NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN - South East Athletic Club Tigers forward Dawson Stewart takes a shot during the third period of a Hockey Hounds Major Bantam Hockey Tournament game against the Martensville Marauders on Friday at Hockey Hounds Arena.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
The South East Athletic Club Tigers are soaking it all in as hosts of the 47th annual Hockey Hounds Major Bantam Hockey Tournament.
On top of allowing SEAC’s players to compete in front of dozens of Western Hockey League scouts on home ice, the tournament’s round robin has also been giving the group some exposure to a number of different systems. The Tigers opened their weekend with a 4-4 tie to B.C. Major Bantam AAA’s Cariboo Cougars Thursday before falling 4-2 to the Saskatchewan AA Hockey League’s Martensville Marauders Friday and defeating the Canadian Sport School Hockey League’s Burnaby Winter Club 3-1 later that evening.
“It’s good for the guys,” said Tigers head coach Brayden Desjardins. “It gives them an idea of what else is out there. A lot of guys, we’re so used to just playing inside Alberta, so it’s always cool to see what goes on outside of here and the players around Western Canada.”
Tigers alternate captain Dawson Stewart says it’s been a challenge to face off against a series of brand-new opponents, but one he feels they’ve handled well.
“It’s different because we never see them so we don’t know what to expect,” said Stewart. “We’ve just got to come out hard and adapt to how they play.”
The 1-1-1 round-robin performance left the Tigers sitting third in their group. They’ll be back in action Saturday at 1:30 p.m. for a consolation game against Delta Academy at the Kinplex.
While the Tigers suffered their lone loss of the stretch Friday morning, they outshot Martensville 35-29 and Desjardins says the team has been trending in the right direction ever since their tie with the Cougars.
“What we’re doing is working,” said Desjardins. “I think (Thursday) we were a little bit sideways. There were a lot of things that kind of threw us off our game but (Friday) we recuperated and took a step in the right direction.
“The guys worked hard and at the end of the day that’s all I can ask.”
Josh Van Mulligen led the Tigers with four points – all assists – entering Friday’s game against Burnaby, which had him sitting seventh in the tournament’s scoring race.
The tournament hasn’t come without its setbacks however, as forward Dawson Seitz suffered a broken collarbone Thursday evening. Seitz entered the weekend with a goal over his first two games in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League, and potted two more in Thursday’s tie with Cariboo before having his tournament cut short.
“He’s a good player on and off the ice,” said Stewart. “We do miss him, but we’ve just got to keep going.”
Cariboo finished their round robin with a 9-5 victory over Martensville Friday night and will face the Sherwood Park Flyers (2-1-0) in a 10:30 a.m. quarter-final at the Kinplex.
The Balgonie Prairie Storm stayed perfect at the tournament with a 5-3 win over reigning champion St. George’s School and a 5-4 victory over the Leduc Oil Kings to earn a place in Saturday’s 10 a.m. quarter-final against West Van at the Moose Recreation Centre.
Pursuit of Excellence also went 3-0-0 through the round robin following a 9-3 win over Edmonton SSAC and a 6-3 victory over the Northeast Wolfpack Friday. Pursuit of Excellence will face St. George’s in Saturday’s 10 a.m. quarterfinal at Hockey Hounds Arena.
The Lethbridge Golden Hawks went 2-0-1 following a 5-1 win over the Northwest Hawks and a 1-1 tie to Delta. They’ll host Martensville in a 10 a.m. quarter-final at Kin2.
Semifinals will be held Saturday evening at 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at the Kinplex, with the winners advancing to Sunday’s 12:30 p.m. championship.
