Midget AA final
The second crack at capturing the playoff championship for the St. Albert Source for Sports Crusaders was Friday in the Northern Alberta Midget AA Hockey League final.The score from game four in the best-of-five series was unavailable at Go Auto Arena.
A victory by the Beaumont Braves would set the stage for Sunday’s deciding game at 8 p.m. at Leduc Recreation Centre.
The Crusaders posted victories of 2-0 in Beaumont and 3-1 in St. Albert before the 3-2 loss Tuesday in Beaumont.
Matt Offenberger and Rhys Mazur scored in the third period.
The Braves led 2-0 after 40 minutes and made it 3-1 before the five-minute mark in the third.
Shots were 23-18 for the Braves and Shane Zilka (5-1-1, 1.69 GAA) was in net for the Crusaders.
Mazur was the top playoff scorer with 18 points in 11 games and was second in goals with eight.
Mazur is one of seven players on the roster from last year’s team that lost the NAMHL final in three games to the Strathcona Warriors and the provincial final to the Wheatland Chiefs.
This year’s final is the fourth in five years for the Crusaders, the 2014 champions with a game five road win against the Peace River Royals and the next year lost the final in the fifth and deciding game to the Royals in St. Albert.
The Crusaders were 3-2 against the Braves in league, provincial and playoff action after game three.
The playoff records for both teams were 8-2-1 for the Crusaders and 7-3-1 for the Braves and in league play the Metro conference Crusaders placed second in the Besa division at 20-9-3 and the Rural conference Braves finished first in the CanAccom division at 22-4-6.
AJHL awards
Graduates of the midget AAA St. Albert Tire Warehouse Raiders were Alberta Junior Hockey League award finalists this year.Jaedon Leslie, a centre with the Whitecourt Wolverines, received consideration for the Don McNabb Memorial Trophy as the most dedicated player and netminder. Chris Curr was in the running for the Dick White Trophy as the rookie of the year.
Leslie, 20, completed his third AJHL season in Whitecourt with 15 goals, 49 points and 52 penalty minutes in 58 games and recorded three goals and one assist in 12 playoff games.
The 2014/15 Raider is committed to division one Ohio State University Buckeyes in the Big Ten Conference.
Curr, 19, posted a .239 GAA, .922 save percentage and one shutout while going 16-5-2 with the Oil Barons after spending last season with the Raiders.
In the playoffs, Curr was 4-3 with a 2.41 GAA.
Curr and right-winger Garrett Clegg, a Raiders’ teammate and Sherwood Park Crusader, were also named to the North Division All-Rookie Team. Curr was a unanimous selection.
Clegg, 18, compiled 19 goals, 32 points and 70 penalty minutes in 59 games and one assist in five playoff games.
Telus Cup
Kye Buchanan of St. Albert has a shot at winning the Telus Cup with the Lethbridge Hurricanes.Buchanan, 16, is a six-foot-two forward in his first season with the Hurricanes, the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League and Pacific Regional champions.
The Telus Cup starts April 23 in Sudbury and joining the Hurricanes in the six-team tournament are the Toronto Young Nationals (Central), Notre Dame Hounds (West), Moncton Flyers (Atlantic), Cantonniers de Magog (Quebec) and the host Sudbury Capital Wolves.
Buchanan registered 10 goals, 18 points and 16 penalty minutes in 33 league games and in the playoffs picked up one assist and 18 penalty minutes in 12 games as the Hurricanes went from seven wins last season to 24 as the top team in the regular season and in the final erased a 2-1 series deficit to top the KC Pats in five games to claim the first AMHL championship in team history.
In the Pacific Regional, the Hurricanes swept the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds 5-3 and 6-1 in the best-of-three series last weekend in Chilliwack, B.C. Scoring stats were unavailable at press time.
Buchanan’s last St. Albert team was the 2016/17 St. Albert Flyers in the Alberta Minor Midget AAA Hockey League after two bantam AAA seasons with the St. Albert Gregg Distributors Sabres.
