Playoff preparation for the St. Albert Gregg Distributors Sabres starts at the 40th annual John Reid Memorial Tournament.
“These teams here are really good and experienced and we can learn from them and then play that same way against everyone else,” said David Saunders, a defenceman with the 19-2-6 (140 GF/55 GA) Sabres in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League.
The renowned St. Albert bantam AAA invitational is stacked with elite-level competition.
“There is a lot more skilled players here than in our league,” said defenceman Breck McKinley.
The Canadian Sport School Hockey League is represented by eight teams, including seven in the bantam prep division.
“I wish that we got to play them a little more than just this tournament because these guys are a little tougher and they’re always together in the school league,” Saunders said.
The Los Angeles Jr. Kings and Phoenix Jr. Coyotes are also entered and joining the Sabres as the AMBHL reps are the Calgary Bisons (22-3-2), Airdrie Xtreme (19-3-5), Calgary Royals (18-7-3), Lethbridge Golden Hawks (16-7-4) and Sherwood Park Flyers (15-8-5).
The Sabres are first in the north conference and second overall in the AMBHL while undefeated in 17 games at 13-0-4.
“It definitely boosts our confidence for this tournament but we know that it’s going to be a lot harder here than in our league,” McKinley said.
The tournament kicked off Thursday with the Sabres splitting two games as the 7-3 setback to the Rink Hockey Academy of Winnipeg was followed by the 3-1 win against Phoenix.
The last game for the Sabres in the Skybox Grill division of the John Reid pool was Friday against St. George’s School of Vancouver but the score was unavailable at press time.
Visit www.johnreidmemorial.com for the tournament playoff schedule.
The loss to the Winnipeg squad rattled the Sabres.
“We definitely could've done better,” McKinley said.
Winnipeg’s second goal of the first period was a power-play tally and in the second the Sabres trailed 4-0 when Jaxon Dube scored with the man advantage halfway through the period. After 40 minutes it was 5-2 Winnipeg.
‘We were working hard but sometimes we didn't have back-checkers and they were crashing the net with four guys and our goalie (Carson Ironside) couldn't handle it,” McKinley said.
Zachry Desranleau’s goal at the end of the second and Ethan Sundar’s shorthanded effort in the third rounded out the scoring for the Sabres.
McKinley and captain Tyson Greenway posted two assists apiece.
Shots were 31-26 for Winnipeg.
“We had a lot of turnovers, which kind of got the team a little off, but other than that we played pretty good,” Saunders said. “We have to put that game behind us and think of what we’re going to do the next time and learn from our mistakes from today.”
It took the Sabres longer than expected to shed their pre-game jitters.
“We were a little nervous. We were gripping our sticks a little too tight,” Saunders said.
“The first period it was a little nerve-wracking with all the people (at Go Auto Arena) but as it came to the second and third I feel we got better,” McKinley added.
The loss set the stage for the pivotal encounter with Phoenix.
“It’s a must win for us to move on and get a chance in the playoffs. We have to work hard, back-check and block shots,” McKinley said.
Levi Fesyk put the Sabres on the board in the first and in the third Evan Arnold struck on the power play to break a 1-1 tie with nine minutes remaining.
Dube added the insurance marker with 5:47 to play.
Greenway, the only returning Sabre in the lineup, picked up two assists and netminder Matt Tebbutt faced a game-high 29 shots.
Saunders, 14, believes the Sabres are good to go for the rest of the tournament.
“Once we get comfortable we should do well. We just have to play our game,” said the Grade 9 Vincent J. Maloney School student who played in the AMBHL all-star game last Saturday in Grande Prairie along with Greenway, Sundar, Tebbutt and Ironside.
“We just have to stick to what we do in league play. We have to be ready to play and work hard,” said McKinley, 14, a Grade 9 VJM student.
The Sabres have nine games left until the playoffs when they host the SSAC Southgate Lions (9-12-7) Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena.
