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Midget AA Hounds fall to 2-1 at provincial tournament

Mar 30, 2019 | 5:17 PM

EDMONTON, AB – A tough third period at midget AA provincials for the Medicine Hat AA Hounds on Saturday morning, suffering their first loss of the tournament.

Holding a 2-0 record after dismantling the CAC Butchers and Packers 8-1 on Friday afternoon, the Hounds dropped a 2-1 decision at the hands of the St. Albert Crusaders.

After a scoreless opening period, Medicine Hat’s Austin Klimosko kicked off the scoring five minutes into the second period with a shorthanded marker.

Medicine Hat’s 1-0 lead stretched into the second intermission, but St. Albert was able to tie things up just under seven minutes into the third period thanks to an unassisted goal from Carter MacDonald.

Nine minutes later, the Crusaders took their first lead of the morning with a late game marker from Cuyler Matheson that would hold as the winner.

Hounds netminder Teron Funk made 22 stops in the loss, while Crusaders goalie Cole Crozier was on his game with a 29-save effort.

Medicine Hat still has a shot at qualifying for the gold medal game however, as they close out the round-robin on Saturday afternoon against the winless Camrose Vikings.

Peewee AA Hounds

Closer to home, the Medicine Hat Peewee AA Hounds kept their hopes of a provincial medal alive with a key 3-1 win over the Leduc Roughnecks.

Skating at the Irvine Sports Complex, the Hounds scored a pair of goals in the final four minutes to pick up their first win of peewee AA provincials.

Medicine Hat forward Josiah Jackson got the scoring started midway through the second period, but the Roughnecks found the equalizer 12 minutes into the third frame from Maclin Davie to tie it up at 1-1.

The breakthrough for the Hounds came 16:11 into the third, with Ryan Miller striking on the power play to give Medicine Hat the lead, which was strengthened with a Deegan Kinniburgh empty-net goal.

It was a masterful performance between the pipes for Hounds goalie Beck Boiteau, who allowed just one goal on 50 shots against.

Moving to a 1-1-2 record, the Hounds will qualify for the medal stage but it’s still uncertain whether they will play for provincial gold or bronze on Sunday.

Peewee Tier II Hounds

After doubling up Beaverlodge 6-3 on Friday, the Medicine Hat Peewee Tier II Hounds suffered their first loss in provincial competition on Saturday morning.

A late comeback fell just short of coming to fruition, as the Hounds dropped a 3-2 contest to the Vegreville Wranglers.

Medicine Hat and Vegreville traded goals over the opening 20 minutes, with the Wranglers kicking this off with a Tristan Bilyk marker which was answered by the Hounds’ Cole Fisher.

Vegreville jumped back in front midway through the second period courtesy of Kade Dickinson, before Wyatt Ziegler beat the buzzer with 11 seconds left before the intermission to make it a 3-1 Wranglers lead.

Fisher added his second of the game for Medicine Hat with just over three minutes left in regulation, but the Wranglers were able to run down the clock to pick up the win.

Medicine Hat goalie Kolter Gans allowed three goals on 18 shots, while Vegreville’s Brady Douglas-Krill made 20 stops to earn the victory.

Sitting second in Pool B with a 1-1 record, the Hounds are back on the ice on Saturday afternoon in Edmonton to face the host Southwest KC club.