A pair of local hockey clubs managed to lay claim to victory in their first round league playoffs series last weekend.
The McDonalds atom squad and the peewee Elks are into the second round of their respective Northern Albert Interlock divisions.
A pair of 7-3 and 7-2 wins lifted McDonalds over Winfield in the tier three two-game total-goal series.
Jestin Jacklin, Matias Czapp and Kian McLean each scored twice plus one from Isabelle Duguay in the road win Saturday, while Sunday saw Jacklin and Czapp both score twice with singles from McLean, Kavan Flewelling and Berkley Williams. The team will take on Wetaskwin this weekend in the quarterfinals.
For the Elks, the club needed an overtime goal by Wyatt Avery to get past Strathcona by a score of 6-5 in the deciding game of the two-game total-goal series on Sunday. The win followed a 4-4 draw in Ardrossan on Saturday.
Nathan Parker was a force on home ice Sunday, scoring five times, while Saturday saw Jaiden Bandet hit the hat trick with the other goal coming from Carter Blanchard. The Elks now face Redwater in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, the midget Fountain Tire Wolves are done, falling two games to one in their opening round best-of-three series to Strathcona over the weekend.
It was a heartbreaking 5-4 overtime loss in Ardrossan Friday that forced Ponoka to get a win at home Saturday, which the team did in stunning fashion by a count of 5-2. Unfortunately, the return match Sunday in Ardrossan was all Strathcona by a score of 8-2.
Luke Simanton, Emmit Norn, Sam Neath and Braeden Toporowski had Ponoka’s markers on Friday, while Saturday saw Norn net a pair of powerplay goals with Neath and Simanton each getting a shorthanded effort and Cyle Laing with the other goal. Ethan Little had both goals in Sunday’s loss.
However, that isn’t it for the Wolves, as the club got a bye into the Midget ‘D’ provincials in Taber March 22 to 25.
The bantam Mooose are taking on Calmar in their first round playoff, and won Sunday on the road 7-3. Game two of the series went last night in Ponoka, but the result was unavailable at press time.
Provincial play
There is at least one more Ponoka club that will vie for a provincial title.
The Vantage Physiotherapy atom squad destroyed Wetaskiwin on Friday, 13-3, to win the zone title and earn a berth into the Atom ‘C’ championship in Spirit River on March 15 to 18.
The team is also involved in the league playoffs, having a bye into the quarterfinals where the club will take on New Sarepta this weekend.
And, for the Lacoka female clubs, the peewee squad was devastated on Friday as the team lost 2-1 in a third overtime to Innisfail after tying 1-1 on Feb. 23.
Meanwhile, the midget squad hosted Rocky Mountain House on Monday in the zone final, then went on the road last night, but the results were not available at press time.
