Greg Parks, a former St. Albert Saints’ forward who served as head coach, general manager and part-owner of the St. Albert Steel before the Alberta Junior Hockey League team relocated to Whitecourt, died Tuesday in his hometown of Edmonton. He was 48.
The cause of death and funeral date was not announced at press time.
Parks appeared in 23 NHL games with the New York Islanders and represented his country in two Spengler Cups and the 1994 Olympic Winter Games, when Canada lost to Sweden in the gold-medal final.
Parks also played for Bowling Green University’s 1987 CCHA championship team and was inducted into the university’s Athletics Hall of Fame.
The member of the American Hockey League champion Springfield Indians in 1990 also had stints in Switzerland, Germany and Japan before retiring after the 2002/03 season with the Asia league’s Oji Eagles.
The St. Albert Cardinals and Fort McMurray Oil Giants have three bantam AAA games on tap this weekend at Legion Memorial Park.
Game times are 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. today and 10 a.m. Sunday.
The Cardinals (11-10) are 6-6 and Fort McMurray (10-8) is 9-6 in the provincial round standings
Last weekend in Red Deer, the Cardinals beat the hometown Braves twice in three games.
Saturdays’ doubleheader started with a 4-3 loss as the Cardinals left nine runners on base in first four innings.
Zach Froment struck-out nine while walking one in a complete-game effort. Froment and Michael Brisson also had two hits apiece.
The Cardinals rebounded to win the next game 8-0 as Joseph Karall came within one hitter of a complete game shutout. Joseph fanned nine batters in 6-2/3 innings before the pitch count forced him out of the game.
Cole Ridd’s two-run pinch-hit single broke the game open.
Logan Blumhagen, Davis Pratt and Eric Rolheiser paced the team’s 14-hit attack with two hits apiece.
Pratt copied Karall’s great effort in Sunday’s 7-6 decision while striking out four in 6-2/3 innings. Blumhagen recorded the save.
The Cardinals spotted the Braves two runs in the first, then countered with three of their own in the second. The Braves tied it in the third and added three runs in the fourth to lead 6-3.
The Cardinals replied with one run in the fifth and two in the sixth to knot the count at six.
Blumhagen led off the seventh with a walk, advanced to second on Ryan Marples’ single and scored on Evan Bourassa’s RBI.
The St. Albert Senior Cardinals host the Edmonton Heat in Monday’s doubleheader in the Alberta West Central Baseball Association.
The first game goes at 6 p.m. at Legion Memorial Park.
The Cardinals are 4-3 in the senior (30-plus) circuit after defeating Spruce Grove 11-3 Monday in St. Albert.
The St. Albert Impact men’s and women’s division 1B teams were victorious Wednesday in the Edmonton District Soccer Association.
The Impact men edged Red Hill FC 3-2 at Riel Park and the Impact women beat the Edmonton Warriors 1-0 at the ESA Complex.
Will Backhouse tallied twice and Moritz Schmidt also scored in the scrappy affair against Red Hill (2-4-2). In net was Adam Pinco.
Backhouse is the division’s leading scorer with six goals.
The Impact led 3-1 at halftime. They played the last 60 minutes a player down.
The first-place Impact (5-2-1) and last-place E & C United hook up Wednesday at 8:15 p.m. at Riel Park.
Christina Malbrecht scored the Impact women’s seventh goal of the season early in the second half and Tasmin Ortman posted the shutout against the Warriors (1-8).
The Impact are the division’s top defensive team with only four goals against in nine matches.
The Impact (5-3-1) play the Green/Gold Classics (2-3-2) Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Riel Park.
