Norm Lacombe, the first head coach in St. Albert Steel history, has resurfaced as the bench boss of the bantam AAA Sabres.
Lacombe replaces Donovan Sugiyama, who stepped down from his post after guiding the Sabres to a 3-12-4 record in his first season with the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League team.
It’s the slowest start by the Sabres since finishing 3-33-3 in 2003/04.
The Sabres are stuck in last place in the competitive nitro north division and are seven points back of the fourth and final playoff spot.
Sugiyama previously served as an assistant coach with the Steel in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and coached the St. Albert Blues to the 2011 midget AA provincial final and a fifth and deciding game in the Northern Alberta Midget AA Hockey League final.
Assistant coaches Wes Werhun and Kelly Smith remain with the Sabres.
Matt Woodland, the former head coach of the bantam AAA Sherwood Park Flyers, has joined the team as an assistant coach.
Lacombe’s stint with the Steel lasted only 24 games. The AJHL team was 10-11-1-2 when he was let go.
The former Stanley Cup winner with the 1988 Edmonton Oilers was hired by the Whitecourt Wolverines of the North West Junior Hockey League midway through the 2011/12 campaign, and led the team to a league record fourth consecutive championship.
With Lacombe at the controls, the Sabres skated to a 1-1 draw Tuesday against the Canadian Athletic Club (8-12-2) at Bill Hunter Arena and lost 4-0 to the Maple Leafs (13-4-2) Wednesday in St. Albert.
Zach Webb scored the tying goal in period two, as the Sabres outshot the CAC 38-31. In net was Matt Murray (1-7-4, 3.78 GAA), one of two returning Sabres in the line-up.
Joshua Dechaine (2-6-1, 4.32 GAA) stopped 41 shots overall against the Maple Leafs.
The Sabres (3-13-5) are 0-4-1 in their last five games, prior to hosting the Grande Prairie Storm (2-19-2) today at 3:45 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena.
The last game before the Christmas break is Thursday against the Flyers (10-5-5) in Sherwood Park at 8:45 p.m.
Meanwhile, forward Jaedon Leslie was named the Sabres’ player of the month for November. He leads the team in goals with seven and is tied for second in points with 16 in 21 games.
The Paul Kane Blues dropped both ends of Wednesday’s metro Edmonton premier conference doubleheader against the Bev Facey Falcons in high school basketball.
The men lost 77-57 and the women fell 56-54 in Sherwood Park.
Both teams are 1-2 in league play. The two-time defending premier men’s champions are 3-7 overall and the lady Blues are 7-3.
Monday the Blues host the St. Albert Skyhawks. Game times are 4:45 p.m. for the men and 6:15 p.m. for the women.
The puck drops Wednesday morning for Centralta’s Winter Classic 2012 at the Legal Arena.
The first of two recreational hockey games starts at 10:30 a.m. between elementary students from Ă©cole La Mission and Ă©cole Citadelle. The junior high students from Ă©cole Alexandre-Tache and Ă©cole Citadelle play at 12:15 p.m.
Both games are 75 minutes in length.
This is the first year for a sports academy at Ă©cole La Mission, the only francophone elementary school in St. Albert. The French-speaking students hail from St. Albert, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain and the counties of Sturgeon and Parkland.
The sports academy boasts 23 males and females in Grades 4 to 6. They participate in a recreational component featuring physical conditioning, hockey, baseball and golf.
Hockey is the second module and the game against Ă©cole Citadelle, who also has an ice academy, is designed to further motivate the students.
