St. Albert resident Mark Spector will be at Chapters today from noon to 2 p.m. signing his new book The Battle of Alberta: The historical rivalry between the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames.
Spector had a front-row seat as a fan, writer and sports commentator of the intensity, passion, finesse and brutal competitiveness between the Oilers and Flames in the 1980s. One of the two teams was the Campbell Conference representative in the Stanley Cup each year from 1983 to 1990 and during those seven years they won the Holy Grail of Hockey except in 1986, when the Flames lost the final to the Montreal Canadiens.
The 280-page best seller features firsthand interviews with many of the key players and coaches, plus many never-before-seen colour photos. It’s the perfect book for die-hard fans of Alberta hockey.
Spector was a reporter and columnist for the University of Alberta student newspaper, The Gateway, the Edmonton Journal and National Post before joining Sportsnet.ca in 2008. The senior columnist and TV analyst covers the NHL for Sportsnet.
Spector also spent time co-hosting the popular Total Sports on Team 1260 with Bob Stauffer.
The long-suffering Chicago Cubs fan and loyal supporter of the St. Albert Rugby Football Club founded the Mark Spector Golf Classic in 2014 in support of Sport Central.
The Ringette Alberta U12A championship is underway this weekend in St. Albert.
The 12-team provincial tournament, hosted by the St. Albert Power, consists of three pools to determine the crossover games this afternoon at the Mark Messier and Go Auto arenas.
Sunday’s playoff round features eight games. The semifinals are 8 a.m. at Troy Murray Arena and 8:15 a.m. at Mark Messier, and the 12:30 p.m. bronze-medal game and 2:15 p.m. final are slated for Go Auto.
In pool C Friday, the Power played the South Calgary Ambush and Edmonton Blast but scores were unavailable at press time. Today’s game against Bowview Fusion starts at 8:15 a.m. at Mark Messier.
The pool B teams are NW Velocity, Spruce Grove XLR8, Airdrie Sting and Red Deer Whiplash and pool A includes the Bowview Nemesis, Leduc Jaguars, Cochrane Rockies and Sherwood Park Shock.
Visit www.ringettealberta.com for the schedule and results.
The Power were 44-1 before provincials as winners of four out of five tournaments. The only loss was 8-6 to the Shock in the final of the Calgary Golden Ring in January.
