By Laurence Heinen /
With a 4-2 win over the Gregg Distributors on March 23, the Calgary Buffaloes took one step closer to qualifying for the Telus Cup.
Combined with a 5-1 win over the Canadian Athletic Club squad in Edmonton on March 22, the Buffaloes held a 2-0 series lead over the Distributors heading into Game 3 of the best-of-five series on March 26.
“They’re pretty excited about the opportunity to win a championship,” said Calgary coach James Poole of his players.
Brett Switzer scored twice in the Game 2 victory over the Distributors, while Brooks Myers and Joel Lowry added singles. Goalie Sean Cahill stopped 24 of 26 shots to pick up the win.
The winner of the Alberta Midget Hockey League championship final series will host the Cariboo Cougars from Prince George in the Pacific Regional Championship April 4 to 6. The Cougars swept the Okanagan Rockets in two straight games by scores of 5-1 in Prince George on March 21 and 4-3 in Kelowna the next night to capture the B.C. Major Midget League title.
The Pacific Regional champion will then advance to the Telus Cup National Midget Championship in Arnprior, Ont., from April 21 to 27.
The Buffaloes advanced to the AMHL final series by virtue of a 3-2 win in double overtime over the Lethbridge Y’s Men Titans on March 16. The victory gave the Buffs a three-games-to-one semifinal triumph over the Titans.
“We definitely had a tough road,” said Poole of his squad’s long road towards the Telus Cup. “We’ve always been building towards the playoffs. We’re a tough team to play against.”
Bisons journey ends
With a 7-2 loss to the Sherwood Park Flyers on March 22 at Max Bell Arena, the Calgary Bisons impressive playoff run came to an abrupt end.
The Bisons won a Metro South title with two straight victories over the Calgary Royals Gold before ousting the Airdrie Xtreme from the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League South Division finals in five games.
After losing 1-0 and 4-3 to the Flyers in Sherwood Park on March 15 to 16, the Bisons couldn’t come up with the win they needed to extend the series when they returned home for Game 3 the next weekend.
The Flyers now advance to the Western Canadian Bantam Championships in Airdrie from April 3 to 6.
Blackhawks advance to provincials
The CBHA Blackhawks beat the NWCAA Bruins 9-1 on March 16 in Lethbridge to capture the Sutter Cup, emblematic of supremacy in the Southern Alberta (15-year-old) Midget League.
The Blackhawks advanced to the Sutter Cup final by virtue of their 4-3 win over the Red Deer IROC Chiefs, while the Bruins beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes 4-1 in the other semifinal.
With the win over their Calgary counterparts, the Blackhawks earned a spot in the Alberta Minor Midget AAA (15) Provincial Championships from March 28-30 in Fort Saskatchewan.
After facing the host Fort Saskatchewan Rangers on the opening day of the tournament, the Blackhawks will take on the Canadian Athletic Club United Cycle squad from Edmonton and the Grande Prairie Storm the next day. Following the four-team round-robin, the teams with the top two records will meet in the final on March 30. |
