The snow lightly fell Sunday morning. Minus temperatures and we where greeted with frost on the windows of our cars. Most of the team had trouble sleeping and complained of nausea and weakness. It showed in the first game. Normally we would have no problems dispatching a weaker BC team but this time around we didn't stand a chance. They beat us in all stages of the game this morning. Passing, catching and pushing. Today we just couldn't match up. The game ended with BC winning by 10.

After a few hours of rest. We got ready for our regular "Battle of Alberta" against the host team the Calgary Inferno. As usual drama showed its ugly head. Calgary lost a player for the game and they decided to import Rod 3.0 from team TOBA. Angry and reluctant the Steel Wheels got on the court in front of a hostile crowed of Calgary supporters. Calgary scored the first goal but Edmonton scored the win. They played better in this game than any other game this weekend. Richard played against Clagarys best and ran around them. Skyler pushed like an animal and controlled the game. As the last seconds clicked off the clock I could see how satisfied the players where winning this game 51-45. 

My thoughts on the weekend...at times we played good...at times we played terrible...but we did it as a team. In the last game...they play great! Linda was a shinning star this weekend. In one game she scored back to back to back on turnovers and made us all laugh every time she was out there. She got a pass and almost scored on our own goal! LOL. When she was out there she played as hard as she could and had fun doing it. It was like she calmed us down and made us all recognize why we play this game. Our equipment manager Doug usually takes tons of photos but was so busy all weekend changing Ken and Richards tires I guarantee he will sleep for days when he gets home. Great job Doug! Last but not least Terry and Veronica we miss you! Terry was a member of the Edmonton Club but moved to Calgary this year with the family. He played great and putting him out there felt comfortable, like he never left. He will always be a part of this team and wish him and his family well down south.

I am home now...time for family, food and movies. Have a great long weekend everyone and thanks for reading.

February is a busy month for rugby. With two tournaments back to back we enjoy one of them being a few our drive south. Our second Prairie League tournament of the season was in Calgary and 6 athletes made the 3 hours drive south on the QE2 to Calgary. Unfortunately I could not attend day one of the tournament but Skyler, Linda, Richard, Ken, Quen and Rob played well against BC team pulling out the victory 40-36.

Day two started early with quick 5 minute drive from the host facility to the gym which included a stop at Tim Hortons which was conveniently on the way. Game one was against Team Saskatchewan (1-0) who have already beat us twice this season. Both games where lop sided which left even me wondering how to successful we would be in this game. We started the game slow allowing Sask to gain an early lead. Over the next few minutes we dug in, cleaned up the simple mistakes and played our game. Although  we lost the game 46 to 42 we gained confidence knowing we kept the game close and an idea of what needs to be done to beat them.

The second game of day 2 was a tough one. Team TOBA (1-0) last season lost almost every game in Prairie League play. This tournament they imported Rod 3.0 from BC and Ian 2.0 from Ontario. Both have had some affiliation with the Canadian National team at one time and knew what it took to get the job done. Add  former National Team low pointer Jared and it made for a very tough game. We kept even for the first 4 minutes but the speed and experience was too much for us. We lost the game 56-41.

Our schedule had us done early and we drove back to relax.  Some of us enjoyed a great meal at one of the three restaurants in Grey Eagle Casino at the host hotel. Skyler, Ken and Richard coming off consecutive tournaments where they played almost every minute of every game went to bed almost as soon as we got back.

I hope they can sleep with the fire alarm going off...

Saturday morning was beautiful! Plus 21 was the weather outside but it was hot at the Senter Park Rec. Centre in Irving Texas. The games today would determine a large part of the final standing going into Sunday the final day of the event. After a rough start to the tournament we still had a chance to end up on the podium Sunday but in order for us to get there we had to win both games today.

Game one was against Denver (2-0) who won both of there games on Friday. They dominated Kansas City who we lost to in our second game of the tournament by a large margin. Fortunately Richard nursed his injury the night before and was able to suit up. We where focused and determined to win. At the tip off we scored quick. We forced 4 turnovers in a row and was close to causing a fifth when Denver called a quick time out just as the 12 seconds over half was about to be called. Denver regrouped and we as a team had a melt down allowing Denver to tie the game by the end of the first quarter. For two quarters we traded goals and turnovers back and forth the game went on us up by a few them up by a few. The forth quarter however showed what Steel Wheels rugby was all about. We pushed hard and never gave up. Capitalizing on a few late turnovers, we switched to clock management and ball control. Edmonton finished the game knocking off the second rank team by 2 points.

Game two was against the host team Team RISE. Friday Team RISE (1-1)  pulled off a upset by defeating the third ranked team Boise Bombers (0-2) by a large margin. We made it our focus to not take Team RISE lightly and to continue the plan we had against Denver. Skyler in the three games prior was 3 for 3 in winning the jump and this game was no different. We played hard and fast..but questionable calls by the referees and a couple of unforced turnovers allowed Team RISE to keep things close. After a tough first half we where up by 2 which was a little closer than we liked. The third quarter we cleaned things up. Jumping into passing lanes and forcing them to use there time outs. Slowly we started pulling away. Team RISE mounted a little comeback in the fourth quarter but we where able to take control and finish it out winning by the final score of 53 to 46.

We finished the day 2-0 and set our selves up for a chance to finish 3rd. We will be playing our friends from Boise on Sunday at 10:30am. Tonight..the plan is a well deserved team dinner and bed. Proud of these guys for digging deep, turning things around and putting themselves in a position to finish with a medal.