WCC volleyball
The 24th annual Lions Western Canadian Challenge starts Thursday afternoon at Morinville Community High School and the SkyDome.The Morinville Wolves and St. Albert Skyhawks are co-hosting the 24-team volleyball tournament.
The opening matches are 12:15 p.m. in the women’s 12-team division between the Wolves and R.F. Staples Thunderbirds of Westlock in pool A at Morinville and the Skyhawks against the Bowness Trojans of Calgary in pool B at the SkyDome.
Pool play in the men’s 12-team division begins at 1:15 p.m. with the Wolves versus R.F. Staples at Morinville and the Skyhawks versus Bowness at the SkyDome.
The playoffs swing into action Saturday at 12:45 p.m. and the championship and consolation finals are 5:30 p.m. at the SkyDome for the women and Morinville for the men.
Last year, the Wolves and St. Joseph Ceniahs of Grande Prairie repeated as WCC champions. The Wolves defeated the Barrhead Gryphons in the men’s final and the Ceniahs knocked off the Peace Wapiti Academy Titans of Grande Prairie in the women’s final.
The Ceniahs are back-to-back winners of the 3A provincial championship and the Wolves lost year’s 3A final to Barrhead.
This year’s WCC marks the fourth consecutive 24-team tournament after 48-team competitions in the past.
Visit www.mchs.gsacrd.ab.ca for the WCC website.
AFHL Sharks
The midget elite St. Albert Sharks skate into the Alberta Female Hockey League regular season this weekend with two games scheduled at Mark Messier Arena.The Sharks host the Red Deer Chiefs at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and the Sherwood Park Fury at 8 p.m. Sunday.
AFHL Raiders
The St. Albert Raiders play two away games in the bantam elite season-opening weekend in the Alberta Female Hockey League.The Raiders face off against Calgary Fire White at 3:15 p.m. Saturday at Henry Viney Arena and the Lloydminster Steelers at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Border City.
The first home game is Oct. 27 against the Edmonton Pandas at 3:30 p.m. at Go Auto Arena.
REM 15 Royals
The St. Albert Royals have home-ice advantage this weekend in the Rural & Edmonton Midget 15AA Hockey League.Game times for the 2018 REM playoff finalists are 8:45 p.m. Friday and 12:15 p.m. Sunday against SSAC APD ACDelco at Mark Messier Arena.
The Royals are 2-0 after road wins of 7-2 against the PAC Saints and 8-2 against the Camrose Vikings.
