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Thursday, March 28, 2013
Greg Meachem, Sports Editor, 403-314-4363 Sports line 403-343-2244 Fax 403-341-6560 sports@reddeeradvocate.com
Break out the brooms REBELS SWEEP RAIDERS, LIKELY FACE CALGARY IN SECOND ROUND DOMINIC RHODES
ALS SIGN SUPER BOWL STANDOUT The Montreal Alouettes have signed former NFL running back and Super Bowl standout Dominic Rhodes to a two-year deal. Rhodes spent 10 seasons in the NFL, with one of his best performances coming in Super Bowl 41. He rushed for a game-high 113 yards with a touchdown as the Indianapolis Colts capped the 2006 season with a 29-17 win over Chicago. Rhodes amassed 3,286 rushing yards on 814 carries with 26 touchdowns over his career with Indianapolis, Oakland and Buffalo. In 2001, Rhodes set an NFL record for rushing yards by an undrafted rookie running back with 1,104. Rhodes played the last two seasons for the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. The native of Waco, Texas was named the UFL’s offensive player of the year in 2011 and he helped guide the Destroyers to a championship.
Today
● Curling: Albert mixed championship at Olds Curling Club.
Friday
● Curling: Albert mixed championship at Olds Curling Club. ● Midget AAA hockey: Red Deer at Edmonton Southside, fourth game of best-of-five AMHL final, if necesssary, 7:45 p.m., Bill Hunter Arena. ● WHL: Prince Albert at Red Deer, fifth game of best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal, if necessary, 8 p.m., Centrium.
BY GREG MEACHEM ADVOCATE SPORTS EDITOR Rebels 3 Raiders 2 PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — It’s onward and upward for the Red Deer Rebels. The Rebels rallied from a two-goal deficit Wednesday and got a third-period marker from captain Turner Elson to defeat the Prince Albert Raiders 3-2 and complete a four-game sweep of the best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference quarter-final. Red Deer will meet the Calgary Hitmen in a conference semifinal that will start late next week at the Saddledome. The Raiders, in desperation mode, roared out of the gate in the same fashion as they did the night before. But unlike Game 3, in which the first period was scoreless, the hosts struck for two goals in the first nine minutes. However, that turned out to be all the Raiders would produce. After allowing 17 shots in the first 20 minutes, the Rebels held Prince Albert to 14 the rest of the way. “It was huge for us to come in here and get two wins,” said Rebels forward Rhyse Dieno, who picked up an assist to give him six points (2g,4a) in the series. “Our goal was to win two here. “We kind of got away from our game in the first period, but Brent (GM/head coach Sutter) gave us the gears and we got back to our game and shut them down defensively the last two periods.” The Raiders, with the vast majority of the 2,655 fans in attendance loudly voicing their approval, opened the scoring 5:19 into the game as Mark McNeill cashed a rebound of a point shot by Josh Morrissey. The hosts continued to apply heat, and with Rebels rearguard Devan Fafard off for slashing, potted their first power-play goal of the series. Jayden Hart was the trigger man, slipping the puck past Red Deer netminder Patrik Bartosak while parked alone in front. Conner Bleackley replied for the Rebels at 12:02, working his way out of the corner and into the low slot and wiring a wrist shot past Raiders goaltender Luke Siemens. “We knew they were a desperate team and they were going to come hard again early in the game,” said Sutter. “The first 15 minutes, I thought we played a soft game. “But we regrouped — and the goal by Bleacks before the period was over was huge — and from that point on we were pretty darn good again the last two periods. We created a lot more too and spent a lot of time in their zone.” Brooks Maxwell, following a heads-up play by Dieno to keep the puck inside the Raiders blueline, pulled the Rebels even at 13:05 of the second period, working into the faceoff circle and picking the far corner glove-side with Siemens at least partially screened.
Photo by PERRY BERGSON/Prince Albert Daily Herald
Red Deer Rebels captain Turner Elson snaps a shot at Prince Albert Raiders goalie Luke Siemens during the third period at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert on Wednesday. Elson didn’t connect on that play but scored an unassisted goal a few shifts later to lead his team to a 3-2 win and a series sweep. “I think the tender was kind of screened. I kind of fired through the screen and it went in. It was a great feeling,” said Maxwell. Elson sniped the winner midway through the final frame, working his way down the left side and connecting with a wrist shot from the faceoff circle. The turning point, according to Dieno, was the Rebels’ ability to shake off some early jitters. “I think with us being up 3-0 in the series, we were gripping our sticks too tight,” he suggested. “Going into the second period, we just calmed down and got back to our game.” Bartosak, as per usual, was nothing short of excellent. He made a pair of splendid saves on Leon Draisaitl in the first period, foiled Reid Gardiner on a second-period breakaway and robbed Shane Danyluk with just a few seconds left and with Siemens on the bench. The Eastern Conference goaltender of the year finished with 29 saves. Siemens, meanwhile, stopped 34 shots. While the Rebels swept the series, every game was a true test. “The Raiders are good competitors and we knew they would be,” said Maxwell. “We had good battles with them all year and this was a good, tough series.”
“I was proud of the kids, they competed hard and played hard,” said Sutter. “We did a good job with a lot of our details. We were resilient in every game and that’s how we as coaches want to see this team play. “We want to be a structured team that plays with hockey sense and smarts. And hey, it doesn’t matter who you play — if you win in four you’re doing something right.” Raiders head coach Steve Young wasn’t hanging his head despite the defeat. “Our guys can be happy and proud of what they’ve accomplished this season,” he insisted. “Last year we weren’t in the playoffs . . . we weren’t near the playoffs. “We did a lot of good things in a lot of categories this season. We got some good playoff experience and when you’re playing a team, like this (Rebels) you have to learn every shift. “We can say we’re disappointed that we lost four straight, but there was a lot of positives from our hockey club this year.” The Rebels now have at least a week off before facing the Hitmen in the next round. “The time off will be good for us,” said Dieno. “We have some guys who are a little banged up right now. We can get healthy and get ready for the next (series).” ● The three stars were (1) Elson, (2) Draisaitl and (3) Maxwell). gmeachem@reddeeradvocate.com
Flames melt Avalanche without Iggy BY THE CANADIAN PRESS
Saturday
● Curling: Albert mixed championship at Olds Curling Club.
Sunday
● Curling: Albert mixed championship at Olds Curling Club. ● Midget AAA hockey: Edmonton Southside at Red Deer, fifth game of best-of-five AMHL final, if necessary, 2:45 p.m., Arena. Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS
Colorado Avalanche’s Cody Mcleod, right, fights with Calgary Flames’ Tim Jackman during NHL action in Calgary, Wednesday.
Flames 4 Avalanche 3 CALGARY — Mike Cammalleri scored twice to lead the Calgary Flames to a 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday. With captain Jarome Iginla out of the lineup for the first time in nearly six years, the Flames (13-15-4) won their eighth straight game on home ice at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The subject of trade speculation all season long, Iginla was announced as a healthy scratch just two hours before the start of the game. The last time Iginla missed a game was back on April 8, 2007 in Colorado against the Avs, a span of 441 consecutive games. Jiri Hudler and Steve Begin also scored for the Flames, while Blake Comeau had two assists. Joey MacDonald made 27 saves in the Calgary net to pick up the win. MacDonald started in place of Miikka Kiprusoff, who had played the past four games for the Flames, including
the night before in Calgary’s 2-0 road loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Jamie McGinn, Gabriel Landeskog and Ryan O’Reilly scored for the Avalanche (11-17-4), who have lost three straight games and seven of their past eight. PA Parenteau had two assists. Avs goalie Semyon Varlamov meanwhile stopped 23-of-27 shots. The Flames outshot the Avs 14-2 in the first period and took a 2-0 lead by virtue of a power-play goal by Hudler and an even-strength marker by Begin, his first goal in 17 games. McGinn scored for Colorado at 4:29 of the second before Cammalleri answered back for Calgary just 12 seconds later to put the Flames up 3-1. Shortly after MacDonald made a nice glove save to deny a great scoring chance by Steve Duchene, the backup Calgary netminder let in a weak goal when a pass by Landeskog bounced off the net, then off his skate and in. Before the end of the second, Cammalleri one-timed a pass from Dennis Wideman past Varlamov to put the Flames up 4-2.
Weir proud of impact Masters win has had on Canadians BY THE CANADIAN PRESS
GIVE US A CALL The Advocate invites its readers to help cover the sporting news in Central Alberta. We would like to hear from you if you see something worthy of coverage. And we would appreciate hearing from you if you see something inaccurate in our pages. We strive for complete, accurate coverage of Central Alberta and are happy to correct any errors we may commit. Call 403-343-2244 with information and results, or email to sports@ reddeeradvocate.com.
When Mike Weir made his acceptance speech after winning the 2003 Masters, he said he hoped that his victory would inspire some young Canadian golfers. It certainly did. It’s impossible to know just how many Canadian kids picked up a golf club after watching Weir beat Len Mattiace in a playoff that day at Augusta National. But the impact of Weir’s performance is already visible on the PGA Tour. Weir said he thought it was “pretty cool” to hear that Canadian player Graham DeLaet didn’t have plans to become a professional golfer until he watched that Masters victory. He added he’s very proud of the fact that his win may have influenced the next generation of young golfers in this country. “If that did inspire Graham and some of the other guys, that’s wonderful.” Weir said. “That makes it worth it.” Weir, from Bright’s Grove, Ont., became the first Canadian-born men’s player to win a major and the first left-hander to win the
Masters. He weighed in on the accomplishment Wednesday as the 10th anniversary of his victory approaches. The 42-year-old southpaw, who now lives in Utah, said the memories came rushing back during a recent visit to the famous course. “Going back there a couple weeks ago, I kind of relived some of the shots maybe a little more than I normally would,” he said. One of the more memorable shots on that final Sunday came on the 18th green. Weir hit a clutch eight-foot putt and went on to win the playoff. “It was a big moment so to be able to step up there and do that, I was proud to be able to do that,” Weir said. The Canadian used well-placed fairway shots and a stellar short game to earn the victory. The win was the defining moment of his career. “I’m a fairly understated guy and I was a little taken aback by the attention, I guess, at the start,” he said. “That was a little bit tough to get used to. But other than that, my lifestyle didn’t really change a whole lot.” Weir has since dabbled in several businesses — including course design, clothing
and wine. He has done a lot of charity work and is a member of the Order of Canada. Weir, who has recorded eight career victories as a pro, is the most successful Canadian golfer ever. However, he hasn’t won since 2007 and injuries have hampered his play in recent years. “I feel healthy now except for a few little setbacks I’m having,” Weir said. “But I feel like I can still play some good golf going forward. It’s just kind of part of the ride of life. We go through ups and downs and it’s just part of it. “It’s been disappointing though that I haven’t (been healthy) but at the same time, I’ve enjoyed a lot of things and aspects of my life in recent years.” Weir is nursing a rib injury but still plans to be in the field at Augusta for the April 11-14 tournament. “Maybe I’ll get down there a little early and maybe this rest will do me some good because I have been spending a lot of time practising,” he said. “I’ve put in a tremendous amount of work ... maybe this little break here will be good.”