All three St. Albert men’s rugby teams are rucking and mauling this weekend.
Friday in the third division St. Albert (4-3) visits the Nor’Westers (7-2) at 7 p.m.
Saturday in the second division St. Albert (3-8) hosts the Fort McMurray Knights (5-6-1) at 4 p.m. at the field behind Wild Rose Elementary School.
The remaining home matches at the St. Albert Rugby Football Club will be staged at the Wild Rose field. The Leading Edge Fields are closed for reclamation work and other outdoor facility enhancements.
St. Albert’s first division team scrums down Saturday against the Calgary Canucks (3-5) at 3:30 p.m. at Calgary Rugby Park.
The firsts (5-4) are battling the Clan (5-3) for second place in the Alberta Cup table and a bye in the Sept. 22 north final.
The 2011 provincial finalists are coming off a 33-25 loss to the defending champion Calgary Hornets (8-0) in Calgary.
The St. Albert Angels are among three Alberta teams competing at the U18 Women’s Fastpitch Canadian Championship, starting Sunday in Montreal.
Calgary Kaizen and the Edmonton-based Alberta Wildcat Warriors will also represent the province at nationals.
The Warriors’ line-up features catcher Stephanie Stephen of St. Albert and centre-fielder Marley Broda of Sturgeon County.
Local players on the Angels include pitcher Mackenzie Bender and third-baseman Amanda Dunnigan of St. Albert and the injured Tori Gadoury of Calahoo.
The 17-team national draw is comprised of five B.C. teams, five Ontario teams, two teams from Regina, the P.E.I. Heat, the host Quebec Rebelles and the Alberta trio.
The dates for the senior B playoff between the St. Albert Miners and Rockyview Knights in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League have been finalized.
In the best-of-five final the Knights host game one Saturday at 8 p.m. and game two Sunday at 4 p.m. at Ron Ebbesen Arena in Airdrie.
The series resumes next week at Grant Fuhr Arena. Game three is Aug. 17 at 8 p.m. and game four, if needed, is Aug. 18 at 4 p.m. Northstar Hyundai Arena, the Miners’ home floor, is unavailable for the series because the ice is being put in.
If a fifth and deciding game is required, it is Aug. 19 at 4 p.m. in Airdrie.
The winner will represent Alberta at the President’s Cup nationals, starting Aug. 27 in Spruce Grove.
Last year the Miners defeated the Knights in five games for their second-straight provincial title.
In league play the Knights (13-3) finished first and the Miners (9-6-1) placed third. The Knights swept the season series 11-7 in St. Albert and 9-7 in Calgary.
