By Peter Watts /
The Calgary AAA Minor Midget Royals have a big week coming up Nov. 23 to 30 in Whitby, Ont.
It’s the Whitby Silver Stick tournament with Minor Atom, Minor Peewee, Minor Bantam, and Minor Midget divisions.
The Minor Midget division will be a 24-team test with the Royals in a division that includes the Toronto Nationals, rated one of the top teams at this level in Ontario.
That team is led by the son of former NHL defenceman, Al Iafrate.
“We’re guaranteed three games,” says head coach Riley O’Hare. “We’ve got good goaltending, led by Bolton Pouliot, and we’re led up front by Joel Rogers. We know we’re in tough but this will be a great experience for our players and we’re looking forward to doing well.”
Airdrie and the South Side Athletic Club from Edmonton are also going to the Whitby event.
All three teams play in a highly competitive Alberta league.
The Calgary Blackhawks from the southeast quadrant are the current south division leaders with seven wins in their first eight games.
Airdrie is 7-2 in the early going and the Royals, after a strong start, have slipped back to 4-3. And so, the trip will be a great challenge for players to test themselves against teams they don’t usually see – and it will be a nice change before the focus returns to doing well in Alberta. |
