NAX February Newsletter

NAX Alumni Spotlight:

This month’s alumni spotlight player is Shae Demale. Shae spent the 2016/17 season with the NAX Female Prep team recording 7 goals and 8 assists for 15 points in 20 regular season games, before adding another 4 points in 5 playoff games. This season Shae joined former NAX teammates Alexa McMillan and Caitlin Pejkovic with the Saint Mary’s Huskies Women’s Hockey team. In 28 games the freshman leads her team in goals (13), points (21), and plus/minus (+14). Shae was named Saint Mary’s University Female Athlete of the Week twice in January.

Shae spent the 2016/17 season with NAX totaling 19 points in 25 games.

Around the Rink: 73 former NAX players currently find themselves on junior or university/college rosters this season with the following breakdown: • 24 AJHL • 11 WHL • 10 • 8 ACAC • 3 KIJHL/VIJHL/CapJHL • 2 BCHL/ AJFHL/ACHA • 1 NWJHL/MJAHL/ACHA D2/NCAA I/NCAA III

Congratulation to Female Prep defenseman Alex Spence, forward Aliya Jomha, and Female Prep head coach Cassea Schols on winning gold with Team U18 Female in Red Deer at the 2019 Canada Winter Games.

(L-R) Spence, Schols, and Jomha defeated Team Quebec 2-1 in the Gold Medal Game at the 2019 Canada Winter Games.

Midget Prep players Dylan Guenther, Marc Lajoie, Matt Savoie, and Zac Ostapchuk won a Bronze Medal with Team Alberta U16. Former NAX Bantam Prep players Lochlan Gordon and Brett Hyland were also part of the team that competed at the 2019 Canada Winter Games.

Former Elite 15s forward Cole Carrier made his WHL Debut with the Kelowna Rockets at the end of January. He picked up his first WHL point on an assist against the Portland Winterhawks a few weeks later.

Midget Prep goaltender Ty Marcinkowski started and won his first AJHL game on February 23 for the in a 6-1 win over the .

Former Female Prep defenseman Rylind MacKinnon was named to the 2018/19 Canada West All-Rookie Team after suiting up for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. In 48 career games with NAX Rylind recorded 8 goals and 25 assists for 33 points.

Congratulations to forward Carter Savoie on being selected as the 2018/19 AJHL Rookie of the Year after leading all rookies in points with 73, good enough for fifth in the league. Savoie spent the 2017/18 season with the NAX Elite 15s recording 58 points in 34 games played, helping the team to an undefeated regular season and a CSSHL Championship.

Congratulations to the following NAX players on their CSSHL Award Nominations: • Most Sportsmanlike Bantam Prep o Ben Hemmerling • Top Defenceman Elite 15 o Charlie Wright • Top Defenceman Female Prep o Alex Spence • Most Sportsmanlike Midget Prep o Logan Lorenz • Top Freshman Midget Prep o Dylan Guenther • Midget Prep Most Valuable Player o Matthew Savoie

Midget Prep forward Logan Lorenz signed his Letter of Intent with the AJHL’s . In 36 games this season Lorenz has 12 goals and 25 assists.

Logan Lorenz signed his Letter of Intent with the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints.

Female Prep defenceman Brooke Skrypichayko signed her Letter of Intent to join Red Deer College Queens Female Hockey Team. In 26 games this season Brooke has 4 assists.

Brooke Skrypichayko signed her Letter of Intent to join Red Deer College Queens Female Hockey Team

February was a busy month for Aliya Jomha as the Female Prep forward committed to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Women's Team.

Elite 15s forward Myles Hilman signed his Letter of Intent with the AJHLs Drumheller Dragons. Myles finished second in the CSSHL Elite 15s Division with 58 points in 36 games.

Bantam Prep

It took until game 30 but the Bantam Preps secured their spot in the 2019 BDO CSSHL Championships with a 5-1 win over Notre Dame on the last day of the regular season. With a record of 14-16-0, the Bantam Preps secured the tenth and final playoff spot and will now face Okanagan (7th), Rink (8th), and Edge (9th) in the first round of the BDO CSSHL Championships.

Here’s how the months of February/March played out for the Bantam Preps: DATE TIME AWAY HOME LOCATION

Fri, Feb. 1 2:35P PT Northern Alberta 5 Delta White 2 Planet Ice Delta

Sat, Feb. 2 8:15A PT Northern Alberta 4 Delta Green 9 Planet Ice Delta

Sat, Feb. 2 2:45P PT Northern Alberta 6 Burnaby 9 Planet Ice Delta

Sun, Feb. 3 12:15P PT Northern Alberta 4 West Van 1 Planet Ice Delta

Sat, Feb. 9 4:00P CT Northern Alberta 3 Notre Dame 4 Duncan McNeill Arena

Sun, Feb. 10 1:00P CT Northern Alberta 3 Notre Dame 2 Duncan McNeill Arena

Fri, Feb. 22 3:30P MT Pursuit 3 Northern Alberta 12 Edge School

Sat, Feb. 23 8:00A MT Okanagan 3 Northern Alberta 2 Edge School

Sat, Feb. 23 8:30P MT Yale 5 Northern Alberta 1 Edge School

Sun, Feb. 24 10:45A MT Shawnigan 0 Northern Alberta 18 Edge School

Fri, Mar. 1 12:30P CT Edge 1 Northern Alberta 4 Duncan McNeill Arena

Sat, Mar. 2 9:00A CT Northern Alberta 2 Notre Dame 1 Duncan McNeill Arena OT

Sat, Mar. 2 5:30P CT Northern Alberta 4 Rink 6 Duncan McNeill Arena

Sun, Mar. 3 12:00P CT Northern Alberta 5 Notre Dame 1 Duncan McNeill Arena

Elite 15s:

The Elite 15s hosted the Inaugural Western Canadian Crown Elite Midget Invitational from February 14-17. The 15s defeated Leduc 6-3 in the championship game capping off an undefeated tournament. Forward Kaiden Wedderburn was named to the Tournament All-Star Team while Sam Popowich (MVP), Tyler Palmer (Top Goaltender) and Charlie Wright (Top Defenceman) took home individual awards. In regular season play the 15s got off to a slow start in February but finished the regular season strong with back to back wins over rival OHA Edmonton to close out the season. With a record of 26-7-3, the 15s finished in third place and will take on Delta (2nd), St. George’s (6th), and Edge (7th) in the 2019 BDO CSSHL Championships.

The Elite 15s, with help from a handful of bantams, won the 2019 WCC Championship.

Here’s how the months of February/March played out for the Elite 15s: DATE TIME AWAY HOME LOCATION

Sat, Feb. 2 1:30P MT Edge 3 SO Northern Alberta 2 River Cree Twin Rinks

Sun, Feb. 3 12:15P MT Northern Alberta 3 Edge 4 Edge School

Fri, Feb. 8 11:15A CT Okanagan 0 Northern Alberta 4 Southdale Community Centre

Sat, Feb. 9 8:15A CT Northern Alberta 5 Yale 2 Southdale Community Centre

Sat, Feb. 9 3:30P CT Pacific Coast 4 Northern Alberta 5* Southdale Community Centre

Sun, Feb. 10 8:15A CT Northern Alberta 2 St. George's 3 Southdale Community Centre

Sat, Feb. 23 12:15P MT Prairie 5 OT Northern Alberta 4 River Cree Twin Rinks

Sun, Feb. 24 8:15A MT Prairie 3 Northern Alberta 1 River Cree Twin Rinks

Sat, Mar. 2 8:00A MT OHA Edmonton 3 Northern Alberta 8 River Cree Twin Rinks

Sun, Mar. 3 2:00P MT Northern Alberta 4 OT OHA Edmonton 3 Royal Glenora Club *PCHA forfeits a 4-3 OT win as a result of an ineligible player

Female Prep:

The Female Preps started February hosting their showcase which raised a total of $394.00 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The Female Preps finished the regular season in sixth place with a record of 10-17-1 and will face Okanagan (2nd), Delta (3rd), and Shawnigan (7th) in the round robin stage of the BDO CSSHL Championships.

In February the Female Preps worked on the following in practice: • creating close support to move pucks with speed through the neutral zone • creating strong support in the defensive zone to be aggressive and eliminate time and space for the opponent • a major focus on special teams to have a puck retrieval mentality to ensure we maintain possession on our power play to create scoring opportunities as well as on the penalty kill to have possession of the puck, eliminating time in our defensive zone

Here’s how the month of February played out for the Female Preps: DATE TIME AWAY HOME LOCATION

Fri, Feb. 8 2:45P MT Northern Alberta 5 Shawnigan 0 River Cree Twin Rinks

Sat, Feb. 9 11:15A MT Okanagan 2 Northern Alberta 0 River Cree Twin Rinks

Sat, Feb. 9 5:15P MT Northern Alberta 1 Pursuit 2 River Cree Twin Rinks

Sun, Feb. 10 8:00A MT Delta 2 Northern Alberta 3 River Cree Twin Rinks

Tue, Feb. 19 2:00P MT Northern Alberta 0 Edge 5 Edge School

Midget Prep:

With a record of 25-8-2, the Midget Preps finished in fourth place and will play Edge (3rd), OHA Edmonton (5th), and Delta (6th) in the round robin of the BDO CSSHL Championships.

In February the Midget Preps worked on the following in practice: • Powerplay • Defensive zone • Neutral zone forecheck

Here’s how the month of February/March played out for the Midget Preps: DATE TIME AWAY HOME LOCATION

Tue, Feb. 5 7:15P MT Northern Alberta 5 OHA Edmonton 1 Royal Glenora Club

Fri, Feb. 8 10:30A MT Northern Alberta 2 Edge 1 Banff Recreation Centre

Sat, Feb. 9 3:30P MT Northern Alberta 15 Banff 1 Banff Recreation Centre

Sun, Feb. 10 3:15P MT Northern Alberta 6 IHA 2 Banff Recreation Centre

Fri, Feb. 22 1:45P MT OHA Edmonton 3 Northern Alberta 1 River Cree Twin Rinks

Sat, Feb. 23 1:45P MT IHA 6* Northern Alberta 5 River Cree Twin Rinks

Sun, Feb. 24 11:00A MT IHA 1 Northern Alberta 6 River Cree Twin Rinks

Fri, Mar. 1 1:30P MT Edge 0 Northern Alberta 3 River Cree Twin Rinks

Sat, Mar. 2 11:00A MT Northern Alberta 7 IHA 3 River Cree Twin Rinks

*NAX forfeits a 5-2 win as a result of an ineligible player

In Toronto for the World Sport School Challenge, the Midget Preps used some down time to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Thank you to the Varkonyi family for having our Midget Prep team out to their rink on February 1. Zac Ostapchuk, Matthew Savoie, Carter Myrol and Ty Marcinkowski were crowned champions of the annual 3-on-3 tournament.