By / Ryan Laverty
The first frost may still just be melting, but that doesn’t mean rivalries can’t heat up around the Edmonton area.
Bantam AAA
At press time, in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League, the Southside Athletic Club and the Maple Leaf Athletic Club were headed into a battle for first-place in the Nitro North Division. SSAC was 4-0-0 headed into the match-up thanks to a solid combination of goal scoring and prevention.
The Athletics had potted 19 goals in four games, while only allowing seven against.
At the same time the Maple Leafs, have rattled off an equally impressive 4-1-0 record, proving themselves to be one of the most offensively gifted groups around. The Scott Pump sponsored Leafs had scored 24 goals in five games, second only to the Lloydminster Heat who had scored 26 goals in the same number of games.
The Airdrie Extreme lead the league in goals for and goal differential with 33 goals and only 13 against.
Elbowing for a spot amongst the Nitro Division’s heavyweights is the St. Albert Gregg Distributors Sabres, who had posted a 2-0-0 record.
At the bottom of the six-team division are the Lehigh Inland Cement Canadians, the Knights of Columbus Squires and the Sherwood Park Flyers, none of whom had registered a win.
Bantam AA
The Edmonton Bantam AA 2008/09 season is still very much in its infancy, but perhaps the biggest rivalry of the year so far comes out of one association.
The MLAC Brickmen walloped their community counterparts MLAC Freeze Maxwell 9-5 in the annual Maple Leaf Blue and White game on Oct. 10.
Both MLAC teams missed the playoffs last season, and will no doubt be looking for improvement this year.
Last season’s AA powerhouse, the Sherwood Park Leafs, won’t have a chance to match their previous record after posting a 1-1-0 record in their opening two games. The Leafs finished 2007/08 with a sparkling 31-0-2 record. |
