GSHL Saskatoon AA Update

The Saskatoon GSHL AA league got underway last week.  Here is some of the action that has taken place thus far.

Saskatoon Bandits 3 - Saskatoon Generals 2
The teams would trade goals in the first period with the Bandits opening up the scoring on a goal by Curtis Roach.  Just minutes later the Generals would be awarded a power-play in which speedy forward Lane Pederson would one time a hard slapper past the Bandits goalie to give them a 1-1 tie after the first period.  The Bandits would pull out ahead once again early in the 2nd as Colton Holmes would put one past goalie Hartley 5-hole.  The teams would trade good chances for most of the 2nd period until the Generals would once again tie it up as Carter Allison took the pass from Ben Abrook and tie it at 2.  The game would stay tied until the last minute of the game when Bandits forward Matt Lukash would bang home a rebound for the 3-2 victory in a very good opening GSHL contest.  The Bandits would outshoot the Generals 27-19 in the game.

Saskatoon Outlaws 3 - Saskatoon Generals 2
De Ja Vu!  This game would once again go to the final minute and the Generals hearts get broken once again!  The Outlaws would score early in the period (missed the goal) but late in the first period Lane Pederson would fire home a PP goal to knot the game at 1's after 1.  The Outlaws would once again take the lead early in the 2nd as 98 born star Garrett Pilon would give a beauty of a pass to D-Dustin Perillat who blasted a shot from the blue-line.  The Generals again as has been the case all season so far would answer back with a goal from Carter Allison with Lane Pederson supplying the feed.  For the remainder of the game goalie Swystun for the Generals would make several HUGE saves as the Outlaws would pepper the Generals, including an 11-1 shots lead in the 3rd period.  Garrett Pilon would finally solve Swystun in the 3rd period in the final minute to hand the Generals another heart breaking loss.  The Outlaws outshot the Generals 36-21.

Busy Monday/Scout Needed

Scout Needed
We are in search of a scout who would be interested in covering the Medicine Hat Hockey Hounds bantam tournament which runs from Thursday, November 17, with the first game starting at 5pm through to Sunday, November 20, with the final game starting at 12:30.  Although the games are being held at 4 different rinks, it would be fine for the scout who is selected to cover this for WEHP could stay mostly at the Kinplex rinks 1/2 for the majority of the tournament, unless needed elsewhere.


If you are going to be in the Medicine Hat and would be interested in sending back numorous reports on players, results and stats for the tournament, let us know and we'll be in touch.  Monetary compensation will be discussed upon selected scout.

AMBHL Sunday Action
SSAC Lions 5 - St. Albert 3
In a first place showdown, it was SSAC prevailing, firing 52 shots on Patrick Dea en route to the win.  Leading the way once again was Giorgio Estephan with 2-1-3.  Giorgio now has 17-17-34 in just 10 games this season which puts him on about a 120 point pace this season and nearly 60 goals.  98 born Tyler Benson added another 3 assists, giving him 25 points now.  Quinn Greenly, the other player on the line had 3 points giving him 20 points.  For St. Albert, Matteo Gennaro scored twice giving him 7 goals and 15 points this season.  Gennaro now sits tied with Peck and Lazaro for the team scoring lead.  Defenseman Mark Matsuba is making a huge push for the top 3 rounds as he continues to chip in and play strong with another couple helpers.  Matsuba is showing grit and is averaging nearly a point per game.

Sherwood Park 7 - Spruce Grove PAC 2
Sherwood Park continues their strong play in moving to 6-2-1 this season and the Spruce Grove PAC squad continues their struggles dropping to 2-7-1.  A pair of 98 born forwards Skyler Mckenzie and Sam Steel each scored twice for the Flyers.  Sam Steel now has 9 goals and Mckenzie scored his first 2 of the season.  Zachary Klassen continues his strong season stopping 19/21 shots for the win.  For Spruce Grove, team scoring leader Conner Lukan scored his 10th goal in 10 games and his 15th point.  The next best on the club has just 6 points this year.

Airdrie 4 - Calgary Bisons 3
The Xtreme hand the Bisons just their 2nd loss in 11 games with a 4-3 victory.  Airdrie goaltender Ryan Ternes turned aside 30/33 shots and got 1-1-2 from Troy Van Tetering, Ryan Barrow and 98 born Jordan McConnell.  The goal for Van Tetering was just his first of the season.  The current scoring leader remains Dillon Dube with 11 points in 11 games.  The Bisons were once again led by Nick Merkley with 1-2-3 and Braylon Shmyr with 1-1-2.  Merkley now has 33 points in 11 games.

Red Deer Black 5 - Lloydminster 5
The Red Deer Black earn a very tough point against the now 7-2-1 favorites Lloydminster Heat.  Layne Bensmiller scored twice for Red Deer.  Bensmiller is second in Red Deer scoring behind 98 born Tyler Steenbergen.  Lloydminster got goals from 5 different players, including Andrew Koep with his team leading 13th goal of the season in his 10th game.  Kale Clague had a 1-1-2, giving him 13 points in 10 games now.  Nelson Heisler turned away just 13/18 shots.

Camrose 1 - Medicine Hat 1
The night the lights went out in the Hat?  The third period of this one wasn't able to be played due to an apparent power outage at the rink in Medicine Hat.  A battle of two very good AMBHL teams ended in a 1-1 shortened tie.  Landon Pilger scored his 2nd goal of the season since coming back from injury, he now has 4 points in 4 games.  For the Hat, it was Slater Dykema with his 3rd of the season.

Red Deer White 3 - Calgary Northstar Sabres 1
In a game that featured a pair of teams a couple games under .500 this season, it saw the Red Deer White win a low scoring 3-1 game.  Kyle Howarth continued his strong play for Red Deer White with 2 assists.  He now has 12 points in 12 games.  Austin Wagner scored his 6th of the season for the Sabres.  Brody Dirk was strong for Red Deer stopping 23/24 in the win.

Lethbridge 5 - Grand Prairie 4
In a game that featured two of the worst teams in the AMBHL, it was the Lethbridge team who would move to 3-8-1, sinking Grand Prairie to 1-7-2.  Team scoring leader Chase Bell would score his 4th and 5th goals of the season and now has a team leading 16 points in 12 games.  For Grand Prairie, it was also team scoring leader Kolten Dorum with 2 goals, giving him a team leading 6 goals and 10 points.

Saskatchewan - SBAAHL
North East Wolfpack 5 - Notre Dame Hounds AA 4 (Ex)
Jack Flaman scored 1-1-2 for Notre Dame and for the Wolfpack it was Chad Grambo scoring twice and 98 born Bret Stobbs scoring twice in the win.  Kalem Zary was strong with 1-2-3.  Goalie Matt Cresswell earned the win for the Wolfpack who are a league best 7-0-0.

Battleford Barons 8 - Swift Current Kabos Raiders 5
The Barons earn their first win of the season with a big 8-5 win over the now 3-6-0 Swift Current team.  Colton Iron who came over from the now defunct Meadow Lake bantam program scored 3 times and added an assist, giving the 6'2 180 forward 5-2-7 in 4 games.  Blake Robertson scored his 2nd and 3rd of the season and Keifer Hintz had 1-2-3, giving the 5'11 Hintz 7 points in 4 games.  For Swift Current, team scoring leader Kole Lind scored his 7th and 8th and now has 15 points in 8 games.  Colton Adam had 3 points, giving him 12 now.

Winnipeg Bantam League Action (Weekend)
Interlake 5 - Brandon 3
Travis Kilbrei scores two 3rd period goals in breaking open a 3-3 3rd period tie to give them the win.  He now has 5 goals in 5 games this season.  For Brandon, they got goals from 3 different players including one of the lone 98's in the league Tanner Kaspick.  Brandon also had another top 98 in the game in Ty Lewis who earned 1 assist.

The Winnipeg Hawks would play in Thunder Bay for 3 games and lost all three games by scores of: 6-1, 5-2, 6-2.  Of the 5 total goals, Keegan Kolesar would pick up 2-1-3 in the 3 games.

PCAHA Weekend Scores
BWC 10 - Chilliwack 0 Saturday
BWC  7 - Langley 0  Sunday

NSWC 4 - Seafair 2 Saturday

SBAAHL Sunday Update

Saskatchewan
Sask Valley Vipers (4-3-1) 10 - Humboldt Broncos (0-5-1) 3
Terrell Draude explodes on the Broncos for 4 goals and 3 assists for a 7 point game and line-mate Logan Schatz chips in with 2-2-4.  Scott Stewart picked up 3 helpers in the lopsided win. The 6'2 180lb Draude now has 11-13-24 in just 8 league games with 47 penalty minutes. We think he has a strong chance at being picked high in May's bantam draft.  Draude has scored 4 points or more in half of his games so far this year!  For Humboldt the line of Litwin and Atamanchuk were strong and Atamanchuk had 2-1-3, giving him 7  goals in 6 games.  Litwin continues to lead the team in scoring to no surprise with 9 goals and 13 points in 6 games.

Regina Senators (2-2-1) 6 - Yorkton Terriers (3-2-0) 3
Riley Woods and Trent Wyman-Luby would each score twice in the Senators doubling up the Terriers 6-3.  Team scoring leader Arthur Miller would chip in with 3 assists, giving him 4-4-8 this season in just 4 games. Yorkton got goals from 3 different players in the loss.

West Central Wheat Kings (4-2-1) 4 - Swift Current Kabos Raiders (3-5-0) 2
Spencer Bast and Josh Strang provided a pair of goals each in doubling up the Raiders 4-2.  Stang now has 4 goals on the season, while team scoring leader Spencer Bast is now up to 7-10-17 in just 7 games.  Defenseman Cody Ryburg had a pair of helpers, giving him 5 points this season.  For the Raiders, it was Colton Adam with 1-1-2 and he has 9 points in 8 games. 

Balgonie Prairie Storm (4-0-0) 12 - Estevan (1-3-0) 5
The Balgonie Prairie Storm prove once again why they are one of the top teams in all of Saskatchewan by piling up 12goals on Estevan.  Jayden Halbgewachs continues his assault of the SBAAHL with another 5 goals and 1 assist.  He now has an amazing 14-5-19 in 4 games to start the season!!!  Matthew Perkins had a strong game with a 5 point game, giving him 10 points in 4 games. 98 born Taylor Ross picked up the hatty and now has 6 goals in 4 games.  Tyren Brown and Tanner Jeannot each scored twice for Estevan in the loss.  Both players have 4 goals in 4 games now.

Melville Millionaires (2-2-0) 6 - Regina Hurricanes (0-6-1) 4
Donovan Neuls picked up 2-1-3, giving him 6 points in 4 games.  Dakota Boutin had 2 points and 98 born defenseman Dawson Davidson had a pair of assists in the win.  The 98 born Davidson has 6 helpers in 4 games now.  For the Hurricanes it was speedy Chaesten Sare with his first goal of the season and '98 Brett Merk scored his first two of the year.

SBAAHL Standings as of Sunday 7pm MDT
North
North East  7 0 0 14
West Central  4 2 1 9
Sask Valley  4 3 1 9
Prince Albert  1 1 2 4
Battlefords  0 2 1 1
Humboldt  0 5 1 1

South
Prairie Storm  4 0 0 8
Regina Canucks  4 1 0 8
Weyburn  3 2 0 6
Yorkton  3 2 0 6
Swift Current  3 5 0 6
Regina Senators 2 2 1 5
Melville  2 2 0 4
Regina Oilers  2 2 0 4
Estevan  1 3 0 2
Moose Jaw 1 3 0 2
Regina Hurricanes  0 6 1 1

Saturday Morning

For those of you who thought (myself included), that SSAC Southgate Lions of the AMBHL may take a fall this year will have to eat a little crow now.  They are now 7-1-1 which leads the Nitro North over CAC and St. Albert by a point and they have also scored a league high 62 goals, while averaging a league high of almost 7 goals per game. 

SSAC Southgate Lions 8 - Edmonton Kof C Squires 7
Leagues leading scorer Giorgio Estephan would lead the charages once again with 2-2-4 in this one.  Estephan now leads the league in scoring with 15-16-31 in 9 games.  Estephan is making a serious run at making WHL teams pick him first overall in May.  98 born defenseman David Quennville, the brother of last years captain John Quennville put up another 2 goals and 1 assist, he now has 8-6-14 in 9 games.  Tyler Benson who is surging up the rankings had another 3 points, giving him 22 points already.  The achilles heal of the SSAC team this year may be the goaltending and Stuart Skinner allowed 7 goals on 29 shots.  There is no Jordan Papirny this year to steal a sub par effort if need be.  For K of C, 98 born scoring star Alex Rotundo led the way with 2 goals, he now has 7-7-14 in 10 games.  Nico Alucema scored his first 2 goals of the year from defense for K of C.  SSAC would fire 63 shots on the K of C duo of Szudor and Fennell.

Manitoba
The Winnipeg Bantam A1 league this year is very interesting to start.  The new Thunder Bay team looks very strong, having started off 7-2-0 but we won't focus on them since the players on that team aren't eligable for the WHL Bantam Draft.   So shifting focus over to the Winnipeg and area teams, we find the favorite entering in the season - the Winnipeg Sharks winless in 5 games having gone 0-2-3.  More suprising about that is that Dallas Miller has just 5 points in 5 games while Ryan Gardiner has just 3.  Several other stars have yet to really get it going as of yet on the Sharks as well.  The other three Winnipeg teams are basically taking turns beating one another with the Monarchs starting out ahead so far at 5-3-0, Warriors 3-2-0 and the Hawks just 1-1-0 so far. 

Monarchs forward Zach Court, who will have highly ranked for the bantam draft leads all non Thunder Bay players with 5-10-15.  His team-mates Jeremy Leipsic and Jackson Keane are also off to strong starts with 5-7-12 each.  Brandon has several players off to nice starts such as:  James Schearer, Jordy Stallard, Marco Campanella as well as one of the lone 98 born players in the league Tanner Kaspick - all averaging better than a point per game in the early going.  Speaking of 98's, the other one playing in the league and top 10 ranked player for the 2013 draft Dylan Thiessen of the Monarchs also has 2-7-9 in 7 games.  Matthew Gunhouse of the Warriors has 9 points in 5 games.  Also of note, Travis Kilbrei who is highly ranked has 5 goals in 5 games, he plays with Interlake.


more tomorrow, enjoy your hockey today!

'99 born Cold Lake sniper Zane Franklin! Next star?

Last season, while covering the 96 and 97 age groups, we introduced readers to a few of the top 98 born players such as Jaeger White and Kale Clague amongst others.  This year, people are going to get to know Cold Lake Freeze Sniper Zane Franklin.  The scoring prowess of the 5'5 146lb peewee aged player is tremendous.  However, he is not playing peewee hockey, he is playing bantam AA in the ERBHL and scoring a very proficient clip with 11-11-22 in just 6 games.  This playing against players 2 years older than him on most nights. 

A couple years ago, he was part of the provincial champions Marwayne Sled dogs in Alberta and demolished the scoring race in the provincials with 15-13-28 in 5 games.

Time will tell how Franklin turns out as competition improves moving forward. However, there is no denying the skill and production young Franklin has shown thus far!

Chilliwack Tournament All-Stars, Wed highlights

The Chilliwack Tournament wrapped up, and was won by the NSWC Winter Hawks as we all know. A few WHL head scouts who were in attendance have provided a first and second all-star team for the tournament.  Here are the results:

1st Team

Goalie: McBride-BWC
Defence: Bear-POE, O’Shaunessey-NSWC
Forward: Muzil-BWC, Bradley-Semiahmoo, Lawrence-POE

2nd Team
Goalie: Paille Semiahmoo
Defence: Schultz-BWC, Tyler Brown-POE
Forward:  Plotnikoff-Semiahmoo, Chernomaz-NSWC, Bazien-Kamloops



Wednesday Evening Action
AMBHL
Calgary Bronks 4 - Okotoks 0
Mark Rassell continues to impress as he scores scoring 2 goals, giving him 7 goals and 16 points in 10 games now.  Zac Whitby who is 3rd in team scoring added a pair of assists and now has 10 points in 7 games.  Riley Morris turned aside all 22 shots he faced for the shutout.  The Bronks would fire 54 shots on Okotoks goalie Carter Seminuk, including 28 shots in the 3rd period.  The Bronks after going 7-0-0 in the pre-season are middle of the pack so far in the regular season with a 5-3-2 record thus far.  Okotoks have fallen to 2-7-0.

Calgary Northstar Sabres 5 - Airdrie Xtreme 1
A pair of oustanding 98 born players Brayden Dunn and Parker Aucoin would lead the way for the Sabres in the win.  Dunn would score 3 times, giving him 7 this season and 12 points in 11 games.  Parker Aucoin picked up a pair of assists, giving him 7-6-13.  We think both players have a shot at first round status in 2013!  Nicholas Patterson turned aside 34/35 shots.  Airdrie's lone goal came from 98 born Jordan McConnell, his 3rd of the season.  The Xtreme are having a rare off year with a 4-6-1 record.  The Northstar Sabres are now 3-5-3.

St. Albert Sabres 5 - Edmonton MLAC 2
The Sabres still have just one loss this season as they run their record to 6-1-2 and a first place tie with CAC.  St. Albert, who fired 50 shots on MLAC goalie on Erik Szudor got 2 goals from team scoring leader Ethan Lazaro, giving him 8-6-14 so far in 9 games.  Top goalie Patrick Dea had the game off, while backup Matthew Murray turned aside 24/25.  D- Mark Matsuba continued to impress our scouts with strong play and we can expect a huge climb up the rankings for him. 

SBAAHL Wednesday
North East Wolfpack 9 - Humboldt Broncos 3
The Broncos threatened the perfect record of the Wolfpack on Wednesday night by getting out to a 3-1 first period lead, but in the end, it was the Wolfpack who roared back for the convincing win.  The Wolfpack in running their record to 7-0-0 would out-shoot the Broncos 34-12 over the final 2 periods were led by:  Zac Paziuk scoring 3 times, giving him 6-7-13 in 7 games, Caleb Seaman, the younger brother of Brandon Wheatkings forward Tyrell Seamsn scored twice, giving him 9-5-14 in 7 games.  Also chipping in for North East was Thomas Rowlett with 2 goals, giving him 4 while Kalen Zary had 3 assists.  Chad Grambo had 3 points, he now has a team leading 15 and star defenceman Bryce Fiske had 3 points giving him 8 points in 7 games with 42 pims.

Notre Dame Hounds Update
With a fair amount of talk about POE and OHA this season, all seems pretty quiet thus far in regards to the other power house select school - Notre Dame.  This season, they are playing in the South Saskatchewan Midget Hockey League in an attempt for stronger competition and it seems to have worked.  They sit at 2-2-2 through 6 games and have scored a modest 23 goals in those 6 games.  For notable western kids, it is Yorkton's Jarrod Hilderman actually leading the way so far with 4-3-7, while Rylee Zimmer has been a bit of a disappointment with no goals so far in the 6 games.  A player many WHL scouts are watching closely is Salt Lake City, UT born Angus Scott who has a great chance at a first round selection.  He so far has 5 goals in 6 games.  Defenseman Cole Williams has been good with 7 points in 6 games.  It should be interesting to see how this years team measures up in Medicine Hat.  Not sure they are deep as in years past.

Regina Bantam AA Tournament Teams and Pools
Red Pool

Regina Canucks
Saskatoon Bandits
North East Wolfpack
Moose Jaw Warriors

Blue Pool
Prairie Storm
Saskatoon Outlaws
Sask Valley Vipers
Estevan Bruins

Green Pool
Yorkton Terriers
Saskatoon Maniacs
North Battleford Barons
Oakville Rangers

Red Pool

Regina Canucks
Saskatoon Bandits
North East Wolfpack
Moose Jaw Warriors

Blue Pool
Prairie Storm
Saskatoon Outlaws
Sask Valley Vipers
Estevan Bruins

Green Pool
Yorkton Terriers
Saskatoon Maniacs
North Battleford Barons
Oakville Rangers

PCAHA Results - This Week
Cloverdale 2 - Semiahmoo 2
-Cloverdale is now 4-2-1, while Semiahmoo is 3-1-1

BWC 8 - Abbotsford 0
BWC is now 4-0-0, Abbotsford is 0-3-2

Seafair 6 - Chilliwack 2
Seafair is 2-1-1 and Chilliwack is 0-4-1

Langley 3 - Surrey 1
Langley 1-2-2 and Surrey is 1-4-0

NSWC 10 - Cloverdale 1
NSWC is 3-1 and have scored 20 and allowed five.

-Very much looks like NSWC and BWC are the cream of the crop this year with Semiahmoo and Cloverdale showing some inconsistancy.  It will be interesting to see what happends when Tyler Soy returns to Cloverdale and how much they improve.  Seafair has shown some ability to compete but have yet to play the big boys. 

Wednesday News Clippings

Courtesy Kamloops Daily News
Kamloops blows hot and cold early on this year......

The Jardine’s Blazers went 2-2, losing in a semifinal, at the Kelowna Minor Hockey Association’s Bantam Tier 1 tournament on the weekend.


The Blazers opened with a 7-4 loss to the Okanagan Hockey Academy on Friday, with Dexter Robinson, with two, Jacob Faraday and Alex Winters scoring the goals. Josh Shank was in goal for the Blazers.

On Saturday, the Blazers opened with a 7-3 victory over Campbell River as Nick Chyzowski scored three times and Robinson added a pair. Faraday and Maxwell James also scored. Winters had two assists, with Bailey De Palma in goal.

Later Saturday, Chyzowski and Robinson had two goals each in a 6-1 victory over Langley. Kevin Davis and James also scored, while Robinson had two helpers.

On Sunday, Kelowna beat the Blazers 4-2 in a semifinal game. James had both goals for Kamloops, with Robinson and Chyzowski each getting two assists.


Courtesy Airdrie City View
Airdrie finding the going a bit tougher than in years past......

The Airdrie Xtreme hasn’t won a league game this month, but head coach Terry Keogh isn’t ringing the alarm bells just yet.


Its third consecutive loss, a 2-1 defeat to the Calgary Royals at the Ron Ebbesen Arena on Oct. 15, was a result of special teams play, as all three goals were scored while Airdrie was shorthanded.

The Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League club showed strong resolve against the league’s top team, however, Keogh said.

“We certainly showed that we can play at the Royals’ level, we just need to work on our finish,” he said. “We started off strong and took it to them in the first 10 minutes. It was a good game back and forth and it could have gone either way.”

The Xtreme, now 3W-4L-1T on the season, were outshot 13-7 in the scoreless first period before captain Marshall Burr scored on the penalty kill 6:50 into the middle frame. The 1-0 lead was short-lived though, as the Royals scored twice on the power play, two minutes apart, less than three minutes later.

The game-winning goal bounced off a pair of legs and took a ricochet in front of the net, leaving Xtreme goaltender Ryan Ternes no chance at making the save.

Keogh said a string of penalties in the second period disrupted his regular lines.

“There were three penalties we shouldn’t have taken,” he said. “We’re still trying to adjust to the new rules, and we couldn’t control those ones, but we can on the other ones.”

Airdrie will look to get back in the win column when it hosts the Red Deer Rebels White on Oct. 22 at the Ron Ebbesen Arena. Game time is 7:15 p.m.

“There is no panic, but we’re certainly concerned from a confidence standpoint,” Keogh said. “It’s not our play that’s created our record. We just need to be ready around the net, keep creating opportunities and work on the finish.”


Top 5 Scoring Leaders
AMBHL
1.  Nick Merkley  - Calgary Bisons  10GP  15-15-30
2.  Braylon Shmyr - Calgary Bisons  10GP  13-15-28
3.  Giorgio Estephan - SSAC Southgate 8GP  13-14-27
4.  Tyler Benson - SSAC Southgate 8GP  5-14-19 (98 born)
5.  Andrew Koep - Lloydminster Heat  8GP  11-5-16

WPG B1 (not including Thunder Bay)
1. Zach Court - Winnipeg Monarchs  7GP  4-8-12
2. Jackson Keane - Winnipeg Monarchs 7GP  4-6-10
3. Jeremy Leipsic - Winnipeg Monarchs 7GP 4-5-9
4. Reid Stefanson - Winnipeg Monarchs 7GP 3-6-9
5. Matthew Gunhouse - Winnipeg Warriors 4GP 3-4-7

SBAAHL
1.  Terrell Draude - Sask Valley Vipers  7GP  7-10-17
2.  Regan Nagy  - Weyburn Red Wings  5GP  10-4-14
3.  Spencer Bast - West Central Wheat Kings 6GP  5-9-14
4.  Jayden Halbgewachs - Balgonie PS  3Gp  9-4-13 
5.  Chad Grambo - North East Wolfpack 6GP 8-4-12

more tomorrow....

October 24, 2011 newsletter is now ready

Stats have been updated for all Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba players. In addition, POE stats are updated. THE PCACA doesn't produce specific stats, so if any of you have these or would like them included, please forward.


Rankings
The season is now nicely underway in Alberta as the AMBHL season is just over three weeks old and we've had a chance to get out and watch some of the action. There have been some surprises as some players have hit growth spurts from last year and some of the 98 born players have really taken the league by storm early and each is factored in to the adjusted rankings.

There has now been action in both the North and South of the Saskatchewan SBAAHL which has brought some surprise and change to the rankings. The GSHL has gotten underway in Saskatoon which has given us our first look at the good talent in Saskatoon once again. Also the Kelowna Bantam AAA tournament has opened our eyes to several players who have taken huge jumps in size and ability from last season. In addition to the Kelowna tournament, the first of four Winnipeg Showcases took place and the rankings do reflect that.

So with that, we make several additions and some movement near the top and throughout the western Canada 97 and 98 lists. The Medicine Hat tournament teams have been announced. Please visit the blog for updates on that and the list of teams taking part.

Interviews
The Interview section this time around, I speak with a defenseman from B.C. who is trying to fill big shoes left by one of the best in western Canada last yaer.

I also speak with a Saskatchewn born forward who is primed for a surge up the rankings if his hot start continues.

I speak with a captain from Manitoba who was one of the top scorers in the province last year.

Finally, I had a chance to chat with a B.C. forward who is coming off an outstanding Chilliwack tournament.

News and Notes
The Top 20 power rankings make its second appearance on the newsletter. We rank the preliminary teams to watch heading in to the 2011-2012 season.

Listed are the up coming tournaments this season across western Canada as well.

Also, stay tuned to the blog in the coming weeks for other updates.

My husband was involved in a crash (update)

We are all now home safe and sound.  broken leg and headache is all thank goodness.

Kelowna Tournament

Kelowna is hosting an eight team Bantam AAA Tournament this weekend that commenced Friday and ends Sunday.


The pools are:
Pool A - Kelowna, South Delta, Okotoks Oilers, Calgary Stampeders
Pool B - OHA, Kamloops, Langley, Campbell River

Friday Games
OHA 13 Langley 3
In the opening game OHA dominated the puck possession early and never looked back. Brad Morrison used his speed and hands on multiple occasions to walk around the Langley defence and create chances for himself and several others. In the end he finished with 4 goals and 4 assists. The game was very chippy in the third period as OHA continued to dominate the scoresheet and most of the second half of the game was straight time. Brendan Barry picked up the win for OHA.

Kelowna 5 Okotoks 4
This was a very close and even game. Both teams played a very physical style of hockey and have significant size in their lineup. Mason McCarty and Eric Theander were very strong for Okotoks and created several scoring opportunities. The Kelowna offence was spread around the lineup but their big strong forwards, in particular Spencer Coppan and Nicholas Robbins were a major factor in wearing down the Okotoks defence.

Campbell River 5 Langley 2
Langley has several first year players in their lineup and will be a very good team next year. Campbell River used a strong game from their defence to outwork Langley. The game was close going into the third period but Campbell River seemed to want the game more and scored a few key goals in the third to win 5 to 2.

Okotoks 5 South Delta 4
Eric Theander was the player of the game in this one He used his speed to create several chances and scored a key breakaway goal late in the game to shift the momentum after South Delta tied the game in the third when Okotoks ran into penalty trouble. This was a very close game in all aspects. South Delta had several power play opportunities but were unable to convert. The Okotoks goalie Jacob Standen made several important saves in the third and picked up the win.


Kelowna 7 Calgary Stampeders AA 3
The Stampeders are currently leading the Calgary AA League and wanted to use this tournament to see where they stand vs AAA teams They came out skating well and working hard. They didn't get many chances but despite being outshot 19 to 5 in the first period they converted twice and lead 2 to 0 after the first. After a very sluggish start Kelowna slowly took over the game and the second half wasn't a close affair as Kelowna dominated and rolled to a 7 - 3 final.


OHA 7 Kamloops 4
In the final game of the day, OHA came out very fast in this game and Brad Morrison had a hattrick in the first ten minutes and was creating chances all over the ice with his puck pursuit and quickness. OHA has a very strong passing game and uses this and a strong cycle to dominate puck possession down low. OHA also has a very dynamic powerplay and used this to capitalize several times. Brady Reagan contributed with several shots from the point creating rebound opportunities and a very strong defensive game. Kamloops changed their goaltending late in the second down 5 to 2 as Josh Shanks left the game and Bailey DePalma came in to the net. Overall OHA outshot and outplayed Kamloops in all aspects in the first two periods and were up 7 to 2 going into the third period. Kevin Davis started rushing the puck in the third period and had a very strong period creating several chances. Kamloops played much better in the third period but the final was 7 to 4. Ethan Shovanek picked up the win for OHA.

Play resumes today for the round robin portion of the event. The top two teams in each pool will crossover into semi-finals tomorrow morning with the finals taking place tomorrow afternoon.

Medicine Hat Tournament Divisions

Here are the 16 teams who will be taking part in the prestigious Medicine Hat Hockey Hounds tournament.  This is the first tournament of the season that will feature teams from the various provinces facing off against each other.

White

POE Kelowna
SSAC Edmonton
Winnipeg Hawks
Airdrie

Red
Burnaby Winter Club
Calgary Bisons
Lloydminister
Kamloops

GreenSemiahmoo
CAC Edmonton
Notre Dame
Calgary Royals

Blue
NSWC Vancouver
Winnipeg Warriors
St. Albert
Medicine Hat

Western Elite Hockey Prospects Top 5 lists

Now that all the leagues have started up and we a pretty good feel of the teams and players, we thought it would be a good time to offer up a top 5 lists on various categories from teams to players etc....

Teams
Top 5 British Columbia
1.  Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy -  It is no secret that this team is built from players from various parts of Canada.  However, can anyone deny that defense they have which could result in 4 first rounders? How about Jordan Kawaguchi?  Could he rise to the top of the pack, we think top 10 for him.  How about 98 born Tyson Jost, he is quickly rising up the charts for his age group.  Lots of promise here if they can remain calm and discaplaned.

2. Burnaby Winter Club Bruins - Our thought was that this team would be unstoppable entering the season but with the injury to Musil early and Barzal with his ankle has kind of put them on hold.  Can you imagine if Chris Seto stayed at the club?  The team has loads of top end talent with Barzal, Szeto, Musil, Ronning etc...but can the 98's like Uy and Fabbro chip in like the first years did last year? Time will tell.

3.  Semiahmoo Ravens - It has been a while since they have been a force in the PCAHA Flight 1, however this year it seems different.  They have some top end guys like Plotnikoff, Bradley and Craighead who came over from Cloverdale.  Add in 98 born Michael Regush and a strong goaltender in Paille and they have a chance to make noise.  They beat NSWC 3-1 this week already.

4.  North Shore Winter Club Winterhawks -After a down season, they NSWC program is back and in a big way.  They just came off a Chilliwack tournament victory over BWC 2-0 with Dante Hannoun scoring both, not bad for a '98 born!  They have tonnes of balance up front with Dabb, Babych and others who make them a team who you can't just focus on one line like some of the other teams.

5.  Cloverdale Colts - Cloverdale has loads of talent but may lack a bit of defensive depth and goaltending. However, when you look at Tyler Soy who has been injured all year so far and due back at Xmas along with Chris Seto, Jakob Stukel and Tyler Fraser on defense.  They have more than enough to be a good team this year in B.C.

Alberta
1.  Edmonton CAC - There is no denying the offensive talent of this team with Stewart, Marshall, Burke, Dykstra and Gammer who can run 3 lines and beat you.  However, the team has been without its top 2 dmen in Greer and Hetherington all season long which has made it tough on the team in keeping the GAA down.  We think in the end the GAA will come around the CAC is the team to beat.

2.  Calgary Bisons - Another year, another year at the top for the Bisons once again.  The torch has been handed from Merkley/Klimchuk to Point/Macmaster now to Shmyr and Merkley.  This duo has what it takes and more and has led the league in scoring all season long about 1/4 way through.  The Bisons are averaging about 6 goals per game and Merkley and Shmyr are on track for almost 100 points.

3.  SSAC Southgate Lions - In a year where many thought they would take a huge fall down the standings, there they are once again at the top with just one loss in 7 games and scoring over 6 per game. The main difference this year though is that there is no Papirny type goalie to bail them out sometimes. However, Giorgio Estephan is a player who could go 1st overall and is averaging more than a point per game and add in the play of Quinn Greenly and 98's David Quennville and F - Tyler Benson and we'll hear from them all season long.

4.  Lloydminster Heat - Any team that has Kale Clauge and Andrew Koep should be able to compete and perhaps win the league.  But it is there defensive game that has impressed us.  They have allowed just over 2 goals per game.  The defensive style of play is something they will have to hang their hat on all season if they wish to stay up this high in the November rankings.

5.  Calgary Royals - Close call between them and Medicine Hat here.  However, the Royals have shown the ability to roll 3 lines, beat top teams and have a defense that is hard to play against.  They won't "wow" you with pressure like last years Royals led by Duke will but they don't allow alot and are tough to play against.  We don't see this  changing.  Captain Anklewich leads the way offensively, we like his game!

Saskatchewan
1. North East Wolfpack - A team who has built for this year for quite sometime is finally the top dog in the Saskatchewan AA circuit.  Led by a group of forwards who can wear you down such as Caleb Seaman, Zach Paziuk, Tristan Elder, Kalem Zary along with dmen Fiske and goalie Amundrud.  This is a team who should be the odds on favorites to represent Saskatchewan at westerns.

2.  Balgonie Prairie  Storm - There is no doubt about the talent of sniper Jayden Halbgewachs who has started with 7 goals in 2 games already.  Add in top defenseman such as Jake Riddle and Troy Murray and you have a team who should be tough to beat in the South Division of the SBAAHL.

3.  Notre Dame Hounds - They have added arguably the top forward from Manitoba and the Saskatoon Jr. Blades program in Rylee Zimmer as well as Salt Lake City, UT phenom Angus Scott.  Scott scored 4 goals on Saturday against the Midget AA Estevan team!  It will be very interesting to see how this team can do in Medicine Hat cause I believe they don't have the same level of talent as in years past. 

4.  Weyburn Red Wings - Regan Nagy is a first round prospect and as good as they come in Saskatchewan for forward talent.  They have a defense that is mobile and can skate as well as any in the province.  We wonder if the offensive depth after Nagy can show up and can speedy Dmytriw make a difference as a first year?

5.  Saskatoon Bandits - If there is a team from Saskatoon to make noise in the province it will be this team.  Led by Jimmy Lambert who should put up over 60 goals and you add in the likes of the Hobbs bros. with Declan a 98 born and Conner a 97 born as well as Curran Reeve, Kody White and Caylan Chartier and this should be a team to be heard about in tournaments this year.

Manitoba
1.  Winnipeg Sharks -  It is very tempting to not have this team ranked 1st due to their slow start. However, we can't overlook the talents of Dallas Miller, Ryan Gardiner on defense, Purtill and Uhryniak.  So what is the problem?  Why the slow start?  I guess we'll find out soon but a 4-0 loss to Brandon who can't be overlooked should make them give their heads a shake!

2.   Winnipeg Monarchs - They have started off with a bang this year going 3-0-0 and are ranked behind the 0-1-2 Sharks?  We just want to see a bit more but soon enough it will be time to put the Sharks down. The Monarchs are led by a couple very talented forwards named Dylan Thiessen who is a 98 playing aged advanced and could led the league in scoring.  Zach Court is going to make noise this season as well.  Leipsic can score and Noah Layte is a star in the making on defense.

3.  Brandon Wheat Kings - It has been a while for Brandon to make noise in Manitoba as a primarily AA squad but they can beat any of the Winnipeg teams on any given night.  Led by Bradley Schoonbaert Jr. and 98 born Tanner Kaspick the offence can compete this year.  Braden Compton and James Shearer on defense given Brandon a huge edge on many teams in that regard.

4.  Pembina Valley Hawks  - Colt Conrad is going to go lower than he should in the bantam draft but this player has been dynomite in rural Manitoba for years.  He is coming off a tournament victory at the innagural Manitoba Showcase and had  8-5-13 in 4 games, his line-mate Tyler Jensen ledthe tournamant with 15 points in 4 games.  This is a team with loads of depth that could likely beat the Winnipeg teams head to head.

5.  Winnipeg Warriors- Just beating out Kirklan Lycar and his 7 goals in 3 games at showcase are the Monarchs due to depth.  They can roll 3 lines and have a defense that is strong and confident.  Led by that strong defence, they should stay at or near the top early on.

Players - 97 born
1.  Matt Barzal - He still hasn't lost his hold on the #1 spot but players like Gardiner from Winnipeg, Estephan from Edmonton are hot on his heals. How can that ankle injury progress?

2.  Giorgio Estephan - Over shadowed by Barzal in the past couple seasons, Giorgio likely was the most dangerous players for the Alberta champ Lions last year as a first year player.  He will challenge 50 goals and100 points this year.

3. Ryan Gardiner - The top ranked player from Manitoba without much doubt.  Smooth skating, Morgan Reilly type player.  Was called up last year in westerns as was the top dman despite being a year younger than every player on the ice.

4.  Nick Merkley - His brother Jon went 3rd overall and we think Nick has far more potential.  Strong draft year makes him a bit lower but he could easily move up if a team believes in him, we do!

5. Aaron Kellogg - Him or Ethan Bear, take your choice, they are both tied for 5th overall right now.  Kellogg has the best comination of toughess and offensive potential in the draft for defenseman bar none.He

98 born
1.  Jaeger White - He is playing in one of, if not THE best bantam leagues in Canada and started off with 4 multiple goal games in a row.  He smashed Ty Rattie's goal record by 30 or so last year and this year is on track for over 50 as a first year bantam....Want more?

2. Kale Clague - He is neck and neck right now in our scouts minds for 1st overall.  However, his offensive game seems to have gone a bit and is holding back.  He is a top talent who could still go #1 overall, lets see what happens.

3.  Dylan Thiessen - Playing aged advanced yet again, scoring more point than playes a year older than him yet again.  Ho hum, ho hum... look for Dylan to challenge and stay at or near the top all season and next season.

4.  Dante Fabbro - Another in the long lines of talented BWC players.  However, this time it is a dman named Fabbro who will make noise.  Look for Dante to be drafted as high as Griffin Reinhart from Hollyburn a few years ago!

5.  Nolan Patrick - Bloodlines, bloodlines and more bloodlines is what the Patrick name is about in Manitoba.  His uncle, is a coach with Buffalo and Nolan is a pure scorer who won't be stopped.  He started this season with 4 assists in 2 games.  He will find the net more and more as we move forward.

Honorables...Dante Hannoun - NSWC, Dennis Cholowski - Langley, Alex Rotundo - K of C and Tyler Benson - EDM SSAC

For much more, check out the newsletter.

Part 1 - Manitoba AAA Bantam Showcase

Busy weekend it has been around  here but nonetheless, here is an update on some of the weekend happenings, starting off with the Manitoba AAA Bantam Showcase.  This is the first of four bantam showcases this year, 2 of which will be Hockey Manitoba sanctioned.

Saturday
Parkland Jr. Rangers 4 - Brandon Wheat Kings 3
Theron Ash would lead the way for the Parkland Jr. Rangers with a pair of goals in the opening game of the tournament, earning him star of the game for Parkland.  Jayden Catcheway would add 1-1-2 as well.  For Brandon, Coltyn Bates led the way with 1-1-2 and was the star of the game for Brandon.

Eastman Selects 8 - Central Plains Capitals 3
Eastman Selects would score 5 3rd period goals and bust a close 3-1 game after two periods in to a 8-3 drubbing.  Kirklan Lycar was all over the place scoring 5 goals!  He also added an assist for a 6 point game.  Linemate Scott Petkau was 1-5-6.  Tanner Blight was in on all 3 goals for Central Plains going 1-2-3, earning a star in the game. 

Southwest Cougars 4 - Interlake Lightning 1
Wyatt Kalynuk would score twice for the Cougars and Kyle Braybrook voted scouts star of the game for Soutwest as they cruised to a 4-1 victory.  Interlake star forward Travis Kilbrei continues to be one of the lone bright spots for the team scoring the lone goal.

Yellowhead Chiefs 6 - Norman Wolves 4
Tyler Dereniwski had a huge game with 3-1-4, earning first star honors.  Yellowhead also had a big game from Ashton Anderson with 1-2-3 and Jake Coulter with a pair of helpers.  Norman got 3 helpers from Nolan Yaremko and a pair of goals from Nolan Spence in the loss.

Brandon Wheat Kings 2 - Yellowhead Chiefs 0
Landon Wilson had a pair of assists and Bradley Schoonbaert as well as Robert Hechler each scored in leading Brandon to the low scoring victory.  Tyson Verhelst who we have really started to notice got the shut-out for Brandon.

Friday
Pembina Valley Hawks 8 - Yellowhead Chiefs 0
One of the top ranked players in all of Manitoba had a nice start to the tournament with Colt Conrad 3-2-5 and Nolan McGuire had a pair of goals also in the win.  Cole Kehler had the shutout.  Jake Coulter was strong for Yellowhead overall in the contest.

Parkland Rangers 9 - Central Plains Captials 2
Tyler Derkatch was the star of the game for Parkland scoring 2-1-3 and Matthew Greening had a pair of goals in the lopsided win.  Tanner Blight and Scott Neufeld each had 1-1-2 in the loss.

Eastman Selects 2 - Southwest Cougars 1
Eastman would score 2 goals in the 3rd period to defeat Southwest 2-1 in a highly competitive game.  Scott Petkau and Ben Plett both scored in the 3rd period for the Selects.  For Southwest, Wyatt Kalynuk with the lone marker earning star of the game. 

Brandon Wheat Kings 9 - Norman Wolves 0
Norman goalie Jonathon Lamontagne was peppered with over 50 shots, earning him the Norman star of the game in this one, he played well.  For Brandon, Robert Hechler led the way with 3 goals and Bradley Schoonbaert also scored twice with Jesse Lawrence picking up 3 helpers.  The shutout go's to Brody Palmer who faced just 6 shots.

Eastman Selects 3 - Interlake Lightning 2
Kirklan Lycar started the tournament off with a bang with 2 goals, earning star of the game.  Travis Kilbrei was very good for Interlake going 1-1-2.

Tournament Scoring Leaders

Colt Conrad PV(M) 2 6 4 10 2
Kirkland Lycar EST(M) 3 7 1 8 2
Scott Petkau EST(M) 3 2 5 7 1
Jayden Catcheway PRK(M) 3 2 5 7 1
Griffen McLean PV(M) 2 4 2 6 0
Lawson McDonald PV(M) 2 0 6 6 0
Travis Kilbrei INT(M) 3 4 2 6 3
Landon Wilson BRN(M) 3 2 3 5 1
Bradley Schoonbaert BRN(M) 3 3 2 5 0
Jordy Stallard BRN(M) 3 1 4 5 0

Friday late

The Melville AA tournament began tonight with just one game.  The host Millionaires defeated Prince Albert Venice House Raiders 5-4.  Koal Roberts had 2, Neuls, Kreklewich and Dakota Boutin.  For Prince Albert, Campese had 2 goals.
Full slate of games at the tournament tomorrow, stay tuned for updates....

Pursuit of Excellence was in Kamloops tonight and won 6-1.  Jordan Kawaguchi led the way there with 4 goals and 1 assist.

Finally in Winnipeg was the first of 4 Bantam AAA showcases this year to be held in the Province.  One score to report so far saw Brandon beat Norman 9-0.  They outshot Norman 49-4 in the game.  Much more on both tournaments tomorrow morning/afternoon.

Friday Catch-Up

British Columbia
A pair of tournaments took place this past Thanksgiving weekend in both Seafair and Chilliwack.  A brief rundown of each tournament starting with the Seafair tournament.



Brandon Chow in the final vs. Vernon


Seafair Bantam Tournament
The host Seafair Islanders prove to be class of the Thanksgiving Seafair Invitational hockey tournament over the weekend, defeating the Vernon Vipers 7-1 in the final.  Here is more on the tournament from the Richmond Review newspapper: 


Don Fennell Photo

http://www.bclocalnews.com/richmond_southdelta/richmondreview/sports/131551383.html

StandingsBantam Tier 1 Blue


Juan De Fuca  2-1-1  9-11
Mission  3-2-0  17-16  (Won Bronze Medal game)
Seafair  3-1-1  28-11  (Won Tournament Final)
South Delta  1-2-2  12-13

Bantam Tier 1 Orange
Vernon  3-2-0  14-15  (Lost tournament final)
North Delta  0-3-1  7-21
North Vancouver  0-2-2  6-9
POE A2  2-1-1  17-14

Chilliwack Bantam AAA Tournament
The North Shore Winter Club Winterhawks used a balanced attack and some stingy defence in capturing the first major tournament title of 2011 with a 2-0 victory over rival Burnaby Winter Club.  NSWC got a a pair of goals from star 98 born forward Dante Hannoun en route to the victory. BWC lost #1 overall ranked Matt Barzal in the first game of the tournament to an apparent ankle injury - the same injury which cost him most of training camp. 

NSWC was able to advance to the final in easily walking through its group which consisted of Abbotsford, Kelowna and Prince George - outscoring them a combined 21-2.  NSWC then crossed over and defeated Victoria 7-1 and Seattle 7-0, setting up a big match with the also very strong Semiahmoo Ravens.  The Ravens were doing similar in the tournament in terms of success up to that point in winning all three of their group games over Victoria, OHA and Seattle and outscored them in the process 27-5.  However it should be pointed out that they had a highly contested game vs. OHA in group play winning 5-3.  In the cross over, Semiahmoo beat Prince George 6-2 and another great game vs. OHA in winning 3-2 to advance to the semi's.  Semiahmoo was led all tournament long by the line of Matt Bradley, Cole Plotnikoff and Darien Craighead in setting up a clash with NSWC.  In the Semi Final, NSWC would be the team proving to be too much in steam rolling Semiahmoo 7-0.  The win put NSWC to 6-0-0 in the tournament and would await the winning from the other side.  NSWC to this point have outscored the opposition a remarkable 42-3!

In the other half of the tournament draw featured a pair of power house teams in western Canada with BWC and POE in each side of this draw.  BWC advanced from their group going 2-0-1, including a 4-4 tie against Wenatchee.  While POE would outscore the teams in their group 33-4 including a 16-0 win over host Chilliwack and a huge 9-2 over Chris Seto and the Cloverdale Colts who were without Tyler Soy for the tournament.  In the cross over, POE beat Port Coquitlam and then Cloverdale once again, this time 5-2 to advance to the semi finals.  BWC would get by Chilliwack 10-2 and Kamloops 9-1 to advance for a clash of the titans against POE.  The POE/BWC would feature a lack of discipline on the POE side who were without 2 top forwards and ended up falling to BWC for their first loss of the season in losing 4-2 setting up an all winter club final to which NSWC won 2-0 which was stated above.

All and all a great tournament with Semiahmoo showing strong until meeting NSWC and losing 7-0.  However it should be pointed out that NSWC lost to Semiahmoo last night in tiering 3-1 so it does seem that perhaps on any given night NSWC, Semiahmoo, BWC and POE can perhaps beat each other.  Cloverdale once they get Tyler Soy back around Xmas will make some noise as well.  Kamloops blew hot and cold but could get hot and make a bit of noise from the interior with the likes of Winters and Davis on defence to go with Bazien and Chyzowski up front.

Alberta
Sherwood Park 3 - Edmonton CAC 2
The AMBHL continued last night with just one game on the sked.  It was Edmonton CAC sufforing their first loss of the season in falling to the defensive minded Sherwood Park Flyers and their three headed monster of defenseman in Reagan, Guhle and Boulton.  The Flyers were led by the red hot Grayson Pawlenchuk who scored 2 of the 3 goals on the night, 98 born scoring star Sam Steel would score the other.  For CAC who continued to play without 2 of their top defenceman in Justin Greer and Damon Hetherington got goals from Dykstra and big 6'1 defenceman Clayton Eisler.  Brayden Burke, Dylan Stewart and Andrew Marshall were all held in check on the night.

Calgary Royals 5 - Calgary Bronks 3
From Wednesday night in an all west Calgary rivalry, it was the kids from the South beating the kids from the North 5-3.  The Royals remain undefeated at 5-0-1 while allowing just 12 goals in 6 games thus far.  The Bronks are now 3-2-2 after going 7-0-0 in the pre-season.  For the Royals, 2nd year player Tyler Rohl scored 2 goals, including the GWG - his first goals of the season, and red hot Mark Rassell scored twice for the Bronks.  Rassell now has 12 points in 7 games which quite easily leads the team.  Also of note from the Bronks is Elynuik who has 47 pims in 7 games!  Royals G- Jake Morrissey stopped 26/29 shots for the win.

Saskatchewan
The first major hockey tournament of the season will take place in Melville this weekend. 


Friday
7:30 PM - 9:45 PM Bantam AA Tournament - Mills vs PA -- 7:30pm - 9:45pm HCU
Saturday
9:00 AM - 10:45 AM Bantam AA Tournament - Yorkton vs Humboldt -- 9am - 10:45am HCU
11:00 AM - 12:45 PM Bantam AA Tournament - Estevan vs Weyburn -- 11am - 12:45pm HCU
1:00 PM - 2:45 PM Bantam AA Tournament - PA vs Prairie Storm -- 1pm - 2:45pm HCU
3:00 PM - 4:45 PM Bantam AA Tournament - Humboldt vs Mills -- 3pm - 4:45pm HCU
5:00 PM - 6:45 PM Bantam AA Tournament - Weyburn vs Yorkton -- 5pm - 6:45pm HCU
7:00 PM - 8:45 PM Bantam AA Tournament - Prairie Storm vs Estevan -- 7pm - 8:45pm HCU
Sunday
9:00 AM - 10:45 AM Bantam AA Tournament - Humboldt vs Estevan -- 9am - 10:45am HCU
9:00 AM - 10:45 AM Bantam AA Tournament - PA vs Weyburn -- 9am - 10:45am Merv Moore Sports Plex
11:00 AM - 12:45 PM Bantam AA Tournament - Prairie Storm vs Yorkton -- 11am - 12:45pm HCU
1:00 PM - 2:45 PM Bantam AA Tournament - 3 or 5 Seed vs 4 or 6 Seed -- 1pm - 2:45pm HCU
3:00 PM - 4:45 PM Bantam AA Tournament - 3 or 5 Seed vs 4 or 6 Seed -- 3pm - 4:45pm HCU
5:00 PM - 6:45 PM Bantam AA Tournament - 1 seed vs 2 Seed -- 5pm - 6:45pm HCU

In SBAAHL action it was the Praire Storm once again winning by defeating a very big Yorkton squad 5-2.  Jayden Halbgewachs who had a 5 goal game to open the season scored 2 more, giving him 7 already this season in his first 2 games played.  Halbgewachs also added an assist to give him 7-2-9 in 2 games. 

More later.....

WEHP Announce Top 10 Team Rankings

WEHP is proud to announce this morning the top 10 team rankings for Western Canada.

1.   Pursuit of Excellence
2.   Burnaby Winter Club
3.   Edmonton CAC
4.   Calgary Bisons
5.   Winnipeg Sharks
6.   North Shore Winter Club
7.   Lloydminster Heat
8.   SSAC Southgate Lions
9.   Semiahmoo Ravens
10. Medicine Hat Hockey Hounds

Honorable Mentions
Cloverdale Colts
North East Wolfpack
Winnipeg Monarchs
Calgary Royals

October 10, 2011 newsletter is now ready

Happy Thanksgiving to the Canadian Readers!

Rankings
The season is now nicely underway in Alberta as the AMBHL season is just over two weeks old and we've had a chance to get out and watch some of the action. There have been some surprises as some players have hit growth spurts from last year and some of the 98 born players have really taken the league by storm early and each is factored in to the adjusted rankings.

There has now been action in both the North and South of the Saskatchewan SBAAHL which has brought some surprise and change to the rankings. The GSHL has gotten underway in Saskatoon which has given us our first look at the good talent in Saskatoon once again. Also the Chilliwack Bantam AAA tournament has opened our eyes to several players who have taken huge jumps in size and ability from last season.

So with that, we make several additions and some movement near the top and throughout the western Canada 97 and 98 lists. The Chicago showcase is underway this weekend and reports have been flooding in on several players who are performing well against some of the best competition in the United States.

Interviews
The Interview section is very interesting this time around with several good stories. I speak with a player who spent some time in Alaska, Saudi Arabia playing hockey and is now one of the top 98 born players in Alberta.
I speak a player from Manitoba who has had many family members play or coach in the NHL. He is an elite talent.
We speak with an Alberta born player who could very well be the next best 98 scorer after Jaeger White in the province.
I speak with a player from the United States who is taking his talents to Notre Dame Bantam AAA this season.
Finally, I speak with a talent from Saskatchewan who is making bigtime noise and should keep improving this season.

News and Notes
The Top 20 power rankings make its second appearance on the newsletter. We rank the preliminary teams to watch heading in to the 2011-2012 season.

Listed are the up coming tournaments this season across western Canada as well.

Saturday, October, 8th, 2011 (Late Update)

Saskatchewan
Prairie Storm 10 - Regina Hurricanes 1
The Balgonie Prairie Storm won their opening game of the season over the Regina Hurricanes 10-1 on Thursday night.  Jayden Halbgewachs who we expect to be a high draft pick in May despite his 5'6 inch frame scored 5 goals and added an assist. 

North East Wolfpack 6 - West Central Wheat Kings 0
In other SBAAHL news, the North East Wolfpack ran their record to 3-0-0 with yet another convincing 6-0 victory over West Central.  Tristan Elder, Caleb Seaman and Matt Goudy all had 3 points in the win.  The Wolfpack who are expected to be the dominant team of the North in the SBAAHL have now outscored the opposition 21-2.  Grambo, Seaman and Paziuk all lead the team with 7 points in the 3 games.

Alberta
Camrose 5 - Ft. Saskatchewan 2
Camrose has now run their record to 3-1-0 with a 5-2 win over the now 0-4-0 Ft. Saskatchewan squad.  Ft. Saskatchewan have only scored 6 goals in four games which suggests Aaron Kellogg and company could be in for a rather long season.  Speaking of Kellogg, he did not play in this one.  Curtis Miske was the star of the game for Camrose scoring 3 goals and adding an assist.  He now leads the team with 7-3-10 in the 4 games.  Cristopher Breese and Jordan Butler each scored their first goals of the season for Ft. Saskatchewan. 

St. Albert 4 - Edmonton K of C 2
The wildness has finally ended for K of C who were having wild scoring game after wild scoring game to start the season.  This time around Patrick Dea was too much, turning aside 37/39 shots he faced in leading his team to victory.  The St. Albert offence game primarily from its strong defenseman with Mark Matsuba and 98 born Josh Mahura each scoring while Brendan Kallis picked up 2 helpers.  k of C got another goal from the red hot Kole Bryks who now has 8-4-12 in 6 games to start. 

Tournament Action
Chilliwack Bantam AAA Tournament

Saturday early action featured a few more blowouts as POE defeated Chilliwack 16-0.  Semiahmoo over Victoria 11-1.  No big upsets to this point in the tournament.  More interested games this evening, we'll keep you posted with some of the goal scorers etc later on.

End Saturday
Abbotsford  1-2-0  8-19
North Shore Winter Club 3-0-0 21-2
Kelowna 2-1-0 15-10
Prince George 0-3-0 6-19
Semiahmoo 3-0-0 26-5
Victoria Raquet Club 0-2-1 7-19
Okanagan Hockey Academy 1-1-1 13-12
Seattle 1-2-0 10-20
Port Coquitlam 0-3-0  6-22
Burnaby Winter Club 2-0-1 17-8
Kamloops 2-1-0 13-8
Wenatchee 1-1-1 15-13
Cloverdale 2-1-0  20-12
Chilliwack 0-3-0  5-32
Pursuit of Excellence 3-0-0  33-4
Nanaimo 1-2-0  10-20

Chicago 97 born Showcase
Several Western USA teams are taking part in a showcase over in Chicago this weekend.  The L.A. Selects, Colorado Thunderbirds, Colorado Rampage, L.A. Jr. Kings, Rocky Mountain Roughriders, Dallas Stars and Russell Stover.

Dallas Stars 7- Madison 0
Patrick Fun and Henry Crone each scored 3 times in a 7-0 win. 

Detroit Belle Tire 15 - Colorado Rampage 1
Rampage over matched being outshot 57-6 with Terrance Cavanaugh scoring the lone Rampage goal.

Colorado Thunderbirds 7 - Victory Honda 1
CJ Dodero was the star of the game with 3 goals and Jaren Yatsu 2-1-3.  Jesse Sepper was solid in goal.

L.A. Selects 6 - Pittsburgh Hornets 1
Robby Jackson was the star of the game with 3-2-5 and Evan Sarthou stopped 9/10 shots he faced.

RM Roughriders 3 - Cleveland Barons 0
Daniel Geiger stopped all 13 shots for the shutout.  Vincent Mastrandrea scored and was star of the game.

RM Roughriders 4 - Victory Honda 4
Kyle Cagnoni was the lone multiple point scorer with 2 goals.  Manstrandrea scored once again.

Dallas Stars 2 - Chicago Fury 2
D- Caleb Jones with 1-1-2.  We are pretty sure he is a brother of Seth Jones who is with the USA NTDP program.

Belle Tire 4 - L.A. Selects 3
Patrick Khodorenko led the way with 1-1-2.  He has 2 goals in 2 games now.  Ty Comrie scored his 2nd.  Robert Jackson scored again.

Colorado Thunderbirds 9 - Cleveland Barons 0
CJ Dodaro and Zach Goberis each score twice.  Paradise and Lebauer each 1-2-3 in the win.  Evan Smith stops all 20 shots he faced.

Early tournament blowouts in Chilliwack

BWC Bruins 8 - Port Coquitlam 1
Nick Holowko scored 2 goals, Matt Barzla got 2 and got singles from 98 born Kyle Uy, Adam Musil, Bruno and Ty Schultz were among the goal scorers.  Ty Ronning got 2 assists....  Next up for BWC will be games tomorrow against Luke Van Schaak and Wenatchee.  Then later in the day against Kamloops.

Cloverdale Colts 9 - Chilliwack 2
Chris Seto paced the attack with 3-1-4 and Jordan Henderson would pick up 1-2-3 to lead the way for the Colts who were without Tyler Soy who has a broken finger.  Jacob Stukel, D-Tyler Fraser, Connor Petry and Conner Folick would add singles.  Next up for the Colts is Nanaimo early on and then a big matchup with POE late in the day.

Semiahmoo Ravens 10 - Seattle Jr. Admirals 1
Cole Plotnikoff scored 3 goals, Matt Bradley and Mitch Newsome each had 2 goals to pace the attack.  They also got singles from Fletcher, Wesley and Craighead.  The line of Plotnikoff, Craighead and Bradley were on fire all game long with Plotnikoff have a 5 point game, Craighead with a 5 point game and Bradley the same.  The Ravens will play OHA and Victoria tomorrow.  They could be looked at as an early favorite.  For Seattle, top prospect D- Daniel Woolfenden was relatively quiet.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Manitoba
The Winnipeg Bantam AAA league has had a few games take place already with Brandon defeating Interlake 4-3 in a Shoot out.  Brandon outshot the Lightning 57-26.  Jordan Stallard had 1-2-3 and Colton Bates and Bradley Schoonbaert each had 1-1-2. 

Brandon then travelled to Winnipeg to take on the Winnipeg Monarchs and came up just short, losing 4-3.  Brandon would get goals from Jordan Stallard, Bradley Schoonbaert and Marco Campanella, goalie Tyson Verhelst made 22 saves. 

Last night, the Winnipeg Warriors defeated the Interlake Lightning 6-2.  No goals scorers were available at the time of this writing.

Saskatchewan
Regina Canucks 5 - Regina Senators 0
-The Regina Canucks would go 3/16 on the power-play and the Senators just 0/4 in the 5-0 Canucks win.  The Canucks would get goals from 5 different players with Matt Bohay and Cole Beingessner each going 1-1-2.  There were 11 checking to the head penalty's which included 8 double minors and a major penalty.  The SBAAHL is really clamping down on these head shots and it has been a bit painful to watch at times.  Trent Wyman-Luby received a pair or 4 min checking to the head penalty's and a major for checking to the head.

Melville Millionaires 11 - Notre Dame Hounds AA 7
This is on the Notre Dame Hounds you will see at tournaments such as St. Albert or Medicine Hat.  This is a AA squad that used to play in the Regina Bantam AA league.  Melville would get out to 4-0 and 7-1 lead in this one and never looked back.  They were led by Rykr Cole and Dakota Boutin who would each have 5 point games.  Cole had 3 goals and Boutin with 2.  Tyler Kreklewich and Mitchell Cook each would score 2 goals as well.  For Notre Dame, Manuel Manero and Rhett Kingston each scored 2 goals.

Also, the GSHL got underway on Tuesday night with a pair of games.  The Generals beat the Maniacs 7-4 while the Frostbite beat the bandits 5-4.  I will have more information on these games later in the day.....

Alberta
Edmonton K of C 6 - Edmonton MLAC 4
Fire wagon hockey continues for the now 3-2-0 K of C squad in the 6-4 victory.  One thing is forsure with K of C is that they aren's short on offence.  Kole Bryks would score 3 goals, giving him 7 already.  98 born scoring star Alex Rotundo who we think is a sure fire first rounder next year scored 2 goals, giving him 5-5-10 in 5 games.  Rotundo, Harriott and Bryks are all averaging 2 points per game or better.  For MLAC, another 98 born talented scorer - Nolan Volcan scored twice, he now has 2-3-5 in 3 games.

Edmonton CAC 5 - Edmonton SSAC 5
CAC met their match last night as the Giorgio Estephan led SSAC were able to hold CAC at bay for most of the night, allowing just 15 shots.  G- Matthew Berlin would have an off night stopping just 10/15 shots as CAC got 2 goals from Cole Gammer, giving him 3-4-7 now on the season.  Star forwards Dylan Stewart and Brayden Burke each had 1-1-2 in the game.  CAC were without arguably their top 2 defenseman as Justin Greer and Damon Hetherington were both out of the lineup.  For SSAC, Giorgio Estephan scored 3 goals, giving him 8-4-12 in 4 games.  We expect Estephan to go top 5 in the WHL bantam draft next May.  98 born Tyler Benson had 2 more assists, giving him 9 points in 4 games played already and D- David Quennville had another point, giving him 6 in 4 games.  CAC is now 4-0-1 and SSAC is 2-1-1.

St. Albert 5 - Leduc 4
A furious 3rd period come back by St. Albert handed Leduc their first loss of the season, making both teams 3-1-0 now.  St. Albert would score 3 - 3rd period goals, 2 by Matteo Gennaro and the GWG by Cameron Mazur.  Gennaro now has 4 goals in his 3 games played and 6 points.  For Leduc, they got goals from 4 different players with D- Gordon Ballhorn and Tristan Starzynski with 1-1-2.  The St. Albert goalie Matthew Murray (backup to Patty Dea) was strong, stopping 42/26 shots in the win.

Calgary Royals 4 - Calgary Bisons 3
In a battle of the two Calgary south rival, it was the defensive minded, well balanced Royals to come out on top of the Nick Merkley and Braylon Shmyr led Bisons 4-3.  Zach Sawchenko, who we feel is one of the top goalies in the province of Alberta this season stopped 31/34 shots in leading his team to victory.  Zach Schillenger was the only multiple point producer for the Royals with 2 goals, giving him his first 2 goals at 2-2-4.  The team leading in points for the 4-0-1 Royals has just 2-5-7 for captain Cameron Anklewich.  The Bisons got 3 assists from Nick Merkley, he now leads the league in scoring with 9-12-21 in only 6 games.  Merkley is well on track for over 50 goals and 100 points.  We have him as a top 5 prospect as his brother Jay was 2 years ago, going 3rd overall to Lethbridge.  Braylon Shmyr scored his 10th of the season in the loss, he has 17 points.  After the Merkley and Shmyr show, the Bisons next leading scorer is 1999 age advanced player Kyle Olsen with 4-4-8.

Next up for the AMBHL is a tournament featuring 8 teams in Red Deer.
Here are the teams taking part:
Calgary Bisons
Spruce Grove
Red Deer White
Red Deer Black
Calgary Northstar Sabres
Aidrie
Grand Prairie
Yorkton

- On the surface it sure looks like Yorkton, Grand Prairie and perhaps Spruce Grove are going to be severly over matched in this tournament.  We could see an all Calgary final!

British Columbia
Of course this weekend, the 16 team Chilliwack Invitational Bantam AAA tournament gets underway tomorrow at noon.  We have a couple people covering the tournament and hope to have updates as the tournament progresses through the weekend.  Stay tuned!!

Chilliwack Tournament - Scout needed

We are looking for a temporary scout to cover the Chilliwack Bantam Invitational AAA tournament this weekend.  The tournament will feature 16 teams and begins Friday at noon.  The schedule can be found here: http://cmha.goalline.ca/page.php?page_id=11962.  Most of the games will be at the Twin Rinks so there is no need to cover the games over at the other rink.

I would be looking for a re-cap of games attended and a brief report of any highlights of the game in terms of stand out player or goal scorers etc.

If anyone is in the Chilliwack area and will be attending the tournament, the help would be appreciated and you can reply to hockey_scout@live.ca if interested.

regards,

western elite hockey prospects

WEHP Announce Top 10 Team Rankings

WEHP are proud to announce our 2nd 2011-2012 team rankings for the season.

1.   Burnaby Winter Club Bruins
2.   Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy
3.   Edmonton CAC
4.   Calgary Bisons
5.   Winnipeg Sharks
6.   North Shore Winter Club Winterhawks
7.   Calgary Royals
8.   Leduc
9.   Medicine Hat Hockey Hounds
10. Lloydminster Heat

Honorable Mentions
North East Wolfpack
Winnipeg Hawks
Semiahmoo Ravens
SSAC Southgate Lions

**Notre Dame bantam AAA hounds have been deleted from the list due to playing in the Midget AA league in Saskatchewan.

Weekend Re-cap

Manitoba

The Winnipeg AAA hockey season got underway on Saturday with the Brandon Wheatkings taking on the Interlake Lightning.  Of note on Brandon is that they have a player on the roster playing age advanced in Tanner Kaspick - he looks to be a very offensive player that we should all keep an eye on this season.  In this game, the Wheatkings would win in a shoot-out over Travis Kilbrei and the Lightning 4-3.  Brandon held a heavy edge in shots on goal 57-26.  Action will really heat up on the weekend with all teams getting in to action.

Saskatchewan
The Saskatchewan Bantam hockey scene is underway now with the SBAAHL in full swing while the GSHL hockey season in Saskatoon will get underway this week.

SBAAHL ACTION
North East Wolfpack 9 - Prince Albert Venice House Raiders 2
The once dominant Prince Albert bantam squad are finding things a bit more competitive in the newly formed SBAAHL.  Matthew Campese was a factor with 1-1-2 but the Raiders seem to lack size and depth this year to compete with much older squads who have built for this season.  For the Wolfpack Chad Grambo had a huge game with 3-2-5 and his line-mates Kalem Zary and Zac Paziuk had multiple point games as well.  Rock solid play from Bryce Fiske was also evident in this game.
**Check to the head count 12!!!!!

Swift Curren Kubos Raiders 5 - Melville Millionaires 2
The Raiders combination of Kole Lind and Colton Adam would prove way too much for the frustrated Millionaires as they would cruise past Melville 5-2.  Lind had 3-2-5 and Adam 2-1-3 and were the only two players to find the score-sheet in the victory.  Kreklewich and Neuls would reply for Melville.  There were 15 total power-plays in the game with the teams going a combined 0/15 with the man advantage.
**Check to the head count  5

Sunday action
North East Wolfpack 6 - Sask Valley 0
If you want a bit of a statement on who may be the team to beat early on in the North of the SBAAHL it just may be North East.  They have now piled in 15 goals in 2 games, while allowing just 2.  Nik Amundrud who is a bit under-rated at this point turned aside all 38 shots for the shut-out.  This coming against some very talented Sask Valley shooters.  For the Wolfpack, it was Caleb Seaman with 2-1-3 and also the line of Zary, Paziuk and Grambo would combine for another 5 points with Zary and Grambo both scoring. 
**Check to the head count 6.  Terrell Draude received a pair of 4 min ones and was kicked out.

West Central Wheat Kings 3 - Battleford Barons 2
The Battlefords would fire 46 shots but fail to beat a very determined West Central goalie Conner Kidd on this night.  Spencer Bast was very strong with 2-1-3 and Brandon Arnold 1-1-2 led the way.  For the Battleford Barons, it was Robertson and Bendall scoring while highly touted Keifer Hintz was held in check for most of the night.
**Check to the head count 0!!

Yorkton UCT Terriers 2 - Swift Current Kubos Raiders 1
In a game that would feature 16 power-plays and no goals the Terriers would skate to a 2-1 victory.  Pelechaty and Rohatshynsky would score for Yorkton in winning their first game of the season.  For Swift Current, Marcus Kuori scored the lone goal while Kole Lind has been in on all 6 of the Swift Curreng goals this season now by picking up the assist.
**Check to the head count 5

Alberta
Lloydminster 2 - St. Albert 1
In a battle of two teams we expect to be near the top of the AMBHL North standings all year long, it would be the Heat with the 2-1win.  Brayden Wilson and Tanner Cleck would score the Lloydminster goals while the likes of Koep, Clague and Fischer were all held silent. Tucker Cochrane turned aside 29/30 for the win.  St. Albert's lone goal was scored by the red hot Ethan Lazaro.  One of the leagues top goalies Patrick Dea would stop 39/41 shots.

Okotoks Oilers 3 - RD Black 2
10-11 South rookie of the year Mason McCarty had 2-1-3 and defenseman Eric Theander had a pair of assists in leading the Oilers to their first win in 5 games with a narrow 3-2 victory.  Jacob Standon turned aside 35/37 shots.  For RD Black, Tyler Graber and TJ Brown would score their first goals of the season each.  98 forward we are watching Tyler Steenbergen was held off the score-sheet and has  4 points in 5 games to start.

Medicine Hat 7 - RD White 6
The offence of the 98- Jaeger White led Medicine Hat Hockey Hounds was too much in out gunning the RD White team  7-6.  White scored his 3rd consecutive 2 goal game to start his bantam hockey career and now has 6 through 3 games.  Fellow 98 born Michael Clarke would score once again and Woody Galbraith had 3 helpers.  Chase Olsen had 2-1-3 for RD White and he has been somewhat of a surprise with 9 points in 6 games so far.  Jesse Freeborn had 1-1-2 and now has 4 points with 22PIMS.  He will be a player to watch closely for the top 2 rounds this year.

Camrose 8 - Spruce Grove 6
Big 6'2 Curtis Miske would prove a force once again with 3-2-5 and Braeden Harke the same 3-2-5 in leading the very big Camrose squad to victory.  Landon Pilger did not play in the game.  Conner Lukan scored 3 times also for Spruce Grove, Lukan now has 4-2-7 in 4 games to start.  Spruce Grove forward Justin Jacobsen would recieve 3 double minor for checking to the head in the game. 

Edmonton SSAC 10 - Grand Prairie 3
The reigning AMBHL champs cruise to an early season drubbing over the struggling Grand Praire squad.  Top 5 ranked Giorgio Estephan would go 3-2-5 and Quinn Greenly 1-4-5 in the win.  98 star players David Quennville scored once again and Tyler Benson is making an early case for North rookie of the year as he had 2-1-3, giving him 7 points and 14 pims in 3 games. 

more AMBHL later.

Notes:
POE defeated OHA in a battle of the academy clubs in the OMAHA 7-0, putting to rest the thought of OHA being on par with them.  POE has yet to receive much of a challenge early on and have allowed just 1 goal in 7 games so far.

The PCACA will get underway this week.

Saturday, October 1st, 2011

The Winnipeg AAA bantam hockey league will get underway today as Travis Kilbrei and Interlake will head to Brandon to take on Bradley Schoonbaert Jr. and the Brandon AAA Wheatkings.

A couple new wrinkles to the league will see Pembina Valley have a team that will play several exhibition teams in the league.  Also new, is that there will be a team from Thunder Bay taking part in the league.  However, none of the players from the Thunder Bay team will be eligable for the WHL bantam draft, so that is kind of different.

As usual, we'll cover any stories and highlights of each evenings games that are note worthy throughout the entire season.

Saskatchewan
The newly formed SBAAHL got underway on Thursday night and another game was played last night, both feature North Division match-ups.

Sask Valley Vipers 6 - Battleford Barons 3
The Vipers got off to a very slow start, finding themselves down 3-1 early in the 2nd period and being out-shot at that point almost 2-1 on goals by Keifer Hintz, D-Matt Vidal and Colten Iron.  In fact, the line of Hintz and Troy Gerein were forces all evening long.  Shortly after, Sask Valley would strike for 3 PP goals in a span of just under 10 minutes.  Terrell Draude, Clayton Mackenzie and Day Liin Smallchild would all score.  Draude, who we think has a great chances at going first round in the bantam draft would score 1-3-4 in the game.  Clayton Mackenzie would finish with 2 goals while Schatz and Maley each had 2 helpers.  Power-plays were a huge story as the league cracks down on checking to the head with Sask Valley going 3/9 and the Battlefords 2/11.
**Checking to the head count 7!!!

Prince Albert Venice House Raiders 5 - Humboldt Broncos 5
In a back and forth type of game, the Raiders would get out to a 3-1 lead, only to trail 5-3 late in the 3rd and eventually end in a 5-5 tie.  Leading the way for the Raiders was Lochlan Morrison, Jordan Bryshun and Tanner Fiddler each with 1-1-2.  Lochlan Morrison is expected to be one of the top defenseman in the province of Saskatchewan as he combines size, skill and toughness.  Matthew Campese was not in the line-up for the Raiders.  For Humboldt, highly skilled forward Drew Litwin who should go in the top 3 rounds had 3-1-4 -  He will be one of the scoring leaders all season long.  Defenseman Connor Odelein had 1-1-2.  Top 98 born forward Shane Sherban was held to 1 assist.

SBAAHL action continues today with 3 more games.

Alberta
Thursday Action.....


Calgary Northstar Sabres 4 - Calgary Royals 4
Fit to be tied are the Northstar Sabres early in the 2011-2012 season.  The Sabres have now 3 ties in 4 games to start the campaign.  Jordan Xavier would led the way once again for the Sabres with 2 goals, he now has 3-2-5 in 4 games.  98 born forward Parker Aucoin once again found the score-sheet with his 2nd of the season.  Jeremy Phillips turned aside 32/36 shots.  For the Royals, they continue to get a balanced attack with 4 different goal scorers.  Every roster player on the Royals have atleast 2 points in 4 games thus far with the exception of a pair of defenseman who have 0.  Cameron Anklewich leads the way for the Royals with 2-4-6, while Kelton Driedger and 98 born Sean Montgomery have 4 goals each.
**Checking to the head count 3

Sherwood Park 8 - Edmonton K of C 4
Sherwood Parks is now 2-1-0 with the win, while K of C drops to 2-2-0 with the loss.  Leading the way for Sherwood Park was 98 born Sam Steel, D- Cameron Reagan and Grayson Pawlenchuk all with 2 goals.  Pawlenchuk would add 3 assists for a huge 5 point game.  Jesse Zaharichuk would add 4 helpers.  Pawlenchuk leads the team in scoring early on with 7 points in 3 games.  Sherwood Park would fire 58 shots on the K of C goal-keepers.  For K of C, Tyree Harriott who is also a track star had 1-1-2 and PJ Morrocco had 1-1-2.
**Check to the head count 3.

Edmonton CAC 7 - Edmonton K of C 5
A night after K of C was involved in a 100 shot game combined with Sherwood Park, this time around they would allow 43 more shots and 73 combined in another high scoring affair.  Leading the way for CAC was highly touted Dylan Stewart with 2 goals, giving him 5-1-6 in 3 games for the 4-0-0 CAC squad.  Derek Brown would also chip in with 1-1-2.  CAC now has 8 players with a point per game or more.  Also of note, Justin Greer has 36 PIM in 4 games.  For K of C, Tyree Harriott continued his hot start with 2-1-3, he now has 4-5-9 in just 4 games!  98 born Alex Rotundo had 1-1-2 and is 3-4-7 in 4 games, not bad for a first year kid.
**Check to the head count 3.  Burke and Greer each received game misconducts.

British Columbia
The opening game of the OMAHA Bantam Tier 1 Regular Season took place last night at Wesbild in Vernon. OHA manhandled Vernon 12 to 4 in a very one-sided affair. 

The 98s Beck Malenstyn and Davis Koch were very prominent on the scoresheet with Malenstyn scoring 4 times. 

On Sunday afternoon, two undefeated teams meet for the first time this season as POE travels to Penticton to play OHA at the South Okanagan Event Center's Training Arena.