NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Ryleigh Jackiw of the U16 Matrix carries the ring in their 8-5 win against the Lethbridge Rattlers on Oct. 23.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Medicine Hat will be on full display this weekend for ringette teams from Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Starting Friday is the annual Ed Horvath Interprovincial Ringette tournament with games scheduled for the 26 teams and more than 400 athletes participating at the three rinks across Medicine Hat.
The U16 Matrix enter the tournament coming off a week without a game but are undefeated with six wins and two ties in league play and have already won two tournaments to kick off the season. Head coach Donnel Provost says his team is excited, prepared and carrying momentum into the weekend.
“We’ve been working on quite a bit for the past few months, we’ve had a lot of success and we keep getting stronger,” Provost said.
The Matrix enter the weekend with a group who have had success at the local tournament before, with Medicine Hat’s U14 and U16 programs both winning gold at the 2021 tournament.
He says coaches and players are looking forward to the opportunity to hopefully repeat but are just happy to play in the tournament at home.
“It’s always great to be home and to be able to play in front of a home crowd,” Provost said. “It’s a great opportunity for friends, family and grandparents to make the games because a lot of our games are usually out of town. It’s really good to be here where we can kind of showcase our team and our association to the city Medicine Hat. It’s always a pleasure to play in.”
The Matrix open the tournament Friday with an 11:30 a.m. game at the Kinplex against the Buffalo Plains Impact. The team wraps up the opening day with a 4 p.m. contest against the Lethbridge Rattlers at the Moose Rec. Centre. Their final round-robin game is Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the Moose against the Strathmore Ice Flares.
Provost says the Matrix are firing on all cylinders heading into the tournament.
“We have a really strong goalie which helps us out quite a bit,” he said. “Our offence is strong, we’re scoring a ton of goals – we’re able to kind of offset that scale there – and then our defence is holding strong. Our strong point is that all three levels, our defence, goaltending and offence are all firing strong right now and we’re all working together. It’s the team effort that’s collectively making us successful up to this point.”
He appreciates how the Ed Horvath allows teams from Saskatchewan to play, letting them face a new team and is thankful for the hard work put behind the tournament each year.
“The number of hours and volunteer hours that people put in, and we have a committee that does it, and then there’s all the volunteers from every team,” Provost said. “Every team chipped in to make this tournament successful, and without them it wouldn’t happen. So a huge thanks out to the whole tournament committee and volunteers.”
Medicine Hat round robin schedules
U10 Step 1
Friday 10:15 a.m., Moose Rec., MH Gold Gators vs. MH Green Gators
Friday 2:30 p.m., Moose Rec., MH Green Gators vs. Moose Jaw Stingers
Friday 5:30 p.m., Moose Rec., MH Gold Gators vs. Moose Jaw Stingers
Saturday 9:15 a.m., Moose Rec., MH Green Gators vs. Moose Jaw Stingers
Saturday 1:45 p.m., Kinplex, MH Gold Gators vs. Moose Jaw Stingers
U10 Step 3
Friday 9 a.m., Kinplex, MH Gators vs. Bowview Devils
Friday 1 p.m., Kinplex, MH Gators vs. Regina Yeti
Saturday 8 a.m., Kinplex, MH Gators vs. Northwest Lightning
U12
Friday 10:15 a.m., Kinplex, MH Phoenix vs. Regina Sniperz
Friday 6:15 p.m., Kinplex, MH Phoenix vs. Saskatoon Jets
Saturday 4 p.m., Moose Rec., MH Phoenix vs. Regina Sniperz
U14
Friday 9 a.m., Moose Rec., MH Mud Dawgs vs. Regina Ice
Friday 3:30 p.m., Kinplex, MH Mud Dawgs vs. South Calgary Blackout
Saturday 9:15 a.m., Kinplex, MH Mud Dawgs vs. Airdrie Sting
U19
Friday 11:30 a.m., Moose Rec., MH Chicken Hawks vs. Regina
Friday 7:30 p.m., Kinplex, MH Chicken Hawks vs. Airdrie Sting
Saturday 1:15 p.m., Kinplex, MH Chicken Hawks vs. Buffalo Plains Blitz
