Alberta sits with a 2-3 record after a tough 8-5 loss Monday night to New Brunswick. They are now one of six rinks who have two wins thus far.
Skip Heather Nedohin struggled to find her draw weight all game long. On numerous occasions, Nedohin had a chance to put one or more points on the board for her team but came up light. To her credit, the Alberta skip took full responsibility for her shaky play...
"I think I let the team down. I didn't play as well as I wanted to. We had lots of opportunities and unfortunately I thought I let them slip away."
New Brunswick capitalized to improve their record to 3-2... along with Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Speaking of Manitoba, "Officer Down" was my buddy's cry when Jill Officer slipped and fell in the sixth end of their game versus Team Canada. Officer's slip up resulted in Jennifer Jones' shot being burned... turning a sure Manitoba single into a steal of two for Canada (would have been 2-1 for Manitoba, instead became 3-1 lead for Canada).
It's a tough loss for Manitoba for sure. But of any rink here this week they have the veteran experience necessary to put this one behind them and move on to their next match. Jones was especially classy when chatting with the media afterward...
"That's curling and there's nobody else I'd rather have sweeping my rocks than Jill."
It was the third in a series of unusual slips ups in Monday's evening draw. New Brunswick nearly burned a rock of their own when Jillian Babin fell while sweeping. It was extremely close, but after looking at the replay on the overhead video screen, the correct call was made in determining that Babin did not make contact with the shot. New Brunswick went on to score three in the end.
Team Canada second Tammy Schneider slipped while coming out of the hack and injured her knee. She was walking around the concourse following the match and should be back in action as early as today.
Attendance wise... 33,372 fans have come through the gates at the Enmax Centrium, an average of nearly 4200 per draw (4171.5 to be exact).
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Holy crap, what a game!
Chris Falloon scored 18:47 into overtime, giving the Bentley Generals a come from behind 4-3 over the Horse Lake Chiefs.
The best-of-seven Senior AAA Provincial Semifinal series is now tied 1-1. Horse Lake won the series opener 6-5 in OT in Bentley on Sunday.
The Gens found themselves in trouble early in game two, trailing 2-0 after the opening period. Former Lethbridge Hurricane / Prince George Cougar / Regina Pat Jesse Dudas and Scott had the goals for Horse Lake.
Thanks in large part to great goaltending by former New York Islanders draft pick Jase Weslosky, it took until 16:56 of the second period for Bentley to hit the scoreboard... thanks to Kootenay Ice and Kamloops Blazers alumnus Kyle Sheen.
After Travis Dunstall (Kamloops, Medicine Hat, Everett) made it 3-1 early in the third period, Travis Brigley and Curtis Austring would score just over three minutes apart to tie the game 3-3 and set the stage for overtime.
The Generals were the dominant team through much of overtime as they appeared to have run the Chiefs out of steam. Eventually, at 18:47 of the extra frame, Chris Falloon (Prince George Cougars) put home the game winner... setting off quite a celebration in the sold out arena.
Horse Lake has done an excellent job of putting together a solid hockey club this year. Most notably Weslosky, Dudas, Taje, former Fort St. John Flyer Kip Noble, and Mike Lalonde. All brought in with the goal of knocking the Generals off of their perch.
A few recent additions have given the Generals some much needed depth of their own. Former Rebel ('01 Memorial Cup Champion) Kyle Wanvig had an assist yesterday and played some solid minutes especially late in the game. Former FSJ Flyer Donny Lloyd has been a good addition to their defence corps, especially with perennial all-star Don Morrison out of the lineup this weekend. Falloon has also fit in just fine.
Travis Yonkman was outstanding in his own right for the Generals yesterday. He'll need to be equally outstanding next weekend when Bentley heads to Horse Lake for games three and four.
** Thanks to @eagleswinger10 for making sure I make mention of the other senior playoff series in our area...
The Stony Plain Eagles lead the other Senior AAA semifinal series 2-0 over the Sylvan Lake Admirals (7-3, 5-3). Game three goes this Friday night in Sylvan Lake at 8:30pm.
The Innisfail Eagles trail their Senior A/AA series with the Carstairs Redhawks 2-0 (2-8, 4-5 OT). Game three goes Friday night in Innisfail at 8:30pm.
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What a night it was in the Heritage Junior B Hockey League. Two games. Two overtime finishes. The Mountainview Colts beat the Red Deer Vipers 76 in double overtime. The Blackfalds Wranglers beat the Three Hills 3-2 in FIVE overtimes!
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