The St. Albert High Skyhawks will meet the Peace River Pioneers in Saturday’s provincial tier III north regional semifinal. Start time is 1 p.m. at Glenmary High School in Peace River.
In the final Football Alberta rankings, the Pioneers (6-2) finished second and the Skyhawks (3-6) were fifth.
The winner will play the fourth-ranked Cold Lake Royals (7-3) or the eighth-ranked Stettler Wildcats (7-2) next Saturday on the road in the north final.
The Alberta Bowl championship is Nov. 26 in Lethbridge.
The Skyhawks are the first high school team from St. Albert to get to the provincial playoffs since the tier I Skyhawks in 2000.
The last game for the Skyhawks was the 42-0 loss to the tier II Austin O’Brien Crusaders (8-1-1) in the Metro Edmonton league’s Carr Conference semifinal Oct. 28. The Skyhawks were the only tier III team in the conference this year.
The Pioneers, last year’s provincial finalists, lost their second game of the season to the tier I Grande Prairie Composite Warriors (8-2) in the Mighty Peace final last weekend in Peace River. The score was 30-14.
The St. Albert Flyers are undefeated in six games when they host the Camrose Kodiaks tonight in the Alberta Minor Midget AAA Hockey League. Puck drop is 7:45 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena.
In the north conference the Flyers (6-2-3) are second and Camrose (1-7-1) is 11th overall.
Last weekend in Grande Prairie the Flyers took three out of four points from the last-place Storm (0-9-1).
Michael Bruni potted two goals for the Flyers in Saturday’s 11-0 blowout. Netminder Patrick Gora needed to make only eight saves for the shutout, none in the first period.
In Sunday’s 7-7 draw, Paul Lovin’s second goal of the game for the Flyers with 39 seconds left in regulation time salvaged a tie. The Flyers led 2-0 after the first period and the teams combined for eight goals in the second.
The St. Albert Sabres skate Thursday against the Spruce Grove PAC Saints in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League. Faceoff is 6 p.m. at Grant Fuhr Arena.
In the north conference the Saints (2-8-1) ranked fourth in the charger division. The Sabres (7-2-2) shared second place in the nitro standings, prior to Tuesday’s game against the KC Squires (3-8) at Coronation Arena. The score was unavailable at press time.
The last home game for the Sabres was Saturday’s 5-2 win over the Canadian Athletic Club (7-2-2). Connor Smart, Curtis Peck, Joshua Mahura and Ethan Lazaro scored in the second and Matteo Gennaro tallied in the third. Shots were even at 35 apiece. In net was Patrick Dea.
