Bantams back in playoff picture
The South East Athletic Club Tigers are heading back to the playoffs.
SEAC’s bantam AAA club earned a huge win and got some help this past weekend to clinch their first post-season berth since 2013 — the first season they played under the SEAC banner.
On Sunday, the Tigers were back home having lost Saturday on the road. Normally the second game of a home-and-home weekend is always tough, but the bantam AAA’s made the most of it.
The Tigers beat the Calgary Flames 5-4 at Hockey Hounds, Jase Fleury’s winner coming with 7:06 to play.
Tanner Gold scored twice including the equalizer a couple minutes earlier in the third, while Ty Moore and Ethan Machan had the others. Roman Cherniak had two assists.
Marek Andres made 24 saves in a game the Tigers outshot the Flames 33-28.
The big win came after a 5-1 loss Saturday in Red Deer. Vaughn Strutt had the lone goal while Brendan Olson faced 42 shots in net.
The win, combined with two Okotoks losses, clinched South East its playoff berth. They’ll finish fourth in their division and likely face Airdrie in the first round of playoffs.
Midget 15’s
Home ice didn’t produce the desired results for the South East Athletic Club’s midget 15-year-old Tigers this past weekend.
The team dropped two decisions at the Hockey Hounds Recreation Centre, 8-0 to Red Deer North Star on Saturday and 3-1 to Edmonton’s Canadian Athletic Club on Sunday.
Steven Bell had a hat trick and Caleb Trotter turned aside all 22 Tigers shots in Red Deer’s Saturday win. The visitors outshot the home side 4922.
All the scoring Sunday came in the opening 20 minutes, with Kagen Rude netting the lone marker for SEAC. Gage Reimer made 40 stops in the loss, keeping things close.
It was the ninth loss in a row for the Tigers, who host the Calgary Stampeders Saturday and will head to playoffs early next month.
Midget AA
It was a split of one-goal games for Medicine Hat’s midget AA Hounds this past weekend.
The Can Pak Environmental Hounds lost 4-3 to the Calgary Blazers Saturday, before earning a 4-3 win Sunday over the Okotoks Oilers.
Brett Gray, Dawson Hittel and Zachery Dovichak scored Saturday, Gray’s power play marker coming with 46 seconds to go.
Down 3-1 to Okotoks entering Sunday’s third period, it looked like the weekend might be a bust. But Levi Schlosser scored twice, including the game-winner in the comeback.
Hittel and Aiden Gleisner had the other goals while Aidan Kruger stopped 15 shots in net. Medicine Hat outshot Okotoks 42-18.
The Hounds host Lethbridge Friday, 7:15 p.m. at the Kinplex.
Bantam AA
The bantam AA Hounds dropped a 4-1 loss to the Central Alberta Selects Sunday at the Moose Rec Centre.
Evan Gebhart had Medicine Hat’s goal in the first period, but that was the only time they got one past goalie Jaxon Beier, who finished with 21 saves.
Bodee Weiss made 29 saves in the Hounds net.
Peewee AA
The win streak ended, but the unbeaten streak continues for the Hounds peewee AA team.
Medicine Hat drew Okotoks Oilers Green 4-4 Saturday in Okotoks, ending a string of 11 straight victories. They’re still perfect in league play, 27-0-2, however.
Dawson Seitz scored twice and set up Dawson Stewart’s game-tying goal with 4:22 remaining in the third period. Gavin Smith had the other goal for the visitors, who outshot Okotoks 40-18.
Goalie Jack Lines came in after Seitz made it 3-0 in the first and proceded to stop 35 of the 36 shots he faced for Okotoks.