PAC Saints fall short in playoff tournament
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The Parkland Athletic Club Saints’ storybook season has been cut short.
The Saints battled their way to a 1-1-1 record over the round-robin portion of the Alberta Minor Midget Hockey League North Cup playoff tournament at the Glenn Hall Arena in Stony Plain this past week.
Out of the gate, the Saints looked dialled in as they took down the Grande Peace Storm 4-2 with goals coming from Mason Svarich, Jacob Lovsin, Gage Lajeunesse and Evan Forrest. Levi Hall turned aside 28 of 30 shots in the win.
“We got off on the right foot with a 4-2 win. It was a tight game right until the third and we were able to pull away at the end,” said Leonhardt.
A 4-2 loss to the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers in their second game, however, ultimately became their undoing. Svarich scored in the first to give the Saints a 1-0 lead before the Rangers responded with two goals just two-minutes apart. Spencer Nome scored in the second to tie it at 2-2 at the end of the second.
In the final frame, the Rangers once again scored goals in quick succession, this time 11 seconds apart, to steal a 4-2 win from the top-ranked PAC Saints. Nicholas Rondeau stopped 32 of 36 shots in the loss.
“We knew they would be a challenging team, and their goaltender played an excellent game. We have to give their team full credit for a win against us. I thought we competed well. You always wish there’s a little more when you end up losing, but it was real close until around four minutes left,” said Leonhardt.
With their loss to Fort Saskatchewan, the club needed a victory in their final game to get in, otherwise they needed the Storm to take down the Rangers.
The Saints battled their way to a 2-2 tie with the St. Albert Flyers in their final contest, and the Rangers defeated the Storm 4-3. Ryan Olson and Landon Kupsch provided the offence for the PAC against St. Albert, and Hall turned aside 28 of 30 shots.
Given the scenario Leonhardt and the coaching staff even discussed pulling the goaltender if tied at length before the game. With Grande Peace still able to push them through to the semifinals with a win over Fort Saskatchewan, their decision was to leave Hall and avoid being eliminated immediately through a loss.
“It was a conversation we had throughout the day, and I had personally with a number of peers and colleagues. We flip-flopped back and forth … once the game got going, we felt the right move was to not pull the goaltender, and play for a sure thing to put the pressure on Fort Saskatchewan,” said Leonhardt.
Though it stings now, Leonhardt added there will be a time players can look back on all they accomplished this season fondly. The PAC worked their way to a 27-4-3 record in the regular season, with an offence that scored by committee, and the best statistical tandem in the league between the pipes in Hall and Rondeau.
“When we reflect on minor hockey we don’t reflect three days after the season ends. The best reflection is five years from now. I think this club has a lot of players that are going to play for a very long time … We’ve got guys that will be playing junior hockey, college hockey, and who knows beyond that.”
jothomas@postmedia.com
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