Lady Mustangs headed to basketball Provincials

Sports Shorts:

The George McDougall Mustangs senior girls basketball team will be the lone Airdrie representative at the 4A senior varsity basketball provincials. The Chestermere Lakers and the Cochrane Cobras senior boys teams, which faced off for the Rocky View Sports Association (RVSA) divisional title March 2, will be the Rocky View and South Central representatives in the 3A boys tournament. The senior tournament will be held March 14 to 16 in Calgary. Strathmore High School will host the 3A girls tournament March 14 to 16. The Chestermere Lakers are the lone Rocky View representative in the 3A girls division.

Airdrie Alumi

Local NHLer Zach Boychuk recently joined his third NHL team this season. Boychuk began the season with the Carolina Hurricanes, the team that drafted him. He was claimed by the Pittsburgh Penguins and played seven games with the teams before being placed back on waivers and being claimed by the Nashville Predators. Boychuk made his Nashville debut March 8 against the Edmonton Oilers and scored his first goal.

WHL Playoffs

Several Airdrie Xtreme alumni will have a chance to play for the WHL title after their club teams recently clinched playoff spots.

As of press time, five days remained in the season and 13 of the 16 teams had claimed a playoff spot. In the Eastern Conference, Coda Gordon and the Swift Current Broncos returned to the post season after a two-year absence while Spenser Jensen and the Medicine Hat Tigers will be making their 11th straight playoff appearance. In the Western Conference, Ty Rattie and the Portland Winterhawks are hoping for a third straight appearance in the WHL finals after clinching the Conference title while Cody Fowlie and the Kelowna Rockets captured second place and home-ice advantage.