The league-leading Lakeland Rustlers swept another two-game series last weekend, knocking off the team closest to them in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) women’s hockey standings.
Read more: Lakeland Rustlers regroup to split with NAIT
Lakeland defeated the Red Deer Queens 4-2 on Saturday at Lloydminster’s Co-op Community Arena.
On Friday in Red Deer, the Rustlers posted a 3-1 victory over those same Queens.
With just a couple of weeks remaining in the regular season, Lakeland (21-2) has clinched the pennant. Second-place Red Deer has a 16-8 record.
Keyra Buziak, on the power play, Olivia Mann, Kyla Benjamin and Ryann Rekimowich, with an empty-net goal, scored for the Rustlers on Saturday. Buziak, Benjamin and Marly Dumanski each had two-point games for Lakeland, which led 1-0 after the first period and 3-2 following 40 minutes.
Hayley Kolosky, on the power play, and Camryn Wood tallied for Red Deer. Queens goaltender Elizabeth Campbell stopped 34 of the 37 shots she faced. Rustlers’ rookie Schay Camphaug blocked 17 of the 19 shots that came her way.
On the road Friday, Benjamin’s two goals provided the Rustlers with their winning margin. Buziak, who leads the ACAC with 23 goals and 35 points in 20 games, added a goal and an assist.
Karli Kutschinski netted the lone Red Deer goal. One of the assists went to Queens rookie Natalie Tychkowsky, who last year played with the U18 AAA Lloydminster Steelers team then captained by Rekimowich, now a Rustlers’ forward.
Lakeland outshot Red Deer 38-9 as Camphaug and Tora Ward tended goal for the Rustlers and Queens, respectively.
It marked the second straight weekend that the Rustlers posted a sweep, including a pair of home victories (4-2 and 3-2) over the Medicine Hat Rattlers at the end of January.
The ACAC women’s league takes a break from hockey action this family weekend.
On the final weekend of the regular season, Lakeland hosts Calgary’s SAIT Trojans at 7:15 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20, and 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21.
VOLLEYBALL
Both volleyball teams from Lakeland College won’t go down without a fight. The female and male Rustlers remain in playoff contention after each club won both matches last weekend.
Fighting for the fourth and final playoff position in the North Division, Lakeland’s women have won nine straight matches, including a pair of 3-1 decisions over the Augustana Vikings. In that home-and-home series, the Rustlers prevailed in Lloydminster on Saturday (22-25, 25-20, 25-19 and 25-16) and in Camrose on Friday (25-19, 25-22, 22-25 and 25-15).
Likewise, the men from Lakeland swept Augustana 3-0 on both nights to stay in the hunt for post-season play. Scores were 25-20, 25-21 and 25-23 on Saturday and 25-23, 25-16 and 25-17 on Friday.
The Rustlers (7-10) and Vikings (7-8) are tied in points in the fight for the last playoff spot. Augustana has two matches in hand, but Lakeland has the edge if the battle goes to a tiebreaker.
This weekend, the Rustlers’ volleyball teams meet the NAIT Ooks on Friday in Edmonton and Saturday in Lloydminster. The women’s action begins at 6 o’clock each night, followed by the men about two hours later.
NAIT’s women sit atop the North Division with a 12-3 record. The Ooks men, with a 10-5 slate, are in third place in their division.
BASKETBALL
Tied with the Keyano Huskies atop the ACAC men’s basketball standings, Lakeland has won five straight games. Both of those 13-3 teams were idle last weekend.
This weekend, the Rustlers host the North’s third-place NAIT (11-5) at 8 p.m. Friday on the Lakeland campus, before visiting the Edmonton school at the same time Saturday.
Regardless of where the Rustlers finish in the regular season, they’ve already earned hosting rights for the eight-team ACAC
men’s championship tournament from Thursday, March 5, through Saturday, March 7.
The season is nearing an end for the Lakeland women’s basketball team (0-16). This weekend, the Rustlers go up against NAIT (13-3) at 6 p.m. Friday in Lloydminster and the same time Saturday in Edmonton.
FUTSAL
Lakeland sports a 3-3 record in the Northeast Division of the men’s futsal conference. The Rustlers went 1-2 last weekend in Edmonton — winning 8-4 over the Portage Voyageurs and losing 6-2 to Keyano and 4-2 against the King’s Eagles.
In the Lakeland victory, Jason Rail scored three goals and Benjamin Touw had two, while Josh Malin collected a goal and four assists.
The Rustlers’ women’s futsal team — 2-2-2 on the season — posted a 1-1-1 record last weekend. Lakeland blanked Portage 2-0, lost 6-3 to Keyano and tied King’s 2-2.
Elizabeth McLeod, with 18 saves, recorded the Rustlers’ shutout victory. Natalie Pelchat had a two-goal weekend.
CURLING
Three curlers from Lakeland were selected to the ACAC’s all-conference team.
Those honours went to Kali Johnson and Cira Hozack from the Rustlers’ women’s team and Rachel Wilson from the mixed club.
With an 8-3 victory over the Concordia Thunder of Edmonton, Lakeland’s mixed entry earned a bronze medal at the ACAC championships last weekend in Lac La Biche.
The bronze was the Rustlers’ fourth conference curling medal in the past five years.
Read more: Lakeland eyes hosting women’s hockey nationals
