By Ryan Laverty /
The fun is back in the Edmonton Minor Hockey Association and after another successful season, president Lorne MacDonald no doubt plans to keep it there.
From the Novice ranks all the way up to Midget, it was a year of strong parity, strong competition and, probably most importantly, strong bonds.
As is the case every year, a celebrated few enjoyed spectacular on-ice success, but with an extra 600 players strapping on the skates in 2007-08 and a playoff season ripe with upsets and overtimes, this was surely one of the most exciting and decidedly fun years of hockey the EMHA has enjoyed in a long time.
“We wanted people to look at hockey as more of a fun thing and something to do for exercise and social skills rather than just the competition and I think we’ve done that,” MacDonald said earlier this year. “We had a few years of declining numbers, but now we’ve seen the turn back to the game and we want to keep that going.”
Here’s a snapshot of how things shook out this year in and around Edmonton’s grassroots hockey scene.
Novice
Before the teams even hit the ice, EMHA executive member Kasey Kozicky knew the seeds were in place to grow a successful season in Federation Hockey’s Novice ranks.
With registration up over the previous year and the re-opening of two sheets of ice, Kozicky knew the roots of the capital city’s grassroots program showed signs of strength and the on-ice products followed suit.
“Ultimately we can never say how successful a season it was until we see how many players come back again the next season, but I would say overall it was a good season, definitely,” said Kozicky.
Good wouldn’t begin to describe the season of some teams in this year’s Novice age group. While Kozicky touted .500 seasons as the goal of Federation Hockey’s re-ranking and intra-season divisional adjustments, some teams bucked that trend.
Case in point would have to be the St. Albert Jr. Raiders and the Northwest Warriors in the Novice Bouchard Division. These squads battled for top spot in Novice’s top division all season long, ultimately ending the year knotted with matching 6-2-0 third round records.
Likewise in the Liber Division, coach Al Prokop directed Riverview to a near-perfect third-round record. Prokop’s crew of seven and eight-year-olds scored 35 goals while allowing only 14 against on route to a 7-0-1 in Novice’s second division.
But as good as those squads were, none could hold a candle to St. Albert SA724 in terms of yearly accomplishments. After starting the season in the Phillips (fifth) Division and posting a perfect 8-0-0 record, SA724 found themselves bumped up two divisions into the Virgil Division. What did they do there? Nothing except repeat their first round feat by going a perfect 8-0-0 in Federation Hockey’s final round.
Other perfect record holders from the third round were the St. Charles Vipers, St. Charles Hornets and SWAT 642 in the MacDougall, Bahnsen and Gretzky divisions respectively.
Atom
The goal of Federation Hockey first and foremost is to ensure players are having fun. How do you ensure that, you might ask? Well, really there is no way to 100 per cent ensure fun, but EMHA executive team members figured their best chance at meeting that goal is to make sure teams are playing against similar competition.
Thanks to the three-round schedule format in Federation Hockey teams spend two thirds of their season prodding their competition, while off-ice officials prod for parity. Looking at the results at the Atom level this season, it’s fair to say that parity was achieved and a fair bit of fun came right along with it.
By the third round of the season not a single team in any of Atom’s 13 divisions could lay claim to a perfect record. A few came close mind you, but even the best of the best skated away from their season knowing it’s a short trip from winning to losing.
In the Canadians Division the St. Albert AA Barons finished the season with an overall record of 17-2-3 and closed out the all-important third round of the season with a 6-0-2 record. Neck and neck with the first place Barons all season were the KC Icemen who rounded out the year with a 16-5-1 record and the Northwest Warriors finished 13-5-4 after losing just one game in the third round.
The only other Atom squads to finish the third round without a loss to their credit were: NE126 Brave Raiders, 6-0-2 in the Maple Leafs Division; SE473 North Seera Tanks, 7-0-1 in the Canucks Division; SA737 St. Albert HERicanes, 6-0-2 in the Coyotes Division; NW349 Black Knights, 6-0-2 in the Flyers Division; and the SE477 North Seera Rink Rats, 6-0-2 in the Blues Division.
Peewee
Sometimes a team has all it needs within the four walls of its dressing room to get it done out on the ice each and every night.
But sometimes even the best teams in hockey could use a little extra inspiration.
For Ryan Fedorak’s Northwest Raiders Peewee 2 squad the possibility of representing their city at the 2008 Alberta Winter Games was all the inspiration they needed to turn a mediocre start into one sensational season.
Upon hearing the news that their division’s top squad at the Christmas break would punch their ticket to this year’s Games, the slow-to-start Raiders went on a tear through November and December to take first in the Dutchak Division’s opening round.
“We told the guys that with a little focus we could be that team going to the Winter Games and sure enough they did it,” said Fedorak.
They also managed to win Minor Hockey Week gold and a provincial BB silver medal, both of which were no easy feats considering the level of competition the Raiders faced throughout their regular season and playoffs.
“We knew from before the season started that if we were going to do well this year it was going to mean getting past St. Albert,” Fedorak explained. “And everyone knows that St. Albert always puts good teams on the ice.”
This year was no exception in Federation Hockey’s Peewee ranks. While the SouthWest Icemen took the third round in the Dutchak Division, it was the St. Albert Mission and the St. Albert Blades hooking up in the playoff final in Peewee’s second tier.
Likewise in Peewee’s top ranks, the Clagget Division, it was the St. Albert Jr. Saints and the St. Albert Sabres who dominated the standings all season long and rightly earned spots in their playoff championship series.
Despite falling short of their Saint City rivals all season, when the cards were on the table it was the Sabres who came out on top of the Junior Saints, who highlighted their season with an 8-0-0 third round record and Minor Hockey Week gold.
Bantam
While few might fess up to it, most beat cops would probably tell you ‘guilty by association’ is an unfortunate part of the business.
If you look like a duck, talk like a duck and, most importantly, walk with the ducks, it doesn’t matter if you’re a bald eagle, you’re going to get pegged along with your webbed-footed friends.
So it really shouldn’t have been a surprise when the SWAT Sumos found themselves placed in Federation Hockey’s Bantam 3 Division to start the 2007/08 season. After all, despite being the Southwest Zone’s top-ranked squad, their predecessors from 06/07 had struggled mightily and ended their year in the same division.
“I definitely think our guys felt like they had something to prove this year after being put in the third division to start,” said Sumos bench boss Scott Skinner.
After a decent 4-1-1 record in the second round of the season, Skinner asked EMHA for a promotion to the Frederick (Second) Division. He got his wish and his team didn’t disappoint him. With a new challenge in front of them, the Sumos stepped up, finishing the third round in third place. More importantly, after winning the city championship, the Sumos went on to capture Provincial BB Gold and met Skinner’s biggest goal of all.
“It was kind of cool |
