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The Circle Okay Classic has rounded into kind with the spherical robin wrapping up Thursday.

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The pre-tournament favourites have stayed true to their billing.

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The staff from a faraway land has made the journey worthwhile by reaching the championship bracket.

And the defending kings are sitting comfortable on their throne for a shot at an impressive repeat on the 32-team occasion for 18-and-under abilities.

“We like it,” stated South Alberta Hockey Academy head coach Brayden Desjardins, with a slick grin on the hours forward of The Circle Okay’s playoff motion. “We like being a team to beat. Obviously, teams are ready for us. We know that we’re going to get teams’ best games, and that’s what we want for our guys.”

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They bought it Thursday at Max Bell Centre from the St. Louis AAA Blues, who lastly discovered their footing after early struggles as a result of a shorthanded squad. Because of journey points en path to Calgary, the Blues iced simply 12 performed in Tuesday’s opening loss.

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But they had been full marks a number of days later in an exhilarating 8-7 time beyond regulation loss to SAHA, placing the reigning champs in a three-goal gap for the third interval — one which noticed Desjardins’ squad dig itself out of with 4 straight markers — after which forcing OT with simply 15.5 seconds left.

Kade Duell’s bad-angle purpose within the additional session, nevertheless, received it for the sports activities faculty squad from Dunmore, Alta. It was his third of the sport, after he and 15-year-old phenom Gavin McKenna every scored twice within the final-frame rally.

“Not a textbook game, but we obviously found a way in the third, so it’s good to battle through a little bit of adversity,” Desjardins stated. “Sets us up well for the medal round.”

Ah … sure, the medal spherical.

That begins Friday at each Max Bell and seven Chiefs Sportsplex, the place three-win SAHA is joined by seven different sides within the championship bracket.

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Despite what was a little bit of defensive let-down Thursday, Desjardins & Co. ought to be thought-about the faves till somebody hangs a loss on them. And make no mistake about it, they’re right here for a second title in as a few years.

“We’re still a young program, and we want to put our team name on the map,” Desjardins stated. “Obviously, it was good to win this event last year. But I don’t know if everyone expected us here this year — we kind of came in through the back door. But in the first three games, we’re showing that we’re coming through the front door and that we want to be here and we want to win again.”

Those rivals of SAHA within the Canadian Sports School Hockey League wouldn’t thoughts seeing that occur once more.

It would additional show the circuit belongs within the event that, for therefore a few years, didn’t hand invitations to its golf equipment.

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“It was nice to see a sports school win the event in our first time in the event last year,” stated James Poole, head coach of 1 native CSSHL squad — the Edge School Mountaineers. “It wouldn’t shock me if it happened again that you go and see a sports school win it again. I think it’s certainly well known in the hockey community that the sports schools are here to stay.

“We have no doubts about the fact that we belong at this event,” continued Poole. “We had high aspirations of taking a run at it this year ourselves. And similar to last year, we just had one game in the round robin where we just didn’t have our ‘A’ game. And in this format, if you have one bad game, you’re done.”

Indeed, Poole’s gamers from the Springbank faculty dropped a 8-3 must-win Thursday affair to the Saskatoon Contacts at Max Bell. That choice pushed the Saskatchewan U18 AAA aspect by to the ultimate eight as a substitute of them. 

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“We were on a good run — we’d won 18 in a row, including league play,” stated Poole. whose staff — at an eye-popping 19-2-1-1 — stands proudly atop of the CSSHL. “We just picked the wrong day to be off our game. Give Saskatoon credit — they were good. Whether it was pressure or fatigue from the event, we just took some unnecessary, undisciplined penalties and just never seemed to have our legs and never really had a flow to our game at all.

“Must-win game, and we didn’t show up to play.”

Team Hungary did present up — in spades — on Day 3, tearing the guts out of one other native aspect, as they doused the red-hot Calgary NW Flames 6-2, of the Alberta Elite Hockey League, in a must-win battle.

Of course, the rep of the Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation travelled the farthest to attend the tourney, benefiting from its lengthy journey to date by reaching the quarterfinals.

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The much-heralded Burlington Eagles, a powerhouse within the Ontario U18 AAA league, concluded the spherical robin 3-0 following a 3-0 shutdown of CSSHL’s Edmonton Oilers Blue on Thursday.

Another tourney fave, the AEHL’s Calgary Buffaloes — additionally 3-0 — deep-dished USA Hockey’s Chicago Mission 7-2 late Thursday to earn their berth within the championship bracket.

And rounding out the quarterfinalists are 4 CSSHL groups, together with reigning-champ SAHA. Vancouver Island’s Shawnigan Lake School — 3-0, as nicely, after scoring a 4-0 shutout over the B.C. Elite Hockey League’s Okanagan Rockets — Edmonton’s Northern Alberta Xtreme — regardless of a 3-1 loss on Day 3 to New York’s Bishop Kearney Selects — and B.C.’s Yale Hockey Academy — with a late 6-2 take-down of the AEHL’s Airdrie CFR Bisons are the others.

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“For the most part, they’re all representing the Canadian sports school league well,” added Poole. “That shows that it’s a high-level league with a lot of good programs. We think that with the sports schools in the event over the last two years has really brought a lot more of the hockey community to the event.

“We’ve now got the best of the best all together at Christmas time in Calgary, bringing the lustre back to the Circle K tournament.”

LOOSE PUCKS

Friday’s quarterfinals within the championship bracket pit: NAX v. Burlington at 6:15 p.m. at Max Bell; Yale v. SAHA at 6:15 p.m. at 7 Chiefs; Hungary v. the Buffaloes at 6:45 p.m. at Max Bell; Shawnigan Lake v. the Contacts at 6:45 p.m. at 7 Chiefs … The ‘D’-side video games kick off Friday’s playoff day, with: Airdrie v. the Okotoks Oilers at 10 a.m. at Max Bell; the St. Louis v. the Swift Current Legionnairs at 10 a.m. at 7 Chiefs; the Calgary Royals v. the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds at 10:30 a.m. at Max Bell; and the Pacific Coast Hockey Academy v. the Vancouver NW Hawks at 7 Chiefs … The ‘C’-side bracket options: the Edmonton Oilers Blue v. the South Kent School Cardinals at 12:45 p.m. at Max Bell; the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes v. the Sherwood Park Kings at 7 Chiefs at 12:45 p.m.; Chicago v. the Greater Vancouver Canadians at 1:15 p.m. at Max Bell; and the Saskatoon Blazers v. Bishop Kearney at 1:15 p.m. at Max Bell … And the B-final quarterfinals are: the St. Albert Raiders v. the Flames at Max Bell at 3:30 p.m.; the Lloydminster Bobcats v. Edge at 7 Chiefs at 3:30 p.m.; RINK Kelowna v. the Regina at Max Bell at 4 p.m.; and the Calgary Northstars v. the Rockets at 7 Chiefs at 4 p.m.

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

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