Alberta, Saskatchewan to battle for bronze at 2019 Canada Winter Games
Semifinal action took place Thursday at the 2019 Canada Winter Games, with Alberta’s hunt for gold coming to an unfortunate end.
Ontario 8; Alberta 4
[Forward Dylan Guenther and defencemen Keagan Slaney and Matt Smith are all Edmonton Oil Kings prospects representing Alberta in the tournament.]
Trailing 6-0 after 40 minutes, Alberta stormed back with four-straight goals in the third but couldn’t complete the comeback against Ontario in an 8-4 loss.
Zack Ostapchuk (St. Albert, Alta./Vancouver Giants), Colton Dach (Fort Saskatchewan, Alta./Saskatoon Blades), Matthew Savoie, and Tyson Laventure (Lloydminster, Alta./Prince Albert Raiders) scored for Alberta in the loss.
Kyle Masters (Edmonton, Alta./Red Deer Rebels) had three assists in the game while Dach added a helper to his goal for the multi-point performance.
Corson Ceulemans (Beaumont, Alta./Moose Jaw Warriors), Jayden Grubbe (Calgary, Alta./Red Deer Rebels), Kai Uchacz (De Winton, Alta./Seattle Thunderbirds), and Dylan Guenther (Edmonton, Alta./Edmonton Oil Kings) each picked up a single assist in the loss. Drew Sim (Tees, Alta./Vancouver Giants) took the loss in net.
Québec 6; Saskatchewan 3
In the first of two semifinals, Québec doubled up Saskatchewan 6-3.
Saskatchewan led 2-0 after 20 minutes on goals from Ashton Ferster (Prince Albert, Sask./Medicine Hat Tigers) and Blake Swetlikoff (Regina, Sask./Spokane Chiefs), but conceded four in the second to trail by two after 40 minutes.
Cole Sillinger (Regina, Sask./Medicine Hat Tigers) scored in the third, but Québec would tack on two more goals in the final period.
Sillinger would have the lone multi-point game for his province while Logen Hammett (Regina, Sask./Brandon Wheat Kings) and Logan Cox (Prince Albert, Sask./Spokane Chiefs) each picked up a single assist. Brett Mirwald (Saskatoon, Sask./Moose Jaw Warriors) stopped 41 shots in the loss.
RELEGATION ROUND
Nova Scotia 3; British Columbia 2 (OT)
[Forwards Michael Abgrall, Carson Latimer and Kobe Verbicky are all Edmonton Oil Kings prospects representing British Columbia in the tournament.]
Logan Stankoven (Kamloops, B.C./Kamloops Blazers) had a goal and an assist Thursday as British Columbia fell 3-2 in overtime to Nova Scotia.
Michael Abgrall (Richmond, B.C./Edmonton Oil Kings) scored the other B.C. goal while Trevor Wong (Vancouver, B.C./Kelowna Rockets) picked up an assist in the loss.
Keegan Maddocks (Langley, B.C./Victoria Royals) stopped 28 shots in the game.
Manitoba 6; New Brunswick 2
Conner Roulette (Winnipeg, Man./Seattle Thunderbirds), Dawson Pasternak (Winnipeg, Man./Portland Winterhawks) and Cole Assailly each had a goal and an assist Thursday as Manitoba downed New Brunswick 6-2.
Manitoba spread out their scoring evenly over the three periods, with Hudson Thornton (Winnipeg, Man./Prince George Cougars) and Hunter Wallace (Oak Lake, Man./Brandon Wheat Kings) scoring in the first period. Goals from Pasternak and Assailly featured in the second while Roulette and Trentyn Crane (Winkler, Man./Victoria Royals) scored in the third.
Both Manitoban goaltenders saw action in the win. Conor Geekie had a pair of helpers while Skyler Bruce (Winnipeg, Man./Kootenay ICE), Rory Neill (Winnipeg, Man./Calgary Hitmen), Aidan Brook (Roblin, Man./Medicine Hat Tigers), Roux Bazin (Treherne, Man./Victoria Royals), and captain Carson Lambos (Winnipeg, Man./Kootenay ICE) each picked up a single assist in the win.
PLACEMENT ROUND
Northwest Territory finished their tournament with a win Thursday, downing Nunavut 4-2 for 11th place at the tournament.
Samuel Schofield (Yellowknife, NWT/Swift Current Broncs) had a pair of assists while Jonah Bevington (Yellowknife, NWT/Portland Winterhawks) had a single helper in the victory.
