Wainwright Captures Jr. B Provincials Championship

Bisons head to Manitoba for Western’s

A 2 p.m. puck drop between the Wainwright Bisons and Cochrane Generals on Sunday finished a 16 game weekend in St. Paul.  The weekend took a little longer to end than normal provincials as the teams headed to overtime. The Bisons would cash the game winner to capture the Provincial Championship.

The Bisons would start the game on the right foot. Taylor Schubada scored the opening goal for Wainwright. Brandon Aab of the Generals took a wild stab at a puck, fell down, took another stab and beat Cade Spencer to tie the game. Joey Stensland scored the go-ahead goal for the Generals with 6:14 on the clock in the first. A powerplay chance came the Bisons way in the final two and a half minutes. Curtis McKinlay lined up a one-timer and evened the score 2-2 headed to the locker room.

In the first ten minutes of the second, the Bisons put up two more goals. McKinlay and Fischer notched the tallies for Wainwright. With 1:26 left in the middle frame, the Generals struck back to make it 4-3.

The Generals came into the third on the high of the late goal. Slater Ransom scored the tying goal 3:31 into the third. The Bisons and Generals would get a fair bunch of chances to each put the game to bed. Neither team could bury the game winner, so we headed to overtime.

Overtime would see chances being traded both ways. Taylor Schubada battled along the boards, but lost the puck to the Generals defence. Schubada closed in, and created a crucial turnover. Schubada would take the puck hard to the net, and it was Zach Mackay crashing the net who got credit for the Provincial Championship winning goal. The Bisons now head to Manitoba for the 2017 Keystone Cup.

Canadiens’ weekend ends on Saturday

After losing their opening two games, the St. Paul Canadiens came into Saturday’s action against the Wetaskiwin Icemen ready to play. The game looked to be straight out of the mid-2000s NEAJBHL. The Canadiens imposed a hard, physical style throughout the entire game. David Rupp started his final game in Junior B, and Ryan Rancier scored in his final game. Nick Cuglietta scored  two goals as the Canadiens sent their fans off for the summer with a 7-5 victory.

Bronze goes to Wetaskiwin

The Wetaskiwin Icemen were handed a defeat in the semis by the Wainwright Bisons. That meant they headed to the Bronze Medal game against the Calgary Rangers. The Icemen had thumped the Rangers 10-0 in their round robin game earlier in the weekend. Wetaskiwin would shut out the Rangers once more to win the bronze. Final score for the Iceman was 4-0.

Four teams head home Saturday

Saturday morning and early afternoon was crucial for a lot of teams in the tournament. Red Deer was sent on the road with a 3-2 loss to Calgary first thing in the morning. St. Paul won their final match but ended their season before the semis. The Fairview Flyers and Beaumont Chiefs played a game with a lot of complicated math involved. The Flyers would come away with the victory 8-3 and ended both teams seasons.

Overall the weekend was deemed a success by many around the St. Paul Canadiens organization and the town of St. Paul. Lakeland Connect will return to Junior B hockey next season.