Reid tournament
The 16-team lineup for the 41st annual John Reid Memorial Tournament has been finalized.The host St. Albert Gregg Distributors Sabres (2-8-3) are joined by the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers (9-2-1), Lloydminster Bobcats (11-1-2), Calgary Bisons (9-3-1), Red Deer Rebels (10-4) and Calgary Flames (9-3-1) of the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League.
The Rink Hockey Academy Nationals of Winnipeg, Notre Dame Hounds of Wilcox, Sask., Burnaby Winter Club Academy, Delta Hockey Academy Green, Yale Hockey Academy Lions of Abbotsford, B.C., St. George’s Saints of Vancouver, West Vancouver Academy, Los Angeles Jr. Kings and Phoenix Jr. Coyotes are also confirmed for the Jan. 17 to 20 bantam AAA invitational at Servus Credit Union Place.
The Reid tournament, hosted by the St. Albert Raiders Hockey Club, consists of 42 games with four divisions divided into two pools to determine the playoff pairings in the A, B and C brackets.
The winner of the 2018 tournament was the Northern Alberta Xtreme by a score of 5-3 over Los Angeles.
Matt Savoie, a St. Albert product with the Xtreme, led all scorers as a first-year bantam with 18 points in six games as the recipient of the tournament’s top forward award.
Savoie, who was born on Jan. 1, 2004, and is rated as the No. 1 pick in the 2019 Western Hockey League bantam draft, is playing for the Xtreme’s midget prep team.
In the 2018 tournament, the Sabres competed in the B playoff bracket after placing third in pool play and finished 2-3 overall.
The Sabres are fifth in the AMBHL’s nitro north division and the top four make the playoffs.
Both victories for the Sabres this season were against the Maple Leafs (0-14) – 6-1 in the team’s last game Nov. 18 and 6-3 Oct. 13.
The Sabres are in action Wednesday against the KC Squires (9-5-1) at 7:45 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena.
Reid scholarship
The online application deadline for the John Reid Memorial Scholarship is Jan. 6.Individuals who played bantam AAA for the 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.
Visit www.johnreidmemorial.com for more information and the application form.
The successful applicant will be announced Jan. 17 at 7:15 p.m. during the opening ceremonies of the John Reid Memorial Tournament at Go Auto Arena.
Previous winners were Justin Kueber, Joshua Maeda, Steven Woolger, Brady McCorriston, Ryan Harrison, Liam Liston, Steven Canduro, Brady Reid, Brad Holmes, Tyler Dea and Josh Perrott.
The Reid scholarship was established by the parent group of the 2004-05 Sabres to recognize former St. Albert bantam AAA players who are contributing members of society, academically inspired, volunteer driven and display a passion for hockey like the individual it’s named after.
Reid was a major scoring threat with the St. Albert Saints and Sherwood Park Crusaders in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and the Alberta Golden Bears and as a hockey and lacrosse coach was a positive role model for countless youths in the community.
Reid died of leukemia at age 41 on Nov. 6, 2003, and the next year the St. Albert bantam AAA tournament was renamed in his memory.
Donations to the scholarship fund are being accepted by the John Reid Memorial Tournament Society.
Movember ruggers
Past and present St. Albert Rugby Football Club players are raising funds for men’s health during Movember and the grand finale is the Farewell to the Mo next Saturday at the Endeavour Brewing Company in Campbell Business Park.The fundraising champion will also be crowned and the current leader is Ashley Hanson at $1,097.
The Farewell to Mo event, which also doubles as a Christmas sweater party, starts at 6 p.m. and is organized by the Spitting Llamas RFC, a touring group of SARFC players who are active in a variety of fundraising endeavours in the community.
The Spitting Llamas are closing in on their fundraising goal of $7,200 with $6,773 collected as of Friday morning.
Donations to Movember on behalf of the Spitting Llamas can be made through https://ca.movember.com/donate/details?teamId=2316990.
The Movember Foundation is the leading charity focused on changing the face of men’s health through groundbreaking work in prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention.
