A couple Saskatchewan related things this morning....

It was an interesting battle last night in the South Sask Bantam Hockey League as the Notre Dame AAA Hounds took on the Balgonie AA Prairie Storm in Balgonie last night. Coming in to last evenings action the Prairie Storm were rolling to a 7-0-1 start, and quite easily have been the class of the AA teams in the league. However, they were facing a AAA select team from Notre Dame who made the finals of the Medicine Hat tournament and have been putting up some very lopsided results in these exhibition games thus far. Well tonight proved a bit of a stiffer test as the Prairie Storm rolled out to a 3-1 first period lead and held the game tied at 3-3 until the last seconds of the second period when high touted Blake Penner scored his 2nd of 4 goals on the night. In fact, Penner was able to score a goal each all three periods in the final minute. In the end, Notre Dame did skate away with a 7-3 win, but I think this shows that Balgonie will continue to be a force in terms of possibly representing Saskatchewan in the westerns at the end of the year.

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As we have discussed a few times already, the Prince Albert AA Bantam Tournament will take place 10 days from now. Action will take place at 4 different rinks throughout Prince Albert and feature 24 teams placed in to 8 different groups. Each group will have a team from each of the 3 major bantam leagues in Saskatchewan, with the exception of group A which has the host Prince Albert team along with the Winnipeg Sharks. Should be a very competitive group.

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And another major bantam AA tournament, this one will take place in Saskatoon beginning on New Years Eve. This tournament will feature 16 teams, including the Russell Rams from Manitoba. Russell features a couple highly talented players in Jayce Hawryluk and Ryley Zimmer. However, it should be noted that Russell is a bit short-handed with players away for various reason and another couple players hurt. The Rams are looking to bring in a pair of highly touted twins from Elkhorn, Travis and Taylor Sanheim. They are awaiting word from Hockey Manitoba on its ruling. It will be interesting to see how they can compete with some of the AA Saskatchewan teams, if in fact they are given clearance to attend. Of note, many of the top provincial teams won't be taking part in this tournament such as Balgonie, Prince Albert and Humboldt.

WEHP Announce Top 10 Team Rankings

1. Kamloops Jardine Blazers
2. Winnipeg Hawks
3. Burnaby Winter Club
4. Prince Albert Pirates
5. Calgary Bisons
6. SSAC Southgate Lions
7. St. Albert
8. Abbotsford Hawks
9. Winnipeg Sharks
10. Spruce Grove PAC Saints

Honorable Mentions:
Airdrie Xtreme
Warman Wildcats
Saskatoon Outlaws
Winnipeg Monarchs

*Please note - POE, Notre Dame, OHA and Edge School were not considered in the rankings as they can draw players from outside their districts. All very good teams though.

Also, congratulations to St. Albert on winning the Abbotsford bantam tournament.

Allstar Team as voted by scouts in attendence:
G- Peyton Lee (POE)
D- Zach Gonek (St. Albert)
D- Brycen Martin (Calgary Bisons)
F- Tanner MacMaster (Calgary Bions)
F- Jake Virtanen (Abbotsford Hawks)
F- Landon Welykholowa (Calgary Bisons)

Upstart Kelowna advances to final in Abbotsford

The Kelowna bantam Rockets have advanced to the final in the Dallas Saunders Memorial Bantam AAA Tournament taking place in Abbotsford, B.C. The Rockets went 1-1-1 in their pool with a 3-1 win over the Calgary Bronks on Friday and a 5-5 tie vs. Langley in the tournaments opening game. Kelowna was then able to upset the host Abbotsford Hawks 4-3 in the quarters and continued that momentum with a thrilling 6-5 OT win over Juan de fuca in the semi's. The Rockets will take on a St. Albert team who is on fire in the tournament, going 3-0-0, while outscoring their oppenants 23-5. They defeated Chilliwack 7-1, Chilliwack 10-1 and Seafair 6-3. In the quarters, they beat POE 4-2 and then skated by the Calgary Bisons 6-3 in the semi's. Should be an interesting matchup.

We'll have some post tournament updates either later tonight or tomorrow morning.

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Moving over to some league play highlights, the Notre Dame bantam Hounds were back in action in their AA league after losing in OT to Kamloops in the Medicine Hat tournament final. The beat or shall I say the beat-down continues as they defeated a pretty decent Regina Senators AA team 11-3. For what its worth, Joey Ratelle had 5 points and Manitoba born Tyler Ham had 4 points in the win. Blake Penner also had a couple points and now has 18-11-29 in just 8 league games to lead the league.

It will be a breathe of fresh air next year when the Saskatchewan bantam leagues are all re-structured in to a North/South type league that will make it AAA caliber. Cause right now the AA teams really don't have much of a chance at westerns. Prince Albert might have the best shot in a while this year due to having Miles Warkentine coming over from Melfort and Yaremchuk coming in from Tisdale. Not to mention some very strong 97's to go with Duret, Harris.

In other action of note, Rhett Gardner scored 4 goals in a Moose Jaw 6-2 win last week. Gardner is a sure fire top prospect who has WHL written all over him. Look for him to continue to excel.

Last night in the Centre Four Hockey League, the Prince Albert Pirates skated by the Melfort Mustangs 8-6. Rylan Freed, who we have as a 3-4 round pick scored 5 goals for Melfort. Ryan Duret continues his 5 point per game pace in that league with 3 goals and 2 assists. He now has 18-23-41 in 9 games played! Lance Yaremchuk had 3 goals and 1 assist. Lance now has 13-6-19 in just 6 games. Freed now has 13 goals in 8 games which is 8 more than anyone else on his team.

Thats all for now.

Wong/Chartier go EXTREME against Calgary Bronks

Last night the Airdrie Xtreme recorded their largest goal output scoring 11 times vs. the Calgary Bronks in AMBHL action Wednesday evening. A couple player in particular had huge nights. Colby Chartier scored a game league high this season of 5 goals, while Tyler Wong who we project to be a first rounder, scored a goal and a whopping 6 assists for 7 points! Connor Boyd also had a nice night racking up 4 points, and Mack Bauer scored a pair of goals. Wong now has 43 points in just 14 games, placing him 3rd in league scoring. Perhaps the Calgary Bronks had the trip to the Abbotsford tournament on their minds?

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Taking a look at some of the scoring leaders heading in to weekend action in some leagues across Saskatchewan and Manitoba now.

Centre Four Hockey League
GP G A PTS PIM
12 Ryan Duret P.A. 8 15 21 36 6
7 Terrell Draude Warmn 9 10 18 28 4
12 Tyrell Pompu Tisdl 10 9 17 26 18
14 Reid Gardiner Humbldt 7 14 10 24 12
27 Matthew Campese P.A. 8 13 9 22 8
19 Wyatt Hinson Mdw Lk 10 15 6 21 24
19 Miles Warkentine P.A. 8 12 9 21 31
4 Ryan Pilon Warmn 9 12 8 20 20
88 Brett Armstrong Tisdl 10 9 11 20 26
16 Rylan Couture Mdw Lk 10 10 8 18 8
*Draude is one of our highly rated players for 97 born and is 6'2 already.

South Sask Bantam League
PLAYER # P TEAM GP G A PTS P/G PPG SHG PIM
1 Zak Zborosky 10 F Regina Senators 10 12 11 23 2.3 4 0 12
2 Chase McKersie 10 F Estevan TS&M Bruins 10 11 10 21 2.1 4 0 18
3 Tim Vanstone 16 F Swift Current Kabos Raiders 7 8 12 20 2.9 1 0 30
4 Jordan Wittman 14 F Swift Current Kabos Raiders 7 11 8 19 2.7 3 0 2
5 Ethan Bear 12 D Melville Millionaires 9 11 8 19 2.1 1 0 22
6 Rhett Gardner 19 F Moose Jaw Ford Warriors 9 11 8 19 2.1 1 0 26
7 Lynnden Pastachak 15 F Estevan TS&M Bruins 8 12 6 18 2.3 0 0 22
8 Trey Tendler 5 F Weyburn Crescent Point Wings 9 8 10 18 2.0 0 0 8
9 Braden Senft 14 F Regina Senators 10 8 9 17 1.7 4 0 2
10 Nicholas Pouliot 10 F Weyburn Crescent Point Wings 9 11 5 16 1.8 1 1 6

Winnipeg Bantam League
Adam Brooks 19-13-32 Winnipeg Hawks
Dallas Starodub 10-11-21 Winnipeg Hawks
Adam Wowryk 10-9-19 Winnipeg Hawks
Dane Schioler 3-14-17 Winnipeg Hawks

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Big tournament taking place this weekend in Abbotsford, B.C. There will be 16 teams taking part, divided in to 4 groups.

Pool A
Abbotsford
Juan de fuca
Pikes Peak
Penticton

Pool B
St. Albert
Prince George
Seafair
Chilliwack

Pool C
Calgary Bisons
POE
NSWC
Nanaimo

Pool D
Calgary Bronks
Spokane
Kelowna
Langley

After a quick look through the pools, here are some fearless predictions:
Pool A top two: Abbotsford, Juan De Fuca
Pool B top two: Seafair, St. Albert
Pool C top two: POE, Calgary Bisons
Pool D top two: Langley, Spokane

Semi Finals:
Abbotsford vs. Spokane
POE vs Calgary Bisons

Final:
Abbotsford vs Calgary Bisons

Of course it won't work out this way, what do you people think?

November 24, 2010 newsletter is now ready!

In this edition of the newsletter, major adjustments made to the 96 born rankings. After attending the Medicine Hat tournament, we had a chance to discuss the list with various director of player personal people resulting in some changes at the top and some new additions. Included is a new #1 player.

We also take a look at the top 75 for the 97 born. Some players are really starting to assert themselves at the top.

I had a chance to speak with a Saskatchewan born kid who hopes to mirror his WHL brother's defensive while adding a bit more offence. He's on track.

Also, I spoke with a small, talented captain from the Calgary area whose size doesn't hold him back.

Last but certainly not least, a talented defenceman who took his game from Vancouver Island to the interior of BC to one of the best hockey programs in western Canada.

The Regina and Medicine Hat tournaments are now complete. We run down the all-stars and MVP's and winners.

WEHP Announce Top 10 Team Rankings

1. Kamloops Jardine Blazers
2. Winnipeg Hawks
3. Burnaby Winter Club
4. Calgary Bisons
5. Prince Albert Pirates
6. Spruce Grove PAC Saints
7. SSAC Southgate Lions
8. Winnipeg Sharks
9. Seafair Islanders
10. Leduc Allens Transport

*Please note, we've decided not to include OHA, POE, Notre Dame in the rankings as they can draw players from out of region. Notre Dame isn't even included in there leagues standings any longer.

Posting

Sorry for the delay in posting as of late. I've been all over watching various hockey and tournaments. I'll be back on the horse early next week.

Spruce Grove PAC suffers first loss of season!

Last night in the AMBHL, the Spruce Grove PAC Saints 13 game undefeated streak to start the season came to a crashing hault at the hands of Leduc by a score of 8-6. Braden Jakubowski led the attack with 3 goals and 1 assist while Liam Gregor chipped in with 4 assists. Spruce Grove got a pair of goals from Thomas Foster. Leduc is now 10-4 having outscored the opposition 82-40. Their +42 for goals scored vs goals allowed is tops in the league tied with the Calgary Bisons.

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In the PCAHA, the groupings are now complete and the first game of flight 1 took place last night with Seafair defeating Surrey 3-1. In flight 2 action Richmond beat North Delta 9-6.

Of course the BIG Medicine Hat tournament starts up on Thursday, so it will be a relatively quieter weekend across most bantam leagues.

WEHP Announce Top 10 Team Rankings

1. Burnaby Winter Club Bruins 8-0-0 36-5
2. Spruce Grove PAC Saints 11-0-2 58-25
3. Kamloops Jardine Blazers 6-0-0 34-9
4. Calgary Bisons 13-3-0 107-65
5. Prince Albert Pirates 6-0-0 56-13
6. Winnipeg Hawks 7-0-1-1 66-26
7. Seafair Islanders 7-0-1 54-8
8. Leduc Allen's Transport 11-4-0 74-34
9. Winnipeg Sharks 7-1-0 46-27
10. Pursuit of Excellence 6-2-0 50-16

Honorable Mentions:
Airdrie Xtreme
Warman Wildcats
Abbotsford Hawks
Saskatoon Maniacs

Prince Albert Pirates win Graham Tuer Regina Tourney

The Prince Albert Pirates continue to dominate the Saskatchewan AA hockey season as they have captured the Graham Tuer Memorial Bantam AA tournament down in Regina over the weekend. They defeated their Centre Four Hockey League rival Humboldt Broncos in the final by a score of 9-1. Prince Albert went undefeated in the round robin portion of the tournament, outscoring their opposition 24-6. They then entered the elimination round and rolled through the Melfort Mustangs 6-1 in the quarters, beat the Regina Canucks 7-4 in the semi's en route to the final.

Leading Scorers:
Ryan Duret 11-10-21 Prince Albert
Kolten Olynek 9-8-17 Saskatoon Outlaws
Rourke Chartier 9-7-16 Saskatoon Stallions
Reid Gardiner 11-4-15 Humboldt
Tim Vanstone 9-6-15 Swift Current
Lance Yaremchuk 7-8-15 Prince Albert
Kobe Kindrachuk 5-9-14 Saskatoon Outlaws
Jesse Shinkaruk 10-3-13 Saskatoon Frostbite
Mitchell Lipon 9-4-13 Regina Hurricanes
Cody Young 6-7-13 Saskatoon Generals
Miles Warkentine 6-7-13 Prince Albert

All-Star Selection (voted by scouts)
RW- Reid Gardiner
LW- Kolten Olynek
C- Collin Shirley
D- Jordan Harris
D- Sam Ruopp
G- Rylan Parenteau

MVP- Reid Gardiner

Sunday news...

First off, we'll take a look at the tournament going on in Ladner, BC where the semi-finals are now set. Yesterday Seafair rolled over Mission 8-2 to advance tot he semi-finals. Tyler Sandhu had a goal and 2 assists, while Dawydiak had 2 goals and 1 assist. Other winners in the quarters were Langley who thumped Richmond 12-1, Surrey over JDF 6-2 and Semiahmoo over South Delta 2-1. So Seafair will take on Langley, while Surrey and Semiahmoo will meet up.

The top 10 scorers to this point:
1 Elvis Jansons 7 - Richmond 4 6 4 10 2.5 0
2 Kyle Raymond 18 - Langley 4 3 7 10 2.5 2
3 Ryan Rensby 8 - Langley 4 6 3 9 2.3 0
4 Cole Pickup 96 - JDF 3 5 4 9 3.0 0
5 Colin Rossi 7 - Surrey 4 4 4 8 2.0 2
6 Chandler Bradley 8 - Richmond 4 2 6 8 2.0 0
7 Nicholas Guiney 18 - JDF 4 6 1 7 1.8 3
8 Cole Plotnikoff 14 - Semiahmoo 4 3 4 7 1.8 0
9 Tyler Sandhu 19 - Seafair 4 2 5 7 1.8 2
10 Mathew Bradley 7 F Semiahmoo 4 4 2 6 1.5 3

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In Regina, quarter-final action also took place. Here is a look at the Results:
Prince Albert 6 Melfort 1
Regina Senators 4 Saskatoon Bandits 2
Swift Current 5 Weyburn 4
Humboldt 4 Saskatoon Stallions 3

So Prince Albert will take on the Regina Senators and Swift Current will battle Humboldt in what should be a great game.

The Saskatoon Maniacs will play the Saskatoon Outlaws in the "B" Final.

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Once again in the AMBHL yesterday the stars were shining brightly. Tanner Macmaster scored yet another hat-trick giving him 32 goals in 15 games. The Bisons have 17 games remaining this year so that puts him on track for about 68 goals, the league record belongs to Ty Rattie who scored 75 in the 07-08 season. Brayden Point kept pace with 4 assists in Saturday's game. Point is just 3 points behind Macmaster for the scoring race in which the two players are really pulling away with.

Lethbridge's Cavin Leth fired 4 goals home yesterday in Red Deer, leading his team to a 7-4 win. Leth from leth now has 22 goals in 15 games. His 22 goals place him 2nd in the goal scoring race. Leth from leth also has 58 PIM's which place him 4th in that category. Brendan Benson continues to be hindered by an injury.

Ryley Rissling and Nathyn Mortlock continue their good play of late with each picking up a goal and 2 assists, leading MH to a 6-5 win over Okotoks. Okotoks' attack was once again led by Connor Bleackley with 3 goals and young 97 born Mason McCarty with 3 assists, who assisted on all of Bleackley's goals. Bleackley, the one man show from Okotoks is 4th in league scoring with 18-14-32 in 12 games.

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In Saskatchewan, it was pretty quiet due to most teams (24 to be exact) taking part in the Regina tournament. However, in the Centre Four Hockey League Unity outscored Meadow Lake 9-8. 97 born star Keifer Hintz had 1 goal and 4 assists, while Wyatt Hinson scored 3 times for Meadow Lake.

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In Manitoba, the Winnipeg Hawks continue their asent up the league standings with a 6-5 win over the Winnipeg Monarchs. The Hawks who are now 7-0-1-1 have leap-frogged the Winnipeg Sharks 7-1-0. Adam Brooks for the Hawks has now opened up a 6 point lead in the scoring race with 25 points in 8 games. Brooks also leads the league with 14 goals. The Sharks lone loss came the other day in a 10-5 loss to the Winnipeg Warriors. The Sharks are without 97 born phenom Dallas Miller but the highlight of the game had to be Warriors 5'10 forward Brett Masterton who fired in 6 goals!!

Saturday.....Queenville breaks out

In the AMBHL, John Queenville for SSAC scored 4 goals and assisted on 2 others en route to an 8-3 win over Edmonton CAC. His line-mate, 97 born Giorgio Estephan picked up 5 assists and 1 goal in the victory. Queenville now leads all North scorers with 27 pts in 11 games. Estephan now leads all 97 born players in the AMBHL with 20 pts in just 11 games, two ahead of the Bison Nick Merkely.

Elsewhere in the AMBHL, it was Leduc all over Edmonton KC 7-1. Liam Gregor who is one of our fastest risers so far this year led the way with 2 goals and 3 assists, Kord Pankewicz had a pair of goals, while Braden Jakubowski had a 4 point night. Nick Loose had the lone goal for KC.

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Taking a look over at the Tim Jardine Tournament going on in Ladner, BC. The round robin portion of the schedule is now complete with Jaun De Fuca and Surrey both winning their pools. Juan De Fuca went 2-0-1, while Surrey was 1-0-2. The only winless team was Richmond who was 0-3-0. Somewhat surprising is that Seafair was only 1-1-1 with 8 goals scored. Seafair was expected to roll through the tournament without the likes of Kamloops, POE, BWC, Cloverdale and Abbotsford taking part but that wasn't the case. Tyler Sandhu was only able to muster 1-3-4 in the 3 games while first round prospect Alec Dawydiak just had 1-0-1 in 3 games. The tournament leader so far is Elvis Jansons of Richmond who has scored 6-4-10 in just 3 games. Coughlin and Guiney from Juan De Fuca each scored 5 goals in the 3 games so far.

Elimation action go's today.

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The other more major tournament of note was taking place in Regina as explained in an earlier post. There were 6 groups of 4 teams and here is the break down:

Red Pool
Swift Current 3-0-0 20-6
Lumsden 0-3-0 6-18
Melfort 2-1-0 14-11
Saskatoon Frosbite 8-13

Blue Pool
Regina Hurricanes 1-1-1 15-15
Brandon Wheatkings 1-2-0 12-17
Saskatoon Bandits 3-0-0 23-10
Moose Jaw Warriors 0-2-1 10-18

Green Pool
Regina Senators 2-1-0 10-4
Saskatoon Maniacs 2-1-0 9-8
Battleford Barons 0-3-0 7-20
Weyburn Wings 2-1-0 12-6

Orange Pool
Regina Canucks 1-2-0 10-13
Saskatoon Stallions 2-1-0 16-7
Martensville Marauders 1-1-1 14-12
Yorkton Terriers 1-2-0 10-18

Purple Pool
Balgonie 1-2-0 9-12
Saskatoon Generals 1-2-0 9-16
Melville Millionaires 1-2-0 11-19
PA Pirates 3-0-0 24-6

Black Pool
Regina Oilers 1-2-0 10-11
Saskatoon Outlaws 2-1-0 15-12
Estevan Bruins 0-3-0 4-15
Humboldt Broncos 3-0-0 18-9

Tim Jardine Tournament Day 1

The 17th annual Tim Jardine Bantam Tournament is now underway in Ladner, BC. The tournament features 8 teams in 2 separate pools. The favorite going in to the tournament had to be the Seafair Islanders who went 7-0-1 in tiering in group 2 of the PCAHA. However, in 2 games yesterday they went winless, going 0-1-1 with a tie against Surrey and a 3-2 to South Delta. Semiahmoo is 1-0-1 after tieing JDF and outscoring Richmond 8-6.

Some highlights from day one:
Richmond forward Elvis Jansons had 3-1-4, while line-mate Chandler Bradley had 1-3-4 in a 8-6 loss to Semiahmoo.

Semiahmoo forward Cole Plotnikoff has 3-3-6 in his first two games. Ian Bennett is proving once again to be a force with 2-1-3. Jivan Sidhu has been strong on the back end.

Kyle Raymond and Ryan Rensby lead Langley offensively with 3 and 2 points respectively. Watch for Ryan Donaldson to make his name known at this tournament.

In Seafair's 4-4 tie vs. Surrey, top ranked prospect Tyler Sandhu had 3 assists. Shaun Dosanjh was a physical force on the blue-line.

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Also, in Regina, 24 bantam teams from all 3 leagues are taking part in the bantam AA challenge. I'll have a full re-cap after the completion of the tournament play on Monday.

November 12 newsletter is ready!

The November 12, 2010 newsletter is now ready to be issued.

This edition includes many updates to our lists, some inclusions, some deletions and movement for both the 96 and 97 age groups.

I had a chance to speak with several top prospects from a variety of hockey backgrounds this time around. First off, a player from central Alberta who is climbing faster than anybody and has good WHL bloodlines. I also speak with a top 97 born player who really should be playing in the AMBHL but is tearing apart his league in rural Alberta. I speak with a big, strapping good Saskatchewan kid who plays in the Greater Saskatoon Hockey League. Last but not least, a player making waves in Calgary, playing AA this year.

We also take a look at the top 20 team rankings for Western Canada.

WEHP Announce Top 10 Team Rankings

1. Burnaby Winter Club Bruins 8-0-0 36-5
2. Spruce Grove PAC Saints 11-0-2 58-25
3. Kamloops Jardine Blazers 6-0-0 34-9
4. Calgary Bisons 12-2-0 97-58
5. Prince Albert 6-0-0 56-13
6. Winnipeg Hawks 6-0-2 60-21
7. Seafair Islanders 6-0-1 45-7
8. Winnipeg Sharks 6-0-0 37-17
9. Pursuit of Excellence 4-2-0 40-12
10. Warman Wildcats 6-1-0 46-21

Honorable mentions:
SSAC Southgate Lions 6-1-3
Airdrie Xtreme 8-3-0
Swift Current Raiders 5-1-0
Abbotsford Hawks 5-2-1
Cloverdale Colts 5-1-2

Note: Notre Dame have been removed from the stanings in the SSBHL, thus having so many lopsided games.

Kamloops wins home tourney

The Kamloops Jardine Blazers continue their early season success by winning the Randy Lindros Memorial Hockey Tournament today in Kamloops. They defeated the Winnipeg Sharks 4-0 to advance to the final in the semi-final game. In the final, they face a young Edmonton CAC squad who defeated Cloverdale in the the other semi 3-2. In the final, Kamloops easily prevailed with a 7-3 win and another tournament championship.

Another bit of news involving tournament play...Notre Dame was down in Chicago to take part in the Bauer Invitational which featured 40 teams in the 96 born age group. Notre Dame was able to muster 2 ties in 4 games, along with 2 losses. Notre Dame scored 6 goals in the 4 games and were led offensively by F- Jeremiah Addison who figured in on all 6 goals, while scoring 4. Blake Penner and Ben Duperreault also scored for Notre Dame in tournament play. The tournament was won by the Vaughn Kings over Detroit. A powerhouse team from St. Louis featured talent including; Ryan Macinnis who had 9 points in 4 games, Ryan is the son of hall of famer Al Macinnis. Also, they had a young man by the name of Alex Jasiek who was easily the best player their. Also of note was a player by the name of Brendan Lemieux, the son of Claude Lemieux who played with Toronto Red Wings. Lemieux had 7 points in 3 games with 15 pims. It is known that he has a choice between OHL and WHL due to residence in an WHL zone off and on.

Finally this evening, congratulations to Braden Oleksyn who is playing underage in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA league. He just came off his first 2 goal Midget hockey game of his career. By the way, Jordan Thomson who is also playing Midget hockey but in Manitoba with the Southwest Cougars is fitting in very well and not looking a bit out of place.

Notre Dame ties Detroit 1-1 today

Today at the Bauer Invitational which features 40 top teams from primarily Ontario and the US, Notre Dame tied Detroit 1-1. Notre Dame is in a pool with New Jersey, Detroit, Pittsburgh and the West Dundee Leafs from Illinois.

The next action for the Hounds will be this evening against the team from Illinois.

Thursday stuff

Yet another tournament in B.C. will be getting underway in Kamloops tomorrow. It will feature 10 teams in and around the region, as well as Spokane, Kent Valley and Winnipeg. The tournament will have an opening ceremony where Randy Lindros #17 will be raised to the rafters at the MacArthur Island Sports Centre. Game action begins at 10:30am with Kelowna playing Prince George.

Here is a look at the teams taking part:
Pool A
Vernon
Kamloops
Chilliwack
Spokane
Edmonton CAC

Pool B
Kelowna
Prince George
Cloverdale
Kent Valley
Winnipeg Sharks

On to some game action from last night, all four Calgary teams hooked up in two separate games. First it was the Calgary Bronks over the Northstars 4-3. Defenceman Allen McPherson scored the game winning goal with just over a minute to play. Zack Finlay paced the attack with 2 goals and 1 assist. The 5'8 139lb Finlay is now 2nd in scoring on the Bronks with 12 points in 12 games with 37 pims. The Bronks are now 5-5-2. Taro Hirose led the attack for the losing Northstar with 1 goal and 1 assist. The small forward now leads the Northstars with 12 points in 11 games. The Northstars are also .500 at 5-5-1.

Finally in the AMBHL south, it was the Calgary Bisons moving their record to 11-2 with a 5-3 win over the Calgary Royals. Tanner Macmaster once again led the way with 2 goals, giving him 26 goals in 13 games now. Brayden Point had a goal and 1 assist. Point and Macmaster continue to pull away in the AMBHL scoring derby. For the Royals, it was defenceman Evan Reid with a goal and one assist leading the way. Star forward Reid Duke was held off the scoresheet. Evan Reid now has 8 points in 12 games. The Royals were without Kyle O'connor. The Royals are surprisingly down to 5-7-0 this season.

Up North it was St. Albert shutting out Edmonton KC 5-0.

PA Pirates Article -courtesy PA Herald

Although they’re unbeaten after three Centre-Four Hockey League games, the bantam AA Prince Albert Venice House Pirates weren’t entirely satisfied with their 8-3 win over the Unity Lazers in Prince Albert’s home-opener Saturday at Steuart Arena.

“That was probably not one of our best games,” said Pirates captain Ryan Duret. “We just fought the puck that game. Still got the win, though.

“Maybe it was nerves for the first (home) game. I’m not really sure. It wasn’t really our day, I guess.

“They’re one of the average teams, and we’re probably one of the better ones, and we probably should have beat them by more.”

The Pirates got the job done, just the same.

“Anytime you can open up at home with a win, and fight the puck a little bit and still score eight goals, I think we’ve got a good future,” said Prince Albert coach Shawn Phaneuf.

“The previous two (games) were a little tougher battles. We played Warman and Humboldt (and won 5-1 and 6-3, respectively). They’re both big, strong, tough teams. They play very good defensively and both play their systems really well.

“Our game against Humboldt, I thought we played very well. We outworked them, we stuck to our systems (and) we kept things simple. Most of the guys were playing very unselfishly, and we were successful because of that.”

The Pirates are pegged for success this season, and they’re already attracting clusters of WHL scouts to their games. Multiple Dub teams were represented at Saturday’s game, and the spotlight is expected to remain on the Pirates through next spring’s WHL bantam draft.

“For the most part, the team is aware of what’s going on,” Phaneuf said. “Most of the kids have been approached, prior to this year, or talked to by some scouts. I think our highest-skilled players are very aware of it. There’s a lot of pressure on them right now. At times, I think they feel it. They try to do things maybe by themselves sometimes, to try and maybe impress their skill level on the scouts.

“We’re just trying to keep them grounded and try to get them to keep things simple. Make the right plays in a game, and the rest of that will come.”

Duret, a high-scoring centre, is one of those draft prospects whom scouts also witnessed last season during his rookie year with the Pirates. He’s off to another solid start, with four goals and seven points in three games.

“The scouts and stuff, you can’t really pay attention to that, or else you’re going to just play bad in front of them,” said Duret, a Grade 9 student at Carlton Comprehensive High School.

“You’ve got to ignore them. Just use your linemates. You can’t go out and (selfishly) try to get points. If you’re just out there being selfish, you’re not going to do anything. You’re just going to have a bad game and a bad year, and it’s just going to affect your whole career.”

Duret knows there are no guarantees at draft time. Despite the team’s strong season last winter, just one Pirate was drafted last spring when the Prince Albert Raiders selected hometown goaltender Taryn Phaneuf (Shawn’s son) in the fifth round.

The likelihood is that the Pirates will be more prominent in the 2011 draft. There’s no shortage of prospects.

“Up front, we’ve got Ryan Duret and Miles Warkentine and one of our injured guys, Lance Yaremchuk,” said coach Phaneuf.

“On the back end, we’ve got Jordan Harris and Bryton Sayers — both big, strong, very skilled defencemen. They’re both tough. They’re probably in the top five in the province for defencemen. They’re hard-working kids and good leaders.”

All of those second-year bantams are “awesome leaders,” Phaneuf said. “In practice, they’re my hardest-working guys.”

Duret, five-foot-nine and 155 pounds, is best known as a scorer and playmaker, but he’s trying to broaden his game this season.

“Just got to work on my defence a bit more,” said Duret, a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

His favourtie NHL player is Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin.

Duret comes from a hockey family that includes older brother Jason, a rookie forward with the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos. Ryan and Jason were teammates last season with the Pirates.

“It was fun playing with him,” Ryan said. “We played good together, but you can’t really get mad about (his graduation). You’ve just got to deal with it.”

The younger Duret is managing well, lately on a line with athletic Zach Hurd and rookie Matthew Campese, a top scorer at the peewee AA level last season. Campese has four goals and six points after just three games.

Warkentine and Yaremchuk joined the Pirates this season after playing bantam AA last winter with the Melfort Mustangs and Tisdale Ramblers, respectively.

Yaremchuk is scheduled to make his debut with the Pirates this weekend when they play three road games in as many days against West Central, Battlefords and Unity.

Prince Albert’s goaltenders are second-year man Logan Morhart and rookie Connor Toporowski.

“Logan is a big, strong, very intense goalie,” Phaneuf said. “Very much a student of the game. I think he’ll do very well this year.

“(Toporowski) is a first-year goalie who came out of nowhere to make the team. We had three or four guys pegged, battling for a spot, and he had a couple of strong performances in the exhibition season and he kind of stole a position from a second-year guy.”

OVERTIME: Saturday was a busy day for Pirates defenceman Bryton Sayers. After helping the bantam AA team win its home-opener in the afternoon, he was called up to the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos that night for their 3-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Generals.

Notre Dame wins 21-1 over Melville!

As a result of the Notre Dame 21-1 win over the young 97 born laden Melville Millionaires bantam AA team on Saturday, the Hounds have been taken off the league standings page and have had all their player stats erased from the leading scorers page.

Notre Dame has long played in the SSBHL league as a AAA team who can draw players from all over the country and have long feasted on the teams in the SSBHL. It will be interesting to see how they perform at the Medicine Hat tournament against other top teams in the west.

During the 21-1 victory, Hounds forward Blake Penner had 7 goals and 2 assists and Ben Duperreault had 4 goals and 3 assists. Penner, the brother of former 4th overall WHL bantam pick Cole Penner came over from Medicine Hat this year while Duperreault came from Balgonie. Penner now has 17-10-27 in just 7 games.

The game was 13-0 at the half way point and Notre Dame just kept playing their key players and rolling their lines en route to the 21-1 goal. By the way Dylan Bear scored on the PP for Melville just after it was 13-0.

Notre Dame tamed it down a bit against the Regina Hurricanes, winning only 10-2. Once again Blake Penner had a big night with 2 goals and 1 assist.

WEHP Announce Top 10 Team Rankings

1. Burnaby Winter Club Bruins 4-0-0
2. Notre Dame Hounds 6-0-0
3. Spruce Grove PAC Saints 9-0-1
4. Winnipeg Sharks 6-0-0
5. Kamloops Jardine Blazers 6-0-0
6. Calgary Bisons 9-2-0
7. Winnipeg Hawks 4-0-2
8. POE 3-1-0
9. Prince Albert Pirates 3-0-0
10. SSAC Southgate Lions 4-1-3

Honorable Mentions
Warman Wildcats 5-1-0
Seafair Islanders 3-0-0
Balgonie Prairie Storm 4-0-1
Leduc 9-3-0

Weekend bantam highlights

Starting off on the west coast and taking a look at the PCAHA Divison 1 standings, we see BWC remaining as the lone undefeated team after the weekend with a 4-0-0 record. Cloverdale at 3-1-2, Abbotsford at 3-2-1 and Surrey at 4-2-0 continue to lead the top group.

Moving over to the Okanagan Mainline Amateur Hockey Association now and the Kamloops Jardine Blazers are still proving they are a team to be reconned with in western Canada. Their 6-0-0 record continue to lead the league. The only team who looks to be able to perhaps have a chance at catching Kamloops this year will be POE who are at 3-1-0 in league play and have beaten Kamloops at the final in the Kelowna tourney. Over the weekend, Kamloops won a pair of games by defeating Penticton in a pair of games by scores of 7-0 and 8-3. In other action it was Westside Warriors over Kelowna 8-3. The scoring leaders in the league continue to be a pair of Kamloops players in 6'0 Ryan Gropp and smallish Chad Butcher. Both are ranked to go fairly high in the bantam draft. Hot on their heals though is Westside forward Brett Menneaur. Menneaur, is also expected to go in the top 2 rounds.

In to Alberta now and looking at the AMBHL, the Calgary Bisons as we discussed in an earlier post are on fire offensively and they didn't let up on Sunday either. They defeated the Calgary Royals 8-5. Reid Duke led the way once again for the Royals with a goal and 2 assists. For the Bisons it was once again Point and Macmaster each with 4 point games. They are currently 1-2 in league scoring, Macmaster has 36 points in 11 games including 24 goals already. While Point has 15 goals and 35 points.

Leduc took to the ice yesterday and defeated Lloydminster 6-4. Braden Jakubowski scored 3 goals and 1 assist in the win. Defenceman Brandon Hickey continued his hot play of late with a goal and 2 assists. Leduc is now 8-3-0 on the season and have scored 35 more goals than allowed. That is the biggest differential of goals scored and goals against in the AMBHL.

Spruce Grove PAC remains the only team without a loss in the AMBHL with a stellar 9-0-1 record, allowing only 20 goals. Their only blemish was yesterday's 5-5 on the road in Lethbridge. The Bisons remain the leagues highest scoring team averaging almost 7 goals per game so far. On the other hand, Grand Prairie continues to struggle with a 1-9-0 record and allowing over 7 goals per game.

Finally in the AMBHL a pair of shutouts were recorded over the weekend with Fort Sask. goalie Lawrence Rosychuck turning aside 35 shots to stop a pretty good Lethbridge squad. Also Sherwood park recorded a shutout, defeating Grand Prairie 7-0. Trevor Martin wasn't as busy as his counterpart turning away just 19 shots.

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In Saskatchewan over the weekend, starting off in the ultra competitive GSHL league it was the Generals over the Maniacs 5-1 and the Stallions tieing the Frostbite 4-4. I would expect this league to be back and forth all season long. Collin Shirley looks like he will make some noise this year and be a player to watch. Of course Chartier and Olynyk are two of the better offensive players as well. Goaltenders Michisiw and Parenteau look to be the top two goalies thus far.

Down south now in the SSBHL, it was Tim Vanstone scoring 2 goals to lead his Swift Current team to a 3-2 win over a good Estevan team. His line-mate Jordan Wittman had a pair of assists. In other action, one of the favorites to come out of the league, Balgonie, they defeated Yorkton 3-1. Defenceman Sam Ruopp, the younger brother of P.A. Raiders defenceman Harrison Ruopp had a pair of assists. Goaltender Shane Blomquist turned aside 24/25 shots for the win. Balgonie is 3-0-1 and remain the only undefeated team along with AAA squad Notre Dame. On Friday night the Regina Oilers walked all over Moose Jaw 7-0. Mathew Bachynski scored 3 times for Regina. Bachynski now has 6 goals in 7 games.

Taking a look at some of the leaders in the SSBHL, it is Tim Vanstone who leads in points per game with 3.2. Tim Vanstone who is expected to be a high draft pick has 9-7-16 in 5 games. 5'5" Ben Duperreault leads the league in assists with 10 in 5 games for Notre Dame. Duperreaulst should be given a look on draft day due to his skill alone. Defenceman Dallas Eldstrom from Moose Jaw leads the league in penalty minutes with 80 in 6 games.

Up to the Centre Four Hockey League, there were 6 games over the weekend. Unity played a pair of games, taking a road trip up to Prince Albert and losing 8-3 and then they followed that up with a 6-4 loss in Warman. Warman and Prince Albert are two of the better teams in the league and Unity was able to hang with Prince Albert for a while until they ran out of steam midway through the 2nd. Melfort played a pair of games on the weekend against Humboldt and Warman. They lost to Warman 4-1 but upset Melfort 4-3. In the win vs. Humboldt it was 97 born star Caleb Seaman leading the way with 2 goals, Grambo and Carlson each had singles. For Humboldt, it was Gardiner, Litwan and Slipitz. Saturday against warman, it was Freed with the lone goal for Melfort while Warman replied with markers from, Regier, 97 born Draude with 2 and Shatz.

Taking a quick look at some of the scoring leaders, it is 97 born Draude with 7-8-15 in 6 games to lead the league early. Wyatt Hinson from Meadow Lake has 10 goals in 6 games to lead that category and Ryan Pilon from Warman leads all defenceman with 6-3-9 in 6 games. Ryan Duret will be a player to watch as he has 7 pts in 3 games right now.

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In Manitoba, the Sharks continued their winning ways with a 8-1 win over Brandon. The Sharks are now 6-0-0. The Winnipeg Hawks remain the leagues only other undefeated team with a 4-0-1-1 record after a 3-3 tie with the Monarchs. Several Winnipeg Hawks players continue to lead the league scoring race early. Dallas Starodub leads with 14 points through 5 games and his 9 goals also lead. Adam Brooks with 7-6-13 is 2nd. Both Starodub and Brooks are expected to go in the top 2 rounds of the draft.

In other related news in Manitoba, Taylor Sanheim will miss a few weeks with whiplash.