BALL HOCKEY SHOTS

In this Issue…

Avalanche … one of

the greatest Minor

teams to ever play

Complete scores from

Minor Championships

Update on the 2014

Western Canadian

Minor championships

in Langley, BC

Final numbers in for

2014 Alberta Minor

Provincials in our city

5 of our players drafted

by W.H.L. clubs

Minor League Crowns its Champs

Official Newsletter of Minor Ball Hockey Association of Edmonton Issue #4 … June 26, 2014

DID YOU KNOW…

There are 3 current NHL’ers who

have played in the Ball Hockey

Edmonton league. They include

> Tyler Ennis (Buffalo Sabres)

> Jared Spurgeon (Minnesota Wild)

> Mark Fistric (Anaheim Ducks)

Fistric is still playing ball hockey

in the city this season, playing in

Ball Hockey Edmonton Men’s.

Minor League Champs

2014 Season

MAJOR DIVISION CHAMPS

> “A” Division … Red Wings

> “B” Division … Chiefs

> “C” Division … Oilers

> “D” Division … Highlights

INTERMEDIATE DIVISION CHAMPS

> “A” Division … Xtreme

> “B” Division … Edmonton Kings

> “C” Division … Pistons

> “D” Division … Flyers

MINOR DIVISION CHAMPS

> “A” Division … Jr. UK Nats

> “B” Division … Pistons

> “C” Division … Sharks

> “D” Division … Oilers

ATOM DIVISION CHAMPS

> “A” Division … Red Wings

> “B” Division … Saints

> “C” Division … Canadians

> “D” Division … Kings

NOVICE DIVISION CHAMPS

> “A” Division … Crushers

> “B” Division … Arrows

> “C” Division … Red Dogs

> “D” Division … Canadians

The 2014 version of our “Minor Championship Weekend” was a very entertaining

one. We had it all … several close games, some high-scoring games, and plenty of

thrilling overtime games were all on the menu. At the end of the weekend, the league

crowned 20 champions new champions, as each age level had A-B-C-D champs.

Minor Ball Hockey Association of Edmonton ran a total of 75 games over the 4 day

City Championships. All games were played at the West Soccer Centre, and all

teams were guaranteed a playoff spots. Just prior to the start of the playoffs, there

was a final re-tiering of teams. We then split the teams into the 4 levels of play, and

there was an A-B-C-D level in each age group. Once games started, it was obvious

that we were in for a treat at many of the age levels. The teams put on quite a show!

Of the 75 games that were played,

27 them were decided by a single

goal. That’s over 1/3 of the games

that went down to the wire. We also

had 5 games go into overtime, and a

couple really stood out. In the

Atom-B semi-final, it took almost 4

full OT periods before the Young

Retro Oil knocked off the Crushers

7-6. In the Minor-C semi-final, the

Sharks beat the Saints 3-2 in a game

that was decided in 3 overtimes.

The most thrilling game on Champ-

ionship Sunday was the Novice A

final. The Crushers edged out the

Maple Leafs 2-1 in the 2nd period

of overtime. On Sunday, 10 of the

20 championship games played

were decided by a single goal.

That’s 1/2 of the games that went

down to the wire. It made for some

thrilling games.

The fans came out in a big way. The

stands were packed and trying to

get a parking spot was a very big

challenge. Thanks to all the parents,

grand-parents, and siblings that

showed up and made a lot of noise

and cheered the kids on.

A big thanks to all our volunteer

coaches, assistants, and all team

Managers for their help this year.

Without you these kids would not

be able to enjoy ball hockey!

DON’T FORGET ABOUT OUR WEBSITE...

Just because the Edmonton spring-summer ball hockey

season is over, doesn’t mean that our website won’t be

updated. Keep checking out the official website of Minor

Ball Hockey Edmonton … we will have updates from the

Minor Western Championship, from Junior Nationals,

general information stories about ball hockey, and news

about our fall-winter league that starts up in October.

The address of our website is:

www.edmontonminorballhockey.com

JULY OFFICE HOURS…

We have cut back our office hours for July. The hours are

listed below. A reminder that our head office is located in

the administration area of the West Soccer Centre…

> Tuesday & Thursday … open 6:00pm to 9:00pm

—–———————————————————————

5 BALL HOCKEY PLAYERS DRAFTED BY W.H.L. TEAMS

Thanks to Norm Spitzer for the following information…

Recently we had 5 local ball hockey boys who were

selected in the Western Hockey League Bantam Draft. All

of these boys play ball hockey in our Intermediate “A”

division. Congratulations to the following young men:

> Matt Wedman (Xtreme) … Seattle, 2nd round pick

> Ryan Anderson (Xtreme) … Everett, 5th round pick

> Peter Kope (Blackhawks) … Pr. George, 5th round pick

> Marco Pasemko (Blackhawks) … Pr. George, 9th round pick

> Kyle Dronyk (Oilers) … Swift Current, 6th round pick

CAMERON HUGHES HAS BIG HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

A long time ball hockey player who has been with us for

many years, has a bright hockey future ahead of him.

Cameron Hughes, 17 years old, is off to play college

hockey in the USA this fall. He has a hockey scholarship

at the University of Wisconsin, after a couple of good

years in the AJHL. Some hockey scouts said that if

Cameron was draft eligible this year, he might have been

a late first-round pick. He will be drafted in 2015, and if

he continues his play, he will be a high draft pick. Maybe

the Edmonton Oilers would be interested? Cameron, who

played with the Red Wings Major team this past season,

is a very polite and respectful young man. We wish him

all the best in the future … good luck Cameron!

Minor Ball Hockey Association of Edmonton - League Information …

AVALANCHE WERE A GREAT

LOCAL BALL HOCKEY TEAM

One of the best local Minor teams of all

time were the Avalanche Club. Their many

league titles, and success at both the Minor

Westerns & Nationals are very impressive.

This group of kids started playing together

in 1998 in the Atom level. Co-coaches were

Peter Small and Brian Devlin, who created

the team with their own kids, some family

members, and close friends. It didn’t take

them long, as they claimed their first city

title in 1999, as Edmonton “Atom” level

champions. Along the way they won 5 City

titles, 4 Western Canadian gold medals, and

a gold & bronze medal at Junior Nationals.

2 current NHL’ers played with the Avalanche

team for all 10 years that their team was

together in the Minor program. TYLER ENNIS

of the Buffalo Sabres and JARED SPURGEON of

the Minnesota Wild started off as young ball

hockey players, and they stuck with the team

until the team moved up into Men’s league

play. But the team did not revolve around

these 2 young talented players. Coaches

Peter & Brian made sure that all kids had

equal floortime. They were great with the

kids, and they taught them how to play the

game. Devlin & Small were great BH players

themselves, and they passed on their

knowledge to their kids … the results are

evident that did a great job with them!

11629-149 street

780-452-8877 Proud to support Minor Ball Hockey Edmonton

ONLY 2 EDMONTON TEAMS ARE OFF TO MINOR WESTERNS

About a month ago, it looked like there could be 4 Edmonton and 3 Medicine Hat teams participating in the 2014 Western Challenge Cup. As of this week, there will only be a total of 2 Edmonton teams carrying the Alberta flag at the Western Championships held for Minor teams.

The Edmonton Blackhawks & the Edmonton Maple Leafs will be going to Langley, B.C. to play. Very disappointing that so many Alberta teams dropped out at the last minute. The future of the Western Challenge Cup is in doubt, as B.C. Minor teams keep making the trip when Westerns are in Alberta, but our teams are not going to British Columbia to play. Our local Minor Executive has a big off-season challenge, to try and figure something out to solve the problem.

It would be very devastating to lose these Championships … they have been around for 14 years and to just not have them would be a great shame. Let’s hope a solution can be found, for the sake of the kids!

2014 Minor Western Championships … “Western Challenge Cup”

EDMONTON TEAMS HAVE WON 24 WESTERN CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Under 19 Champions

> Edmonton Blues: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005

> Edmonton Avalanche: 2006, 2007

> Edmonton Red Wings: 2013

> Edmonton Rockets: 2001

> Edmonton Trojans: 2000

Under 17 Champions

> Edmonton Xtreme: 2005, 2009, 2013

> Edmonton Red Wings: 2011

> Edm. Roadrunners: 2007

Under 15 Champions

> Edmonton Xtreme: 2007, 2010

> Edmonton Blackhawks: 2013

> Edmonton Avalanche: 2003

> Edmonton Blues: 2001

Under 13 Champions

> Edmonton Xtreme: 2011

> Edmonton Avalanche: 2002

> Edmonton Royals: 2003

> Edmonton Stars: 2005

Under 11 Champions

> Edmonton Oilers: 2005

38 TEAMS WILL ATTEND THE 2014 WESTERN MINOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Even though the attendance from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba will be almost non-existent, the 2014 Western

Challenge Cup will have a good showing of teams. A total of 38 teams will play in the 5 age groups, to try and claim

the title of being the best Minor team in Western Canada. The 5 age groups that will be playing at the Westerns are

U-19, U-17, U-15, U-13, and U-11.

- Valley Minor Ball Hockey (BC) - Surrey Minor Ball Hockey (BC)

- Metro Vancouver Minor Ball Hockey (BC) - Victoria Minor Ball Hockey (BC)

- Delta Minor Ball Hockey (BC) - Ridge Meadows Minor Ball Hockey (BC)

- Richmond Minor Ball Hockey (BC) - Tri-Cities Minor Ball Hockey (BC)

- Edmonton Minor Ball Hockey (AB)

Langley Minor Ball Hockey has stepped up and their league will be hosting the event. The Western Challenge Cup

Championships will run during the week of July 17-18-19-20. They will be using a total of 4 rinks to run the event, and

they have some good volunteers who have been working on this tournament since early January of this year. On

behalf of Minor Ball Hockey Association of Edmonton and our 2 teams attending, we thank the Langley league and

their volunteers for putting this event on. There will be over 700 kids who will benefit from your hard work!

THANKS TO MINOR

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

& OTHER VOLUNTEERS

Thanks goes out to the people who

make Minor Ball Hockey Association

of Edmonton what it is. All of the

volunteer’s who are on the board,

other volunteers who have helped out

this year, contract staff, and our

Rink Supervisors. Thanks to all for

doing what you do, as you all make

this league a better place for all

the kids!

MINOR EXECUTIVE

-President … Jeff Romaine

-V.P. Financial … Brian Backstrom

-V.P. Operation … Guy Lunnin

-Director … Shirley Ford

-Director … Tim Clarke

-Director … Wayne Kirton

CONTRACT STAFF

-Tech. Director … Craig Miller

-Referee Assignor … Mike Fisher

-Assistant Assignor … Kim Fisher

-Timekeep Assignor … Randy Layetzke

–Office Support … Shirley Ford

-League Manager … Steve Posavec

-League Helper … Adam Posavec

RINK SUPERVIORS

-Cassandra Nader

-Pat Nelson

-Valora Conroy

–Kimberly Fisher

-Linda Romaine

OTHER VOLUNTEERS & HELPERS

-Norm Spitzer … High Performance Scout

-Adam Posavec … Pre-Novice Operations

-Steve Posavec … Pre-Novice Organization

–Cynthia Posavec … Pre-Novice Snacks

-Stacey Kirton … General helper

REFEREES & TIMEKEEPERS

To all of our Referees & Timekeepers,

for your dedication and hard work, we

sincerely thank-you. We could not run

this league without your help!

ALBERTA PROVINCIALS WILL HAVE 31 TEAMS

The final numbers are in, and there will be a total of 31 Minor teams

playing at the Alberta Minor Ball Hockey Provincials. The 31 teams

ties the 2013 all-time high number of teams participating at the

Minor Provincials. There are 4 different age groups at Provincials,

and that includes 17-U, 14-U, 12-U, and 10-U. There are both “A”

and “B” levels in each age category, so 8 sets of medals will be given

to the top 3 teams in each group. The teams are coming from 4

Alberta leagues … Edmonton Minor Ball

Hockey, Medicine Hat Minor Ball Hockey

League, Calgary Minor SuperLeagues, and

the Sherwood Park Minor Ball Hockey

League. There are 4 other leagues in the

Province (Provost, Lethbridge, St. Albert,

Fort Saskatchewan) but they will not send teams to Provincials. We

hope they can attend the 2015 Provincials. Our local Edmonton Mi-

nor league will be well represented at these 2014 Provincials. We will

have 13 teams playing:

> 17-U … “A” level: Flying Picos

> 17-U … “A” level: Lightning

> 17-U … “B” level: Saints

> 14-U … “A” level: Blackhawks

> 14-U … “B” level: Oilers

> 14-U … “B” level: Kings

> 14-U … “B” level: Sharks

> 12-U … “A” level: Jr. UK Nats

> 12-U … “A” level: Maple Leafs

> 12-U … “B” level: Pistons

> 10-U … “A” level: Retro Oilers

> 10-U … “A” level: Avalanche

> 10-U … “B” level: Canadians

We wish all our teams the best of luck. In the next issue of our local

newsletter, we will have results and the full story from the 2014

Alberta Minor Ball Hockey championships!

EDMONTON SOCCER FACILITIES

Wishes all teams playing in the

Minor Ball Hockey Association of Edmonton,

a successful and safe season in 2014!

To book practices at any of our facilities, please call us

at

780-413-6493 — extension #1

COMPLETE SCORES FROM EDMONTON’S CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND

MAJOR “A”

QF - Xtreme 7-3 over Tigers

SF - Red Wings 8-1 over Xtreme

SF - Lightning 4-1 over Flying Picos

FIN - Red Wings 8-1 over Lightning

MAJOR “B”

QF - Oil Kings 7-4 over Crushers

SF - Chiefs 6-1 over Pistons

SF - Saints 9-4 over Oil Kings

FIN - Chiefs 2-1 over Saints

MAJOR “C”

QF - T-Rex 5-1 over Avalanche

QF - Eagles 4-3 over Flyers

QF - Cougars 2-1 over Canadians

QF - Oilers 4-2 over Soldiers

SF - Oilers 9-3 over Eagles

SF - Cougars 3-2 over T-Rex

FIN - Oilers 2-1 over Cougars

MAJOR “D”

SF - Highlights 6-3 over Rockets

SF - Rangers 4-1 over Maple Leafs

FIN - Highlights 5-2 over Rangers

INTERMEDIATE “A”

SF - Xtreme 5-0 over Red Wings

SF - Blackhawks 8-1 over Sharks

FIN - Xtreme 2-1 over Blackhawks

INTERMEDIATE “B”

QF - Saints 2-1 over Mighty Ducks

QF - Kings 4-2 over Oilers

SF - Bruins 9-2 over Saints

SF - Kings 4-0 over Edmonton Kings

FIN - Kings 5-1 over Bruins

INTERMEDIATE “C”

QF - Jets 3-2 over Canadians (OT)

SF - Oil Kings 7-1 over Jets

SF - Pistons 7-1 over Stars

FIN - Pistons 1-0 over Oil Kings

INTERMEDIATE “D”

SF - Maple Leafs 7-0 over Soldiers

SF - Flyers 1-0 over Arrows

FIN - Flyers 5-4 over Maple Leafs

MINOR “A”

QF - Stingers 5-2 over Red Dogs

SF - Jr. UK Nats 5-0 over Stingers

SF - Wolves 9-4 over Soldiers

FIN - Jr. UK Nats 3-2 over Wolves

MINOR “B”

QF - Retro Oilers 8-1 over Arrows

QF - Tigers 4-3 over Rockets

QF - Bruins 5-1 over The Leafs

QF - Pistons 3-2 over Kings (2OT)

SF - Retro Oilers 7-0 over Tigers

SF - Pistons 2-0 over Bruins

FIN - Pistons 3-2 over Retro Oilers

MINOR “C”

QF - Flyers 3-0 over Crushers

QF - Sharks 4-0 over Jets

SF - Stars 5-2 over Flyers

SF - Sharks 3-2 over Saints (3OT)

FIN - Sharks 7-3 over Stars

MINOR “D”

QF - Oilers 3-0 over Pandas

SF - Oilers 4-2 over Blackhaws

SF - Maple Leafs 3-2 over Canadians

FIN - Oilers 5-4 over Maple Leafs

ATOM “A”

SF - Red Wings 5-4 over Xtreme

FIN - Red Wings 7-4 over Avalanche

ATOM “B”

QF - Oilers 7-5 over Sharks

SF - Saints 7-6 over Oilers (OT)

SF - Yng. Retro Oil 7-6 over Crushers (4OT)

FIN - Saints 4-3 over Young Retro Oil

ATOM “C”

QF - Maple Leafs 7-0 over Pandas

QF - Arrows 2-1 over Jets

SF - Canadians 10-3 over Arrows

SF - Rockets 8-4 over Maple Leafs

FIN - Canadians 5-3 over Rockets

ATOM “D”

FIN - Kings 8-1 over Stingers

NOVICE “A”

QF - Maple Leafs 3-2 over Stingers

QF - Sharks 7-2 over Oilers

SF - Crushers 6-1 over Sharks

SF - Maple Leafs 8-1 over Rockets

FIN - Crushers 2-1 over Maple Leafs (2OT)

NOVICE “B”

SF - Arrows 10-4 over Kings

FIN - Arrows 5-2 over Jets

NOVICE “C”

FIN - Red Dogs 6-4 over Pandas

NOVICE “D”

SF - Stars 5-1 over Saints

FIN - Canadians 5-2 over Stars

Contact us at ...

Minor Ball Hockey Edmonton

17415-106 a avenue

Edmonton, T5S-1M7

(780) 944-4090, ext.#2

e-mail) minorBHoffice@shaw.ca

Visit us on our website at www.edmontonminorballhockey.com

Our office hours in July are:

TUESDAY’s & THURSDAY’s

open 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Minor Fall & Winter League … starts in mid October REGISTRATION WILL START EASRLY AUGUST @ Minor Ball Hockey Office

MINOR TEAMS WHO MOVED INTO

MEN’S LEAGUE HAVE HAD SUCCESS

Over the years that we have had a minor program,

there have been several hundred kids who have

moved up as individuals to play in the Men’s

program. We have also had full teams who have

moved up as well.

Many of those teams have done well in the Men’s

league … some had instant success, while other

teams have taken a few season’s to get there. The

most successful group would have to be the Blues …

they moved up to Men’s and won a Tier 2 Provincial

championship in their first try. That Blues team

changed names and became the Capitals. Moving up

to Division 1, they had a very good team for a

couple of seasons, but in 2010 they really put it

together and became Tier One champions.

Currently in the Men’s league, there are several

teams that either moved up from the Minor league

as a whole team, or teams who have groups of Minor

league grads. Over the years, some of these teams

have actually had great success after they have

moved up to Men’s league play. The list and the

division they won are listed below:

> Capitals … 2010 won Division 1

> Avalanche … 2007 & 2008 won Division 2

> Mustangs … 2012 won Division 3

> Soldiers … 2013 won Division 4

> Rangers … 2004 won Division 3

> Highlights … 2006 (Div.6) & 2008 (Div.5)

> Predators … 2000 (Div.5) & 2006 (Div.6)

> Schooners … 2003 (Div.10)

> Oil Demons … 1995 (Div.06)

PLAY SOME BALL HOCKEY & HELP OUT THE FOOD BANK! A program called “Five Hole For Food” will take place on the streets of downtown Edmonton on JULY 23rd. This initiative is

supported by Canadian Ball Hockey Association, and the “Five Hole” group travels to major cities across Canada to collect

food donations for local food banks. It’s simple … put together a team of 5-7 players, collect some food from players, and come

down to play some fun ball hockey games. There is NO entry fee … you are asked instead to have your team collect food items

to donate. The event will go from 3:00pm to 8:00pm on the blocked off street between the l9brary and the Westin Hotel. CISN

Country Radio will be broadcasting live fro the site, and there will be prize draws & bar-b-que for players. For more info, check

out their website. We wish this group all the best and we hope they collect a lot of food!