The 16-team draw for the John Reid Memorial Tournament will be finalized next Friday by the selection committee but four United States’ teams have been confirmed for the Jan. 15 to 18 competition.
The Los Angeles Jr. Kings, Dallas Jr. Stars Elite, Colorado Thunderbirds and Anaheim Jr. Ducks were chosen for the 37th annual St. Albert bantam AAA tournament based on their play against nationally ranked teams last season and in spring tournament play.
Dallas is also returning after going 1-4 last year.
HC Kometa Brno of the Czech Republic has withdrawn from the tournament due to circumstances beyond its control. The first European team in tournament history finished 2-2-1 as the C playoff bracket champions in its 2014 debut.
The host St. Albert Gregg Distributors Sabres lost four games and tied one while outscored 18-9 as the only winless team in last year’s tournament.
The 42-game schedule consists of four divisions split into two conferences to determine the playoff pairings in the A, B and C brackets.
The 1983 Territorial Leasing Sabres are the only St. Albert team to win the tournament.
Visit www.johnreidmemorial.com for more tournament information.
The deadline to submit applications for the sixth annual John Reid Memorial Scholarship is Jan. 7.
Individuals who played for the bantam AAA St. Albert Gregg Distributors Sabres after the 2004/05 season and played hockey in St. Albert for a minimum of three years are eligible to apply for the $1,000 scholarship.
Applicants must be a Canadian citizen and Alberta resident enrolled in a recognized post-secondary education institution.
Visit www.johnreidmemorial.com for additional criteria and the application form.
The successful applicant will be announced Jan. 15 at 7:15 p.m. during the opening ceremonies of the John Reid Memorial Tournament at Go Auto Arena.
Previous winners were Liam Liston, Ryan Harrison, Brady McCorriston, Steven Woolger, Joshua Maeda and Justin Kueber.
The Reid scholarship was established by the parent group of the 2004/05 Sabres as a way to give back to the community. It challenges players to grow academically into becoming educated and contributing members of society in the same way Reid contributed to the St. Albert sports scene as a mentor and coach while displaying a positive attitude.
The tournament was renamed in Reid’s memory in 2004.
The first game for the St. Albert Slash since the Fire on Ice Tournament is today against the Calgary Fire in the Alberta Major Midget Female Hockey League.
Faceoff is 2:15 p.m. at Go Auto Arena.
Calgary (12-2-2) is ranked second and Slash (10-6-1) are tied for third in the 10-team standings.
Sunday the Slash play the Spruce Grove PAC Saints (7-8-2) at 10:45 a.m. at Grant Fuhr Arena.
Last week the Slash finished 2-1-1 overall in the U17 AA division at the Fire On Ice in Rochester, New York.
The Slash defeated the Aurora Panthers 3-2 and Vaughan Flames 4-2 and played the West Northumberland Wild to a 2-2 draw for fifth place in their pool. In the crossover playoff against the fourth-place Kingston Ice Wolves the Slash lost 2-1.
Jamie Jones and Megan Lalor finished the tournament with three goals apiece and Jenna Jewell potted a pair.
Meanwhile, five players were named to the AMMFHL all-star game Nov. 29 at Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary. Netminder Erynn Shantz, defenceman Megan Webb and forwards Rachel Rochat, Jewell and Lalor will join head coach Phil Webb on Team Teal.
The Slash have also been accepted into the Mac’s tournament, Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 in Calgary. The Slash won the Mac’s Cup in 2009.
The inaugural Slash Alumni Event on Dec. 21 will celebrate the 11-year history of the St. Albert midget AAA female program.
Ice time is booked from 1:15 to 3:45 p.m. at Go Auto Arena. Two female atom teams will also participate.
Past and present Slash players and coaching staffs are asked to register their participation by Nov. 23 through www.raidershockey.ca.
After the game a social gathering is scheduled for the Skybox Grill at Servus Credit Union Place from 4 to 6 p.m.
The event is another initiative by the local committee overseeing the Esso Cup Legacy Program from the 2011 national midget AAA female championship the Slash hosted.
For more information contact Trudy at [email protected] or call 780-458-8725 or 780-458-8725.
The next game for the St. Albert Flyers in the Alberta Minor Midget AAA Hockey League is Tuesday against the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers.
Puck drop is 8:15 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena.
Entering the weekend, the midget 15 Flyers (7-2-3) were second and the Rangers (0-9-2) were last in the north standings.
The Flyers are 1-1-2 in November after Tuesday’s 3-3 draw with the Maple Leafs (4-4-1) in St. Albert. The Leafs scored the equalizer with 52 seconds to play.
Brett Mossing, Peter Corrigan and affiliate Daniel Lewis replied for the Flyers.
Leif Mattson added one assist for his team-leading 31st point in 12 games for third place in league scoring. He is also tied for fourth place in goals with 16.
Shots were 43-25 for the Flyers and Nate Reinhart (5-1-2, 2.87 GAA) was in net.
Ty Gretzky, son of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, is bringing the Gretzky Hockey School to Servus Credit Union Place for five days in July.
The Gretzky Hockey School was founded in 2014 by Ty Gretzky and Eric Kleineck to provide a fun and unique experience for kids between the ages of seven and 15. The school emphasizes on-ice development and off-ice activities to help improve skill sets.
Registrations are being accepted for the July 13 to 17 event. Daily sessions are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on the last day the participants will play a game from 8 a.m. to noon.
Visit [email protected] for more information.
