The last tournament of the year for the St. Albert Senior Cardinals in the Alberta West Central Baseball Association is under way at Legion Memorial Park and Footz Field in Edmonton.
In the nine-team 30-plus draw, the Cardinals are grouped in pool A with the Stony Plain Codgers, Bardo, Edmonton Havoc and Spruce Grove 30’s.
Cadogan, Westlock Red Lions, Slave Lake and the Edmonton Heat are in pool B.
The 45-plus division consists of Can-Alta, Provost, Red Deer and Spruce Grove 45’s.
The Cardinals have games on tap today at 8:45 a.m. against Bardo and 1:45 p.m. against the Havoc at Legion Park. On Sunday, they play Spruce Grove at 11:30 a.m. at Footz.
Playoffs are scheduled for Sunday in St. Albert. The 45-plus final goes at 1:45 p.m. In the 30-plus division, the third-place game goes at 4 p.m. and the top teams in both pools meet in the 4:15 p.m. final.
The Cardinals opened the tournament Tuesday with a 4-1 win over the Codgers.
Last weekend in the league’s playoff tournament, the top-seeded Cardinals lost 12-6 to the eighth-seeded Edmonton Heat in the A-side bracket. In the B-side draw, the Cardinals dropped a 12-2 decision to the Spruce Grove Eagles.
The second-seeded Fort Saskatchewan Red Sox beat the Heat for the playoff title. The Eagles downed the Edmonton Expos for the B-side title.
Andrew Milne of St. Albert was named an assistant coach with Team Canada West for the second straight year at the World Junior A Challenge.
The junior A worlds runs Nov. 7 to 13 in Langley, B.C.
Milne has been the head coach and general manager of the Canmore Eagles in the Alberta Junior Hockey League since 2008/09. Prior to joining the Eagles, he spent time as an assistant coach with the Kamloops Blazers and Swift Current Broncos in the Western Hockey League and the St. Albert Saints and Spruce Grove Saints in the AJHL.
Milne also served as video coach for Team Pacific at the 2010 World U17 Hockey Challenge.
The rugged forward played for the AJHL champion St. Albert Saints in 1995/96. After his only AJHL season in St. Albert, the Paul Kane High School alumnus bounced around the WHL, including stints with the Spokane Chiefs, the Medicine Hat Tigers and Swift Current. His best season was 1997/98 in Swift Current with two goals, nine assists and 259 PIM in 71 games.
Milne went on to play in the British National League for the Peterborough Pirates, recording eight goals, 12 assists and 181 PIM in 22 games.
Three graduates of the bantam AAA St. Albert Sabres were shortlisted for evaluations to represent Team Alberta at the Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup.
Defenceman Zack Gonek, forward Tyler Mrkonjic and netminder Pat Gora are among 34 players to be scouted with their club teams until the final 20-man roster is named for the Oct. 27 to 30 Challenge Cup in Moose Jaw.
Eighty players attended the U16 developmental camp last month.
Gonek was selected 13th overall by the Swift Current Broncos as the seventh overall defenceman taken in the first round of the 2011 Western Hockey League bantam draft. He was the Sabres’ top scoring blueliner with nine goals and 13 assists in 28 games.
Mrkonjic was picked in the fourth round (82nd overall) by the Tri-City Americans. He tied for second on the Sabres in goals with 19 in 33 games and was fourth in points with 43. He was the 2011 recipient of the John Reid Memorial Award for heart and hustle at the annual Sabres tournament.
Gora, a ninth-round (179th overall) pick by the Regina Pats, posted the second-best goals-against average in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League at 2.10. His 12-4-2 record included three shutouts and a .920 save percentage for the 23-7-3 Sabres. He was also named to the tournament all-star team at the 2011 Alberta Cup with the second-place Northwest Sharks. Gonek and Mrkonjic also played for the Sharks.
At the provincial level, it’s been a banner year for male players in the St. Albert Raiders Hockey Club program. St. Albert forward Jake Mykitiuk was one of 32 players shortlisted from a group of 46 athletes at the U17 provincial camp in July to play for Team Pacific at the World U17 Hockey Challenge, Dec. 29 to Jan. 4 in Windsor, Ont. The final roster will consist of 11 Alberta players and 11 British Columbia players.
Last season with the St. Albert Flyers in the Alberta Minor Midget Hockey League, Mykitiuk ranked second in the north conference in points with 69 in 38 regular-season games and tied for the goal scoring lead with 36. He finished 45-40-85 overall in 46 games.
The John Reid Memorial Award winner with the 2010 Sabres hopes to crack the Prince George Cougars’ lineup in the WHL this season as a 16-year-old.
The St. Albert Men’s Soccer League has rescheduled its all-star game after it was rained out last month.
Friday’s kickoff is 7 p.m. at Riel Park.
Players from GSE, Crossfire, SA United and AC Youngboys will form one team. The other squad features representation from the CSKA Blues FC, Chester City, Arsenal and SA City.
Meanwhile, league play wraps up Aug. 21 and the playoffs start Aug. 28. The top two teams in the standings qualify for provincials. GSE (9-2), Chester City (8-2-1) and the CSKA Blues FC (8-2-1) are battling for provincial berths. Sunday’s game between GSE and CSKA should break the logjam. Kickoff is 1 p.m. at Riel Park.
