Canadiens Jr. B Provincials Day One Recap

Canadiens fall to Vipers 4-2 in opener

There were four games on the schedule for opening day of the Hockey Alberta Provincial Championships in St. Paul. Wainwright played the 4 p.m. game, and St. Paul officially opened the tournament with the late game.

Afternoon games

In the early game, the Beaumont Chiefs and Cochrane Generals went toe-to-toe offensively. It would be Beaumont who came out on top 6-5 to open the tournament 1-0. Slater Ransom (Cochrane) and Douglas Morris (Beaumont) both recorded three points.

The second game on the schedule for Thursday had the Wetaskiwin Iceman and CBHA Calgary B Rangers facing off. Wetaskiwin skated to a 10-0 blowout victory. Reid Pankewicz picked up four points in the win.

Wainwright wins their first game

Wainwright, as mentioned, slotted in as the third game of the day. The Bisons faced the NWJHL’s Fairview Flyers in their tournament opening match. Taylor Schubada recorded a hat-trick for the Bisons. Tyler Fischer chipped in three assists. Final score was 7-3 for the Bisons.

St. Paul battles Red Deer in late game

The opening ceremonies were themed “Past, Present, Future”. For a full look at the opening ceremonies at the Hockey Alberta Provincial Championships in St. Paul, click the video below:

After everything was wrapped up, the St. Paul Canadians set out for warmups. Their opponent in the late game was the Red Deer Vipers. Red Deer hosted Provincials last year and won the Heritage Junior Hockey League this year.

The first period was fairly tame. A couple of penalties were handed out, but nothing would come of the powerplay chances. Kona Jackson’s penalty for slashing carried over into the second period, but the Vipers were unable to capitalize.

Brett Hoppus would score two goals on 5 on 3 powerplays to take a 2-0. St. Paul was unable to answer back in the second period. Tyler Kwiatkowski gave the Canadiens a fighting chance in the period, stopping every shot he faced after the early goals in the period.

The third period saw the Clancy Richard Arena come alive. Brayden Goulet picked up a nifty pass from Morgan Greve, broke in, and sniped one off the post to cut the Red Deer lead to 2-1. Logan Linnell dampened the crowd with his goal at 12:40. It was Red Deer’s third powerplay tally of the night.

The Canadiens got a late chance on the powerplay and were able to cash in to make it 3-2. Nick Cuglietta let a seeing eye shot go from the point that beat Branden Bilodeau. That is as close as the Canadiens would get, as the Vipers sealed the deal with an empty netter.

The 4-2 final wrapped up day 1 in St. Paul. The Canadiens are back on the ice at 4 p.m. Friday against the Calgary Rangers.