be exact) that the Warriors scored eight times in an 8-5 win at the Enmax Centrium. But the Rebels, much to my frustration more often than not, have a habit of playing up/down to their opponent's level. So we'll see how this one turns out I guess.
The Rebels expect to have Conner Bleackley in their lineup tonight.
Game time tonight from Moose Jaw is at 6pm. Mooner has the pregame show on 106.7 The Drive starting at 5:50.
The four game Saskatchewan roadie wraps up tomorrow night in Regina. The Rebels return to the Enmax Centrium for a Friday night tilt versus Swift Current and a Saturday night game versus Saskatoon.
---
Let's chat a moment about the Calgary Flames...
Last week, Flames GM Jay Feaster promised to clean house if his team didn't its act together for its final two games before the NHL trade deadline.
The Flames then proceeded to blow leads in back to back games... losing to both Phoenix and Philadelphia on home ice.
That would have led one to believe that Feaster might follow through on his word and make some big time changes to his club... which sleepwalked while going winless in its entire four games home stand).
But alas, trade deadline day came and went without so much as a ripple from Flames camp much less a tidal wave.
And now Flames fans are left to suffer through the rest of the season...which will most likely end with missing the playoffs for the third straight time.
But Feaster is suddenly happy with his team. Mere days after (rightfully) lambasting them for lack lustre play on home ice he decides to stick with what brought him to the dance.
Problem is... there are no pretty girls at this particular dance.
Feaster beams with pride about his two deals in January to bring in Blair Jones and Mike Cammalleri... but the fact is the Flames remain a sub-par team barely capable of scoring more than one goal per game. Were it not for #34 between the pipes the Flames would, as Mr. Feaster so eloquently put it himself, be somewhere worse than 30th place.
I'm not particularly surprised by Feaster's inaction. He has shot his mouth off before and is sure to do it again at some point.
Flames nation will simply have to wait until the end of the season... when Brent Sutter falls on the sword for not leading this non-playoff worthy roster into the playoffs... and when a number of overpaid / underachieving free agent eligible players leave town... for changes to occur.
At least they got a head start by re-signing Tim Jackman for two more years...
---
It's now up to Kevin Koe to keep Alberta's perfect curling season intact...
The Wild Rose Province has already laid claim to both of this year's Canadian junior titles (Brendan Bottcher and Jocelyn Peterman) as well as the Scotties (Heather Nedohin) so it seems only fair that Koe and Co. follow suit and win the Brier in Saskatoon.
Not that it will be easy for Koe, who does already have one Brier title to his credit. Brad Gushue (NL), Glenn Howard (ON), Brad Jacobs (N ON) and Rob Fowler (MB) are also among the favorites. The Brier gets underway this Saturday.
Meantime... Red Deer's Jocelyn Peterman, Brittany Tran, Rebecca Konschuh and Kristine Anderson leave today for Sweden where they will represent Canada at the World Junior Curling Championship.
---
Monday, February 27, 2012
Alberta Gold, Rebels, Baby Rebels, and more...
There really isn't much I can say about Alberta's win at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts that hasn't already been said. But let's quickly re-cap some of what Heather Nedohin and her crew went through on their way to their title win...
- the team struggled out of the gate, going 1-2 on opening weekend... many wondered if this team had what it took to even make the playoffs never mind win it all
- they flirted with the 500-mark all week long before winning both of their games on Thursday to claim the fourth and final playoff berth
- in the 3/4 playoff game Saturday morning vs. Quebec... Jessica Mair fell while sweeping only to have Laine Peters literally push her out of the way to avoid burning the shot
- we all saw the final measurement in the semifinal in which Nedohin beat out Jennifer Jones' shot rock by mere millimetres
- Mair had her stopwatch fly off her broom while sweeping during the final... luckily she was able to prevent it from touching the Alberta stone as it made it's way down the ice
- remarkably, Team Alberta avoid the devastating effects of the flu which ravaged a number of other teams!
A few things I really liked about Alberta's championship performance...
- they proved that one of my favorite theories does actually prove to be true at least once in a while... that all you have to do is make the playoffs and anything can happen
- the supporting cast of Laine Peters, Jessica Mair, and Beth Iskiw... outside of perhaps Team Manitoba... were the best crew throughout the entire Scotties. They were superb in every match and consistently set the table for Nedohin to come through with one of her big time shots when needed
- with their (specifically Heather's) use of some often colourful language... the Nedohin rink did what I consider a great job of representing our province... since that's what it sounds like at most local curling clubs anyway... s***balls... awesome!
Kudos to Chair Sherri Ryckman and her crew for doing a fabulous job of hosting the Scotties. Although they fell short of reaching their 100,000 attendance goal they came pretty darn close (the report for draw 22 has the final attendance listed at 94,997 but that number could end up being a bit higher). It ranks as the 5th-highest attendance total in the 31-year history of the event. Red Deer's '04 Scotties ranks second at over 115,000 fans.
Interesting note... as per Terry Jones' article in today's Edmonton Sun... the Canadian Curling Association is so impressed with Red Deer that they are now considering bringing the Brier back to our city. This was once considered to nothing more than a pipe dream after the infamous 'Redneck Brier' of 1994. But apparently it could actually happen as soon as in 2017. Stay tuned.
---
The clock continues to move closer to midnight for the Red Deer Rebels and their desperate chase for a WHL playoff spot.
After a 4-0 loss in Prince Albert and a 4-3 OT win in Saskatoon the Rebels still remain ten points back of the Brandon Wheat Kings for 8th in the Eastern Conference.
The Rebels have just 11 regular season games remaining.
They will receive a boost to their line up in the form of Conner Bleackley. His UFA Bisons were swept out of the AMHL playoffs over the weekend, making him available for duty. He will be in the line up for tomorrow night's game in Moose Jaw.
---
Speaking of Midget AAA... the Red Deer Optimist Rebels will take on the Calgary Buffaloes in second round playoff action starting tomorrow night...
Red Deer Optimist Rebels vs Calgary Buffaloes
G1 Feb 28 Red Deer Buffaloes Red Deer Arena 7:00 pm
G2 Mar 3 Buffaloes Red Deer South Fish Creek 6:45 pm
G3 4 Red Deer Buffaloes Red Deer Arena 3:00 pm
G4 7 Buffaloes Red Deer South Fish Creek 8:15 pm
G5 9 Red Deer Buffaloes Red Deer Arena 8:00 pm
---
Doomsday is also looming for the Bentley Generals. They lost twice in Horse Lake over the weekend... 3-0 and 6-3... and now trail the Chiefs in their best-of-seven Senior AAA provincial semifinal three games to one. The Gens six-year run as provincial champions is now in serious jeopardy. The winner of this series will take on the Stony Plain Eagles in the provincial final. The Eagles swept the Sylvan Lake Admirals 4-0 in the other semifinal series.
The Innisfail Eagles trail their Senior A/AA provincial series three games to none.
---
The Red Deer Vipers were knocked out of the Heritage Junior B playoffs by the Mountainview... who will battle the Blackfalds Wranglers in the North Division Final after the Wranglers knocked off Three Hills in the second round.
---
A pretty solid weekend for Red Deer College teams...
Kings Volleyball settled for silver... losing to Mount Royal in Saturday's ACAC Final... but they do still earn a spot at Nationals next month in Abbostford.
Queens Volleyball ended their season by winning bronze at Provincials in Medicine Hat.
Men's curling (Shane Parcells, Dawson Abraham, Stephen Hood and Dylan Hoarbeat) won gold at provincials while the women's team came in fourth.
Kings basketball swept their opening round playoff series... two games to none over Keyano College.
Queens Hockey trail their playoff series versus Mount Royal two games to none after a tough 5-4 overtime loss yesterday at the Red Deer Arena.
- the team struggled out of the gate, going 1-2 on opening weekend... many wondered if this team had what it took to even make the playoffs never mind win it all
- they flirted with the 500-mark all week long before winning both of their games on Thursday to claim the fourth and final playoff berth
- in the 3/4 playoff game Saturday morning vs. Quebec... Jessica Mair fell while sweeping only to have Laine Peters literally push her out of the way to avoid burning the shot
- we all saw the final measurement in the semifinal in which Nedohin beat out Jennifer Jones' shot rock by mere millimetres
- Mair had her stopwatch fly off her broom while sweeping during the final... luckily she was able to prevent it from touching the Alberta stone as it made it's way down the ice
- remarkably, Team Alberta avoid the devastating effects of the flu which ravaged a number of other teams!
A few things I really liked about Alberta's championship performance...
- they proved that one of my favorite theories does actually prove to be true at least once in a while... that all you have to do is make the playoffs and anything can happen
- the supporting cast of Laine Peters, Jessica Mair, and Beth Iskiw... outside of perhaps Team Manitoba... were the best crew throughout the entire Scotties. They were superb in every match and consistently set the table for Nedohin to come through with one of her big time shots when needed
- with their (specifically Heather's) use of some often colourful language... the Nedohin rink did what I consider a great job of representing our province... since that's what it sounds like at most local curling clubs anyway... s***balls... awesome!
Kudos to Chair Sherri Ryckman and her crew for doing a fabulous job of hosting the Scotties. Although they fell short of reaching their 100,000 attendance goal they came pretty darn close (the report for draw 22 has the final attendance listed at 94,997 but that number could end up being a bit higher). It ranks as the 5th-highest attendance total in the 31-year history of the event. Red Deer's '04 Scotties ranks second at over 115,000 fans.
Interesting note... as per Terry Jones' article in today's Edmonton Sun... the Canadian Curling Association is so impressed with Red Deer that they are now considering bringing the Brier back to our city. This was once considered to nothing more than a pipe dream after the infamous 'Redneck Brier' of 1994. But apparently it could actually happen as soon as in 2017. Stay tuned.
---
The clock continues to move closer to midnight for the Red Deer Rebels and their desperate chase for a WHL playoff spot.
After a 4-0 loss in Prince Albert and a 4-3 OT win in Saskatoon the Rebels still remain ten points back of the Brandon Wheat Kings for 8th in the Eastern Conference.
The Rebels have just 11 regular season games remaining.
They will receive a boost to their line up in the form of Conner Bleackley. His UFA Bisons were swept out of the AMHL playoffs over the weekend, making him available for duty. He will be in the line up for tomorrow night's game in Moose Jaw.
---
Speaking of Midget AAA... the Red Deer Optimist Rebels will take on the Calgary Buffaloes in second round playoff action starting tomorrow night...
Red Deer Optimist Rebels vs Calgary Buffaloes
G1 Feb 28 Red Deer Buffaloes Red Deer Arena 7:00 pm
G2 Mar 3 Buffaloes Red Deer South Fish Creek 6:45 pm
G3 4 Red Deer Buffaloes Red Deer Arena 3:00 pm
G4 7 Buffaloes Red Deer South Fish Creek 8:15 pm
G5 9 Red Deer Buffaloes Red Deer Arena 8:00 pm
---
Doomsday is also looming for the Bentley Generals. They lost twice in Horse Lake over the weekend... 3-0 and 6-3... and now trail the Chiefs in their best-of-seven Senior AAA provincial semifinal three games to one. The Gens six-year run as provincial champions is now in serious jeopardy. The winner of this series will take on the Stony Plain Eagles in the provincial final. The Eagles swept the Sylvan Lake Admirals 4-0 in the other semifinal series.
The Innisfail Eagles trail their Senior A/AA provincial series three games to none.
---
The Red Deer Vipers were knocked out of the Heritage Junior B playoffs by the Mountainview... who will battle the Blackfalds Wranglers in the North Division Final after the Wranglers knocked off Three Hills in the second round.
---
A pretty solid weekend for Red Deer College teams...
Kings Volleyball settled for silver... losing to Mount Royal in Saturday's ACAC Final... but they do still earn a spot at Nationals next month in Abbostford.
Queens Volleyball ended their season by winning bronze at Provincials in Medicine Hat.
Men's curling (Shane Parcells, Dawson Abraham, Stephen Hood and Dylan Hoarbeat) won gold at provincials while the women's team came in fourth.
Kings basketball swept their opening round playoff series... two games to none over Keyano College.
Queens Hockey trail their playoff series versus Mount Royal two games to none after a tough 5-4 overtime loss yesterday at the Red Deer Arena.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Midnight Looming for Rebels, Scott(ies) Playoff Thriller
The doomsday clock is that much closer to midnight for the Red Deer Rebels.
Cole Holowenko made 43 saves for his second shutout of the season (both of them vs. the Rebels) in a 4-0 win last night for the Prince Albert Raiders.
Combined with the Brandon Wheat Kings 3-2 shootout win over the Swift Current Broncos, the Rebels playoff deficit has reached double digits... 10 points out with 12 games remaining.
You do the math.
The Rebs came out firing in the first period. You definitely got the sense by listening to Cam Moon's call of the period that if the Rebels could get one past Holowenko early it would be the start of a big night for the boys.
But that didn't happen. Instead, the Raiders tender held the fort until Trochu's own Mike Winther got P.A. on the board at 13:38 of the first. Shane Danyluk made it 2-0 at 18:02. Justin Maylan made it 3-0 at 19:25. Three goals in 5:47 and this game was over. McNeil added an empty-netter (from 200 feet away mind you) for some window dressing and a 4-f final score.
That makes three losses this season to the the basement dwellers of the Eastern Conference. When it comes time to do the autopsy on this Rebels season you can be sure that those six squandered points will be part of the discussion.
Anyhoo... the Rebels visit the Saskatoon Blades tonight. Mooner has the pregame show on 106.7 The Drive starting at 5:50pm Alberta time.
---
I didn't realize just how good last night's MAN/BC playoff game here at the Scotties was until I read Vic Rauter's (@TSNVicRauter) tweets...
"One of the best games I can remember..a pleasure to be part of...from first rock to last..great entertainment..thanks BC and Man."
"Scotties playoffs always special...jones and scott make it more so."
On an aside... he also put things in perspective in regards to certain parts of our hospitality... "Love Alberta..no prov sales tax..gas 1:08 ltr..shop..shop..shop."
But I digress. What it treat it was to be at the Enmax Centrium for BC's 7-5 win in the one versus two playoff game. Both skips showed up ready to play in this one. It looked as though BC might pull away with it making for early handshakes (sorry, fist bumps) on the night. Jennifer Jones put a halt on that though with some brilliant play through the middle ends. But in the end Kelly Scott was just that much better than her former junior curling teammate. As fun as it would be to have the host Alberta team playing in tomorrow's final... I'm sure fans would be just fine with a BC / MAN re-match should it turn out that way.
---
My lone thought on the Ales Hemsky contract (two years, $10-million) with the Oilers --> if his on-ice production matches his desire to remain an Oiler then it's a good deal for both sides
---
Friday was a great night for Red Deer College teams (@rdcathletics)...
- Kings Volleyball Keyano to advance to today's ACAC gold medal game at Briercrest
- Queens Volleyball beat NAIT to advance to today's semifinal at Medicine Hat
- Kings Basketball beat Keyano 73-70 in game one of their best-of-three series
---
The Stony Plain Eagles took a commanding three games to none lead in their Senior AAA provincial semifinal series with 5-3 win over the Sylvan Lake Admirals. The Eagles can book their spot in the provincial final with at win at home tonight.
The Bentley Generals are in Horse Lake for games three and four of their semifinal series tonight and tomorrow. The series is tied 1-1 with each time winning in overtime last weekend.
The Innisfail Eagles fell 3-2 to the Carstairs Redhawks in Senior A/AA action.
---
The Blackfalds Wranglers are off to the third round of Heritage Junior B playoffs. They beat Three Hills 4-1 last night to win their second round series in five games.
The Red Deer Vipers are on the verge of elimenation after losing 5-4 last night to Mountainview. The Colts now lead that series three games to one.
Cole Holowenko made 43 saves for his second shutout of the season (both of them vs. the Rebels) in a 4-0 win last night for the Prince Albert Raiders.
Combined with the Brandon Wheat Kings 3-2 shootout win over the Swift Current Broncos, the Rebels playoff deficit has reached double digits... 10 points out with 12 games remaining.
You do the math.
The Rebs came out firing in the first period. You definitely got the sense by listening to Cam Moon's call of the period that if the Rebels could get one past Holowenko early it would be the start of a big night for the boys.
But that didn't happen. Instead, the Raiders tender held the fort until Trochu's own Mike Winther got P.A. on the board at 13:38 of the first. Shane Danyluk made it 2-0 at 18:02. Justin Maylan made it 3-0 at 19:25. Three goals in 5:47 and this game was over. McNeil added an empty-netter (from 200 feet away mind you) for some window dressing and a 4-f final score.
That makes three losses this season to the the basement dwellers of the Eastern Conference. When it comes time to do the autopsy on this Rebels season you can be sure that those six squandered points will be part of the discussion.
Anyhoo... the Rebels visit the Saskatoon Blades tonight. Mooner has the pregame show on 106.7 The Drive starting at 5:50pm Alberta time.
---
I didn't realize just how good last night's MAN/BC playoff game here at the Scotties was until I read Vic Rauter's (@TSNVicRauter) tweets...
"One of the best games I can remember..a pleasure to be part of...from first rock to last..great entertainment..thanks BC and Man."
"Scotties playoffs always special...jones and scott make it more so."
On an aside... he also put things in perspective in regards to certain parts of our hospitality... "Love Alberta..no prov sales tax..gas 1:08 ltr..shop..shop..shop."
But I digress. What it treat it was to be at the Enmax Centrium for BC's 7-5 win in the one versus two playoff game. Both skips showed up ready to play in this one. It looked as though BC might pull away with it making for early handshakes (sorry, fist bumps) on the night. Jennifer Jones put a halt on that though with some brilliant play through the middle ends. But in the end Kelly Scott was just that much better than her former junior curling teammate. As fun as it would be to have the host Alberta team playing in tomorrow's final... I'm sure fans would be just fine with a BC / MAN re-match should it turn out that way.
---
My lone thought on the Ales Hemsky contract (two years, $10-million) with the Oilers --> if his on-ice production matches his desire to remain an Oiler then it's a good deal for both sides
---
Friday was a great night for Red Deer College teams (@rdcathletics)...
- Kings Volleyball Keyano to advance to today's ACAC gold medal game at Briercrest
- Queens Volleyball beat NAIT to advance to today's semifinal at Medicine Hat
- Kings Basketball beat Keyano 73-70 in game one of their best-of-three series
---
The Stony Plain Eagles took a commanding three games to none lead in their Senior AAA provincial semifinal series with 5-3 win over the Sylvan Lake Admirals. The Eagles can book their spot in the provincial final with at win at home tonight.
The Bentley Generals are in Horse Lake for games three and four of their semifinal series tonight and tomorrow. The series is tied 1-1 with each time winning in overtime last weekend.
The Innisfail Eagles fell 3-2 to the Carstairs Redhawks in Senior A/AA action.
---
The Blackfalds Wranglers are off to the third round of Heritage Junior B playoffs. They beat Three Hills 4-1 last night to win their second round series in five games.
The Red Deer Vipers are on the verge of elimenation after losing 5-4 last night to Mountainview. The Colts now lead that series three games to one.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Crunch Time For The Rebels, Playoffs at RDC
"Do or die" time has arrived for the Red Deer Rebels.
Mind you, some say it has already passed.
Here's the situation... the Rebels enter tonight's game in Prince Albert eight points behind Brandon for the eighth and final playoff spot in the WHL Eastern Conference with 13 games left to play. The Rebels can hold onto the fact that they have three games at hand on the Wheat Kings. But time is quickly running out for those games to have any impact.
Regina's win over Kootenay last night puts them 10 points ahead of the Rebels in seventh place. The Rebs have two games at hand on the Pats.
Fans have mentioned to me countless times this week that Brandon and Regina play each other five times between now and the end of the regular season. Their belief is that if a team can manage to win four out of five, or perhaps all five, then the Rebels can catch the other team and make the playoffs.
Personally, I don't put much stock in that theory. If the Rebels have any hope whatsoever of rallying into a playoff position I feel they need to win at least three of four games on their Saskatchewan road trip (not that I'm going out on much of a limb here). This would include a win over the Pats in the final game of the roadie next Wednesday.
As Rebels fans have come to realize, hoping for good news on the out of town scoreboard has become an exercise in futility (and frustration). Short-staffed or not, the Rebels simply need to take care of their business and go from there.
Anyhoo... here's how the four game flatland trip will unfold...
Tonight - at Prince Albert 6:00pm
Saturday - at Saskatoon 6:00pm
Tuesday - at Moose Jaw 6:00pm
Wednesday - at Regina, 6:00pm
Tune in each night at 5:50pm for Cam Moon and the pregame show on 106.7 The Drive.
---
It's playoff time at Red Deer College...
Kings Volleyball beat SAIT three sets to one in provincial quarterfinals action yesterday at Briercrest. The Kings take on Keyano later today in the semifinals.
Meantime... Queens Volleyball take on NAIT in quarterfinals action this afternoon at provincials in Medicine Hat.
Also this weekend...
Kings Basketball host Keyano in quarterfinals action tonight at RDC at 7pm.
The men's and women's curling teams are at provincials in Camrose
Queens Hockey takes on Mount Royal in a best-of-five semifinal series starting tomorrow night in Calgary.
Mind you, some say it has already passed.
Here's the situation... the Rebels enter tonight's game in Prince Albert eight points behind Brandon for the eighth and final playoff spot in the WHL Eastern Conference with 13 games left to play. The Rebels can hold onto the fact that they have three games at hand on the Wheat Kings. But time is quickly running out for those games to have any impact.
Regina's win over Kootenay last night puts them 10 points ahead of the Rebels in seventh place. The Rebs have two games at hand on the Pats.
Fans have mentioned to me countless times this week that Brandon and Regina play each other five times between now and the end of the regular season. Their belief is that if a team can manage to win four out of five, or perhaps all five, then the Rebels can catch the other team and make the playoffs.
Personally, I don't put much stock in that theory. If the Rebels have any hope whatsoever of rallying into a playoff position I feel they need to win at least three of four games on their Saskatchewan road trip (not that I'm going out on much of a limb here). This would include a win over the Pats in the final game of the roadie next Wednesday.
As Rebels fans have come to realize, hoping for good news on the out of town scoreboard has become an exercise in futility (and frustration). Short-staffed or not, the Rebels simply need to take care of their business and go from there.
Anyhoo... here's how the four game flatland trip will unfold...
Tonight - at Prince Albert 6:00pm
Saturday - at Saskatoon 6:00pm
Tuesday - at Moose Jaw 6:00pm
Wednesday - at Regina, 6:00pm
Tune in each night at 5:50pm for Cam Moon and the pregame show on 106.7 The Drive.
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It's playoff time at Red Deer College...
Kings Volleyball beat SAIT three sets to one in provincial quarterfinals action yesterday at Briercrest. The Kings take on Keyano later today in the semifinals.
Meantime... Queens Volleyball take on NAIT in quarterfinals action this afternoon at provincials in Medicine Hat.
Also this weekend...
Kings Basketball host Keyano in quarterfinals action tonight at RDC at 7pm.
The men's and women's curling teams are at provincials in Camrose
Queens Hockey takes on Mount Royal in a best-of-five semifinal series starting tomorrow night in Calgary.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Scotties Playoffs Are Set
So after many of us media types spent most of Thursday pouring over numerous possible scenarios... there will be no tiebreakers needed at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
The final draw of the round-robin, draw number 17, ended with four teams left standing from the original field of twelve...
Draw Results...
SASK - 11
CAN - 5
MAN - 5
ON - 3
AB - 7
NS - 6
BC - 7
NB - 6
Playoff teams...
1. Manitoba 9-2
2. BC 8-3
3. Quebec 7-4
4. Alberta 7-4
(Quebec gets the #3 seed thanks to their round-robin win over Alberta)
After watching the tournament unfold throughout this week... I am of the opinion that the four teams left truly are the four best teams. And, as cliche as it might sound, I also feel that any of the four teams is fully capable of beating the others.
To the chagrin of many, neither Regina-based rink made it to the playoffs... and funny enough it was a head-to-head duel between the two rinks that sealed this fate. Sask (Englot) defeated Canada (Holland) 11-5 to knock the defending champs out of the tournament.
Soooooo here's the remaining schedule...
Friday, 7:30pm - Manitoba (1) vs. BC (2) with the winner advancing to the Final
Saturday, 11:00am - Quebec (3) vs. Alberta (4) winner advances to the semi-final
Saturday, 4:00pm - Semifinal (loser of 1/2 vs. winner of 3/4)
Sunday, 8:30am - Bronze Medal Game (loser of semifinal vs. loser of 3/4 game)
Sunday, 1:30pm - Gold Medal Game (winner of 1/2 game vs. winner of semifinal)
TOTAL ATTENDANCE for the Scotties now sits at 67,982 (5139 for draw 17). The lack of any tiebreaker games means it is quite unlikely that total attendance will crack the 100,000 mark.
The best news coming out of all of this... I get to have my regularly scheduled nap on Friday... something I have not had the luxury of doing yet this week... woo hoo :)
TG
The final draw of the round-robin, draw number 17, ended with four teams left standing from the original field of twelve...
Draw Results...
SASK - 11
CAN - 5
MAN - 5
ON - 3
AB - 7
NS - 6
BC - 7
NB - 6
Playoff teams...
1. Manitoba 9-2
2. BC 8-3
3. Quebec 7-4
4. Alberta 7-4
(Quebec gets the #3 seed thanks to their round-robin win over Alberta)
After watching the tournament unfold throughout this week... I am of the opinion that the four teams left truly are the four best teams. And, as cliche as it might sound, I also feel that any of the four teams is fully capable of beating the others.
To the chagrin of many, neither Regina-based rink made it to the playoffs... and funny enough it was a head-to-head duel between the two rinks that sealed this fate. Sask (Englot) defeated Canada (Holland) 11-5 to knock the defending champs out of the tournament.
Soooooo here's the remaining schedule...
Friday, 7:30pm - Manitoba (1) vs. BC (2) with the winner advancing to the Final
Saturday, 11:00am - Quebec (3) vs. Alberta (4) winner advances to the semi-final
Saturday, 4:00pm - Semifinal (loser of 1/2 vs. winner of 3/4)
Sunday, 8:30am - Bronze Medal Game (loser of semifinal vs. loser of 3/4 game)
Sunday, 1:30pm - Gold Medal Game (winner of 1/2 game vs. winner of semifinal)
TOTAL ATTENDANCE for the Scotties now sits at 67,982 (5139 for draw 17). The lack of any tiebreaker games means it is quite unlikely that total attendance will crack the 100,000 mark.
The best news coming out of all of this... I get to have my regularly scheduled nap on Friday... something I have not had the luxury of doing yet this week... woo hoo :)
TG
Scotties Playoffs Looming, Rebels Heading East
Heather Nedohin says she wanted to be in a position to control her own destiny heading into the final day of round-robin action at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
To a certain extent she has done just that. Alberta sits at 5-4 (tied with New Brunswick) after splitting their games on Wednesday (9-8 win over Sask, 6-5 loss to Que). Manitoba leads at 7-2. BC, Canada, and Quebec are 6-3. That means Nedohin and crew likely need to win both of their games today to at the very least make it to a tiebreaker.
And the opportunity is definitely there for Alberta to do just that as they take on a pair of sub-500 teams today (2-7 Newfoundland at 8:30am and 4-5 Nova Scotia tonight at 7:30).
The key to success really will be the play of Nedohin. All three of her teammates are tied for either first or second when it comes to shooting percentage for their respective positions. Nedohin continues to hover in the top five or six.
Total Scotties attendance heading into Thursday - 55,114. An average of 3937 per draw (you can expect that average to spike this weekend)
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Had a chance to speak with Jesse Wallin yesterday to get a quick Rebels update.
They practice once more today before heading out on a four game road trip through Saskatchewan...
Friday - at Prince Albert
Saturday - at Saskatoon
Tuesday - at Moose Jaw
Wednesday - at Regina
There isn't much of an update to the team's injury situation overall, but there is good news regarding Adam Kambeitz. The Rebels Captain is ahead of schedule with his recovery from a high ankle sprain suffered on January 27 vs. Tri-City. Kambeitz was expected to start skating again yesterday and will accompany the Rebels on their road trip. He won't play in any of the four games, but the fact that he is skating and travelling again is a big step for this club.
Other notes from the sick bay... Kayle Doetzel's recovery from broken ribs is unfortunately taking longer than first hoped. The rookie defenceman will not be going to Saskatchewan and is still another week or two from being ready to return to game action. Bartosak, Borejko, Mayor, Hamilton and Weller are all out with their various long-term ailments.
That means that once again the Rebels will try to call on some of their prospects to fill out their roster. It's a tricky time of year for that as midget teams everywhere are entering league playoffs. For example... Conner Bleackley, who has already played his 15-year-old maximum of five games with the Rebels, starts AMHL playoffs with the UFA Bisons. Scott Feser and the Red Deer Optimist Rebels have a bye this weekend, but Feser has only one potential game left to play for the Rebels, so we've potentially seen the last of him with the big club this season (the Optimists are in good shape to make a run at the provincial title and a Telus Cup appearance).
Dexter Bricker, Trace Elson, Haydn Fleury are potentially available to play. Elson is most likely to slide in as his St. Albert midget team is off this weekend. In fact, Wallin says they are already making arrangements to have him play Friday and Saturday.
To a certain extent she has done just that. Alberta sits at 5-4 (tied with New Brunswick) after splitting their games on Wednesday (9-8 win over Sask, 6-5 loss to Que). Manitoba leads at 7-2. BC, Canada, and Quebec are 6-3. That means Nedohin and crew likely need to win both of their games today to at the very least make it to a tiebreaker.
And the opportunity is definitely there for Alberta to do just that as they take on a pair of sub-500 teams today (2-7 Newfoundland at 8:30am and 4-5 Nova Scotia tonight at 7:30).
The key to success really will be the play of Nedohin. All three of her teammates are tied for either first or second when it comes to shooting percentage for their respective positions. Nedohin continues to hover in the top five or six.
Total Scotties attendance heading into Thursday - 55,114. An average of 3937 per draw (you can expect that average to spike this weekend)
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Had a chance to speak with Jesse Wallin yesterday to get a quick Rebels update.
They practice once more today before heading out on a four game road trip through Saskatchewan...
Friday - at Prince Albert
Saturday - at Saskatoon
Tuesday - at Moose Jaw
Wednesday - at Regina
There isn't much of an update to the team's injury situation overall, but there is good news regarding Adam Kambeitz. The Rebels Captain is ahead of schedule with his recovery from a high ankle sprain suffered on January 27 vs. Tri-City. Kambeitz was expected to start skating again yesterday and will accompany the Rebels on their road trip. He won't play in any of the four games, but the fact that he is skating and travelling again is a big step for this club.
Other notes from the sick bay... Kayle Doetzel's recovery from broken ribs is unfortunately taking longer than first hoped. The rookie defenceman will not be going to Saskatchewan and is still another week or two from being ready to return to game action. Bartosak, Borejko, Mayor, Hamilton and Weller are all out with their various long-term ailments.
That means that once again the Rebels will try to call on some of their prospects to fill out their roster. It's a tricky time of year for that as midget teams everywhere are entering league playoffs. For example... Conner Bleackley, who has already played his 15-year-old maximum of five games with the Rebels, starts AMHL playoffs with the UFA Bisons. Scott Feser and the Red Deer Optimist Rebels have a bye this weekend, but Feser has only one potential game left to play for the Rebels, so we've potentially seen the last of him with the big club this season (the Optimists are in good shape to make a run at the provincial title and a Telus Cup appearance).
Dexter Bricker, Trace Elson, Haydn Fleury are potentially available to play. Elson is most likely to slide in as his St. Albert midget team is off this weekend. In fact, Wallin says they are already making arrangements to have him play Friday and Saturday.
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