The St. Albert Miners face an uphill battle in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League junior A playoffs after losing twice to the Okotoks Raiders in the best-of-five series.
The Miners host game three today at 5 p.m. at Northstar Hyundai Arena.
If needed, game four goes Sunday at 2 p.m. in St. Albert and the fifth and deciding game will be played in Okotoks next week.
Last weekend in Okotoks the Raiders recorded wins of 10-8 and 13-7 while outshooting the Miners 114-60. Netminder Scott Kavalinas allowed 22 goals on 108 shots overall and backup Jon McMillan gave up one goal in 9:30 minutes of action in the second game.
In the playoff opener David Ahl, Ryan Beatson and Spencer Gelinas tallied twice and Richard Thompson and Ryan Davis scored once for the Miners. The Raiders doubled the Miners 6-3 in the third period.
Dayna Douville led the Miners offensively in game two with four goals. Gelinas added a pair and Thompson also scored. The Miners trailed 5-3 after the first frame and 8-6 going into the third.
In league play the Raiders (13-3-2) placed first and the Miners (3-14-1) finished last in the four-team standings.
Last year in the semifinals the Raiders eliminated the Miners in four games.
The mosquito competitive Tier I provincials are underway in Spruce Grove for the defending champion St. Albert Cardinals.
Today the Cardinals play Beaumont at 12 p.m. and Sherwood Park at 6 p.m.
Friday’s scores against Spruce Grove and Red Deer were unavailable at press time.
If there are no tiebreakers, Sunday’s final will start at 3 p.m.
Visit www.baseballalberta.com for the tournament draw.
The Cardinals were undefeated in 29 league, tournament and exhibition games going into provincials.
The St. Albert Early Bird and Kamloops tournament champions have only two returning players on their roster.
The top division one teams in the St. Albert Women’s Soccer League will square off Sunday at Riel Park.
Kickoff is 5 p.m. between Mavericks 09 (9-0) and the Morinville Ladies (7-2).
Last month the Mavericks posted a 4-2 win against Morinville, last year’s pennant winners at 17-0-1 and fifth place finishers at Tier IV provincials.
Two years ago the Mavericks captured the pennant with a 17-1 record and placed fourth at Tier IV provincials. It was the best showing by a SAWSL team since 2005, when Morinville won bronze.
The Mavericks and Morinville close out the regular season Aug. 19.
The division leader advances to provincials, Aug. 31 to Sept. 3 in Edmonton.
