This past weekend the Lions played in the ACAL championship tournament.

Hockey Lions Three-peat as ACAL Champions

The Lions played the Rocky Mountain Rams in the semi-final on Friday morning and defeated them 4-2 as well to secure the victory after trailing 2-0 after two periods of play. Goal scorers were Jon Pettigrew, Jon Hollett (2) and Joe DeMichele. It was a closer game than expected, but the team rallied and secured their spot in the final game.

On Saturday the Ambrose Lions Hockey team captured its 3^rd straight ACAL championship with a 4-2 win over the Olds Broncos in Olds, Alberta. After killing off two penalties in the first period, the Lions went into the dressing room tied at zero. The Lions came out hard in the 2^nd period with 4 quick goals; 2 by Andrew Coates, and one each from Scott Willms and Jon Hollett. They held Olds off of the score sheet for the majority of the period until a late goal by the Broncos but finished the 2^nd period with a 4-1 lead. The 3^rd period was an extremely physical affair with Olds scoring to make it 4-2 with about 7 minutes remaining in the 3^rd. The Ambrose squad rallied around each other and was able to hang on for the victory and their 3^rd straight ACAL championship.

The championship game was particularly special for a number of players who played their last games for the Lions. Coach Ryan Willison paid tribute to his graduating players. "Andrew Coates, Jordan Pauls, Craig Watt, Brett Fillmore and Tim McAlpine served this team for many years and it is extremely fitting for them to retire as champions."

This past weekend both our men's and women's futsal teams played in the championship tournament hosted by Olds College.

Women's Futsal Lions Lose Shootout Heartbreaker

The women lost a heart breaker in the semi-final game against the host Olds Broncos, when Olds scored on a penalty kick at the buzzer. The tough loss set up a bronze medal final between the Lions and the Prairie Pilots. This game went to overtime and once again was decided on a penalty kick by Prairie. It was a heart breaking way to finish what was an otherwise very positive season. While we say good bye to captain, Rianne Hoedeman, there will be a number of girls returning and expect the team to be strong again next year.

The men played the Prairie Pilots in the semi-final game and defeated them 7-5 to advance to the gold medal final against the Keyano Huskies. It set up a final between the two teams that were clearly the best two teams all year long. Unfortunately in the warm-up before the championship game, Lions keeper, Kevin Reierson, suffered a concussion when he took a ball in the face from his own teammate. While Reierson toughed it out and played, he was clearly rattled and the boys lost 10-2 to a very talented Keyano squad. Although the score was not flattering, the team can be proud of the way they played and can hold their heads up high.

Friday night the basketball teams hosted the RMC Rams

Men's Basketball Team Gets 3^rd Win of the Season

The Ambrose Lions men's basketball team played one of their best games of the year as they defeated the Rams 105-87 and claimed their 3^rd victory of the year. The team played extremely well and had contributions from everyone, most notably Sean Boyer and Scotty Willms who both put up offensive numbers while playing solid defense. The Lions will face St. Mary's this Wednesday at Eastside at 8pm.

Women's Basketball Team Falls Short

The women's basketball team suffered a close loss 43-32 to the Rams in a hard fought game. The Lions were down early in the game, but battled back and were only down by 5 at the half. Rocky's experience came through in the 2^nd and although the Lions played well, they were unable to create the necessary offense to close the gap. The team has a couple more games left remaining this season including a home date against St. Mary's on Wednesday night at 6:30pm at Eastside Gym.

Contact: Ryan Willison Althetic Director
Phone: 403.410.2934
Email: RWillison@ambrose.eud