Canada and the England Saxons will battle today in the Churchill Cup final in Worcester, England. Kickoff is 9:30 a.m. Alberta time.
Andy Tiedemann of St. Albert is listed as a reserve at forward for the rematch of last year’s final.
In pool play, Tiedemann was a replacement at prop in an uncapped appearance in Canada’s 26-12 win against Italy A and earned his 10th cap as a replacement prop in the 34-18 win against Russian.
This is Tiedemann’s third year at the Churchill Cup with Canada. Last year Canada finished 2-1 with the high school rugby product of the Paul Kane Blues in the starting 15. Canada blasted Uruguay 48-6 and upset France A 33-27 in Colorado. In the final Canada lost 38-18 to the Saxons in New Jersey.
Meanwhile, Canada’s roster for the World Cup will be announced in early July, but a rugby source told the Gazette that Tiedemann will be on the national team for the Sept. 9 to Oct. 23 tournament in New Zealand. Canada is grouped in pool A with New Zealand, France, Tonga and Japan.
Rugby Canada and the Dog River Howlers Rugby Club have a joint fundraising program in place to help offset costs for the national team at worlds. Visit www.supportrugby.ca/we-stand-on-guard-for-thee for more information.
Tiedemann, 22, recently finished his fifth season playing for the University of Victoria Vikes, the 2010 Rounsefell Cup provincial champions and this year’s semifinalists in the British Columbia Rugby Union premier division.
His last match with the St. Albert Rugby Football Club was Aug. 6, 2009 with the third division Exiles against the St. Albert thirds.
The Battle of St. Albert in high school football will take on a new twist this year with the Paul Kane Blues joining the Bellerose Bulldogs and St. Albert High Skyhawks in the metro Edmonton league’s Carr conference.
The senior teams will huddle up at the Riel Park turf field Sept. 15 (Skyhawks versus Bellerose at 7:30 p.m.), Oct. 6 (Bellerose versus Paul Kane at 7:30 p.m.) and Oct. 13 (Paul Kane versus Skyhawks at 5 p.m.).
The tilt between Paul Kane and the Skyhawks is shaping up to be the game of the year in St. Albert football. This is the first season for Paul Kane football. In previous years athletes at Paul Kane played football for the Skyhawks, based at St. Albert Catholic High School.
The showdown between Paul Kane and the Skyhawks is expected to rival last year’s historic clash between Bellerose and the Skyhawks. The 7-0 triumph by Bellerose was staged in front of the largest crowd to watch a high school game in St. Albert. It was also the first Bellerose win against the Skyhawks after seven losses, dating back to the inaugural 1999 grudge match.
The seven-team Carr conference includes the Bev Facey Falcons, Austin O’Brien Crusaders and Archbishop Jordan Scots and the defending champion Salisbury Sabres. All six teams make the playoffs.
In the junior division, Paul Kane is grouped in pool B with the Skyhawks, Bellerose, St. Francis Xavier Rams and O’Leary Spartans.
Last year the Dawgs knocked off the Hawks 16-14 for their first win in six years in the junior edition of the Battle of St. Albert.
The Alberta Junior Hockey League released its 2011/12 schedule and the St. Albert Steel will play 29 home games at Performance Arena, 29 away games and two games at the AJHL Showcase event in Spruce Grove.
The Steel also have eight pre-season games on tap, starting Aug. 26 when they host the Sherwood Park Crusaders at 5 p.m. Their last exhibition game before league play is Sept. 4 in Whitecourt against the AJHL champion Spruce Grove Saints. Whitecourt has been a rumoured destination for relocation by the financially strapped Steel.
In the regular season 16 teams will play an unbalanced schedule of 60 games apiece. The Steel’s first game is Sept. 9 in Olds against the Grizzlys. The home opener is Sept. 16 against the Sherwood Park Crusaders at 7 p.m. Playoffs begin Feb. 23.
Meanwhile, the Steel continue to revamp their roster after another disappointing playoff performance, by trading defenceman Nate Engert, 19, to the Camrose Kodiaks for future considerations. The six-foot-four Engert collected two assists and served 30 penalty minutes in 17 games with the Steel. He was acquired from the Drumheller Dragons for future considerations at the 2011 trade deadline. The Red Deer product started the 2010/11 season with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
The ninth win in 11 games for the St. Albert Cardinals in the Bantam Performance League was Tuesday’s 6-3 decision against Sherwood Park Gold.
Mat Brisson struck-out nine while allowing three runs to earn the victory in Sherwood Park. He also knocked in two runs.
Connor Burns faced four batters in relief and fanned two of them.
Cam Mazur also made a highlight-reel catch in centerfield in support of a strong defensive team effort.
Five Cardinals in the starting line-up are rookies at the bantam performance level.
“The young guns showed that they can play this game at a high level and veterans like Brisson, Burns and [Sam] Forster delivered,“ said field manager Dave Maguire.
Next week the Cardinals host Sherwood Park Green on Tuesday and the Gold on Wednesday. Game times are 7 p.m. at Legion Memorial Park.
Nick Karakochuk and Cohen Cassidy also scored in the 5-2 win at the Riel Park turf field.
The previous week the Impact fell 3-2 to Punjab United (5-1-1) in St. Albert. Down by three goals with 15 minutes to play, Mark McQuaid and Jon Hnit scored to make it close.
McQuaid’s goal was his division-leading seventh of the season. Karakochuk is second in team scoring with four and DeJong has three.
The next game for the Impact is Monday against the Polonia Reserves (2-3) at 8:45 p.m. at the turf field.
