Peewee team two wins from provincial berth
Two more wins and they’re league champs.
Considering they haven’t lost yet this season, the Medicine Hat peewee AA Hounds’ biggest foe might be their own egos at this point.
The Hounds swept through the South Central Alberta Hockey League’s South Conference playoff tournament this past weekend in Chestermere, posting a couple ridiculous scorelines before knocking off both Lethbridge teams in Sunday playoff matchups by far closer scores.
Next up? The North champion Central Alberta Selects, who they’ll play in a best-ofthree series. Game 1 is Friday, 5 p.m. at the Family Leisure Centre.
Conference playdowns began with a huge 18-2 win over the host Lakers Thursday, then a 7-2 win over Cranbrook Friday and an 8-0 whitewashing of the Foothills Bisons.
Medicine Hat then toppled Taber 11-0 to clinch first spot in the round robin Saturday.
Sunday was a long one, but worth it in the end. Dawson Stewart scored twice and added an assist in a 4-1 semifinal win over Lethbridge Hurricanes White, while his linemates Shane Smith and Deegan Kinniburgh also had three points. Medicine Hat outshot Lethbridge 33-11.
First-period goals by Dawson Seitz, Kinniburgh and Stewart were all the Hounds needed in a 4-2 final win over Hurricanes Red later Sunday. Gavin Smith scored the other and Silas Currie made 19 saves.
Shane Smith was given a heart and hustle award while Seitz was named team MVP for the weekend.
Now a ridiculous 43-0-2 between the regular season and league playoffs, Medicine Hat is a series win away from provincials. Calgary is hosting peewee AA provincials March 29-April 1.
Midget AA
The host team proved to be the only thing that could stop Medicine Hat’s midget AA Hounds.
At Lethbridge, the Can Pak Environmental Hounds rolled through their playoff tournament, winning four straight games before dropping the final 2-1 Sunday to the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Zachery Dovichak’s secondperiod goal broke a scoreless tie but Hurricanes goals from Spencer Kennedy and Zach Trempner, plus 20 saves by Sean Park sent Lethbridge through to a best-of-three league final next week.
Dawsen Savage made another 27 stops for the Gas City crew, which had a terrific weekend regardless.
They were first place through the round robin, thanks to a 4-0 shutout of Foothills Saturday. Aiden Kruger only needed to make 14 saves in that one, his team putting up 51 on the Bisons net. Matt Lafferty had two goals, including one shorthanded.
A 5-1 semifinal win over Taber Sunday morning — they’d beat the Golden Suns to open the tournament already — featured a four-point effort from Ethan Boutkan, 34 saves by Savage and goals form Boutkan, Brandon Hauck, Jacob Milne, Brett Gray and Ryley Manz.
Midget 15’s
The South East Athletic Club Tigers midget 15-year-old team finished its season with a 1-2-1 record in the consolation bracket of the Sutter South Cup tournament this past weekend in Okotoks.
The Tigers opened with a 53 win over Calgary’s Bruins Thursday, but fell 5-2 to the Canucks Friday, 5-1 tot he AC Avalanche Saturday before earning a 4-4 tie with Calgary Royals Blue. Had they won the last game they would’ve been in the consolation final Saturday evening, making for a ridiculous three games in one day.
Peewee
Medicine Hat’s peewee city league came to a close Sunday, with the Leafs beating the Jets 3-1 at Hockey Hounds arena.