Crude News

May 18, 2006
On Wednesday the Crude took on the Rampage at Akinsdale arena. In contrast to previous games this season the Crude started the game with intensity and opened the scoring with a goal by Kyle Schram. Chris Olson added a marker to give Crude a 2-0 advantage heading into the second. Olson tallied early in the second to put the Crude up by 3. The scoring did not stop there. Boubonnais, McLennan and Schram added goals in the second to extend the Crude’s lead. The second period ended 7-1 in favor of the Crude. Goals by Douglas, McLennan and two by Easson cemented the victory for the Crude in the third. Penalty trouble accompanied by two goals for the Rampage provided the third with a more competitive spark; however solid defense and an outstanding performance by goaltender Justin Zunti held the Rampage at bay. As the game progressed the Rampage increasingly antagonized the Crude in an attempt to instigate penalties and fights. Nonetheless the Crude stayed focused and continued with their game plan. This game was a shinning example of both the offensive and defensive ability that the Crude posses. Hopefully the team is able to continue on this winning streak and stay attentive to the game plan. Only time will tell.

May 14, 2006
Calgary Chill left Burned after Crude Erupted
Usually, the date of May 14'th is a day of celebration of love towards the Mother in our lives. Flowers, choirs around the house, preparing meals are usually the norm for most families. Fortunately, May 14^th was also a day that the Crude and their fans will celebrate for a long time.

The Crude played host to the visiting Calgary Chill that day. The Chill, coming from a disappointing loss to the Titans the night before, was looking to take two points from the Crude, to make their northern jaunt an even affair. The Chill came out hard in the first period, capitalizing on a lack luster effort on the Crude's part. Romping to a 8-2 lead in the first period, it looked like the Chill was about to fulfill their ambition.

Starting Crude goaltender, Scott Caldwell, faced an incredible amount of shots from the Chill. Loose balls, incomplete passes and missed assignments from his team mates certainly didn't help the young Caldwell's cause. After a quick decision to use the other goaltender Justin Zunti, head coach Ian Caldeira, quietly strolled into the Crude dressing room after the first period to refocus the Crude.

Whatever was said in the dressing room must have worked, as the Crude came out the dressing room with the look of intensity in their eyes. After some strong leadership on the floor from vets like Chris Olsen and Kyle Schram, the Crude settled down, and took over the game.

Also during the second period, the Crude unveiled a new power play called the "Powdered Sugar Play", which also helped the moral of the Crude. Believe it or not, the Crude scored on their first attempt at the play, to which sparked the amazing turn of events. At the end of the second period, the Crude was down by two goals. Score was 11-9 Chill.

The third period started, and the Crude kept on with their heightened level of play, to the astonishment of the fans in attendance. The Chill, was certainly in shock at what was transpiring in front of them. With some more goals being traded between the teams, the game ended 15-13 for the Crude. Any purist of the game can really appreciate the emotion and intensity these two teams brought out on the floor that day.

Game notes: The "Powdered Sugar" power play amassed three goals in four attempts. Also, the Crude is now able to use a horn that will be used every time the Crude scores a goal. If you are planning on attending a Crude game, you might want to get some ear protection! Lastly, with this win, the Crude now sits at .500, with three wins and three losses. Next game is May 17 at Akinsdale Arena, vs. the Red Deer Rampage. Go Crude Go!

May 9 , 2006
The Crude had a very tough weekend defending their home turf at Akinsdale Arena on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday they took on the Calgary Shamrocks, and what is beginning to become a dangerous trait of this new team, they came out of the dressing room slow. Before the game was seven minutes old the Shamrocks were up 3-0. That was how the 1st period ended. You would think that the Crude would come out firing after a lack lustre first period, but Calgary scored 25 seconds into the second to turn the momentum in their favor. The remainder of the second and whole third period saw the Shamrocks fast break continue to beat the Crude, while their defense confused the Crude offense. To pour salt in the 9-1 wound, a cocky Shamrock player, killing the remaining time off the game clock, took the ball behind his own net, leaned on the boards and crossed his legs while cradling the ball. One of his teammates joined him, producing the same disrespectful stance. They clearly showed the Crude they thought they were some sort of a joke of a lacrosse team. The two teams meet again at Acadia Arena in Calgary at 7:30pm, Saturday May 27.

Sunday was another difficult game for the Crude. In another game they thought they should win, they were beaten by the Rockyview Silvertips from Cochrane. This group of players have played together for a few years, and it showed. They capitalized for six powerplay goals on route to a 14-7 win over the Crude. Either the Crude came out slow again or the Silvertips came out firing, because the score after one was 8-4. The Silvertips never took their foot off the gas pedal and were full marks for being the better team on the afternoon.

To be fair, the Crude have 12 new faces in the lineup compared to last year's team and perhaps just need time to get used to one another on the floor. Patience will go a long way in determining the team's success this season. The right time to peak is a long ways away.

May 3 , 2006
The Crude suffered a dissapointing loss in their home opener Wednesday night at the hands of the Sherwood Park Titans. Travis Niedzielski scored his fourth goal of the game with 1:13 remaining in the 3rd period to send the Titans away with the victory.

It was Niedzielski who opened the scoring to start the game 25 seconds in. The Crude answered back twice to close out a tentative first period with a power play goal by Brandon May and a slick sub shot by Mark Lawrence.

The teams traded goals in the early part on the second period with Chris Olsen and Niedzielski each finding the back of the net. The Crude then extended their lead to three goals with goals three minutes apart. Tyler Douglas outran a Titan defender the whole length of the floor to score shorthanded, then Chris Easson broke in off the bench and wired the ball top corner on Sherwood Park goaltender Kyle Kowalchuk. The Crude unfortunately could not put the game away and the Titans scored two goals in the final three minutes of the second to cut the lead to 5-4. The second goal was the momentum shifter as it came with five seconds left in the second.

The third period developed like the opposite of the second after the teams again swapped goals seven minutes in. The Titans tied the score before Kurtis Pedersen restored the Crude's final lead of the game. Sherwood Park then exlploded by putting three quick goals past Crude netminder Nick Jagger to gain a 8-6 edge with seven minutes left in the came. Goals by David McLennan and Easson's second tied things up, before Niedzielski's heroics won the game for the Titans and evened the season series between the two rival clubs at one win each.

The Crude are back in action this weekend with two games at Akinsdale Arena. Saturday they host the Calgary Shamrocks at 6:30pm and Sunday its the Rockyview Silvertips at 1:00pm.

May 1 , 2006
After splitting their 2 game exhibition series, the Crude and the Sherwood Park Titans were ready to play for keeps as the regular season kicked off at the Sherwood Park Arena. The Titans rode the emotions of their home opener and took advantage of the Crude's disinterest and stormed out to a 5-0 first period lead on the strength of 2 power play goals. The Crude refocused in the first intermission and came out ready to compete. They started off the period with a bang, connecting on two shorthanded goals by Kyle Schram and Bryce Storie before the period was two minutes old. Tyler Douglas scored 3 minutes later to cut the deficit to two before a wayward loose ball found it's way into the Crude net to restore the Titans' lead to 3. The Crude's defense, lead by Bryan Watts and Nick Stewart and backstopped by Scott Caldwell, shut the door the last two periods. This allowed the offense to mount the comeback. Schram and Brandon May rounded out the scoring in the 2nd period while the 3rd saw Schram set up first year junior Mark Lawrence for the tying and winning goals of the afternoon.

These two teams do battle again in the Crude's home opener on Wednesday, May 3, 9pm at Akinsdale Arena. There's no Game 7 in the Oilers vs Wings series so Akinsdale will be packed!

April 23, 2006
The Crude travelled to the Sherwood Park Arena for a rematch of their 12-9 defeat at the hands of the Titans back on April 13. Their main focus was to keep their composure and remain disciplined so that the parade to the penalty box that resulted in them taking over 100 minutes in penalties on the 13th would not be repeated. Chris Olson opened the scoring about five and a half minutes in his first game of the preseason. The Titans tied the score seven minutes later only to have first year junior Alex Petz put the Crude in front 30 seconds after that. The teams traded goals to finish the first period with the Crude's David McLennan closing out the period with a power play goal with about 3 minutes to go in the frame.

The Crude's offense started just less than two minutes into period number two as Kyle Schram started off a natural hat trick to put his team up 4-2. His second goal was short-handed and his third came on the powerplay before the Titans cut the lead to 6-3 with a goal that came with six and a half minutes left in the second. The period did see some penalty trouble for the Crude, but the 'man short' team of Tyler Anderson, Bryan Watts, Tyler Douglas and Nick Stewart kept Sherwood Park's power play off the board. The last line of defense, and the reason the Titans were held to one goal in the second, was the strong play of goaltender Scott Caldwell.

The third period saw the Titans narrow the Crude lead to 2 goals with a goal 6 minutes in, but they didn't crack the Crude's defense any further. The defensive unit, anchored by Anderson, also featured stong performances by newcomers Patrick Calver, Colin Denholm and Kris Hicks.

The Crude kicks off it's regular season on the road against the Titans on Sunday April 30th, with the club's home opener coming Wednesday May 3, 9:00pm at Akinsdale Arena.

Breaking away from the normal trend of having the same identity of a minor lacrosse club, the NAMLC decided to change the name and the colors of the Jr. B Rams to the NAMLC Crude. In doing so, the Crude's philosophy can be summed up in two parts. Part one is to provide a team setting where the normal minor lacrosse club mentality is hightend to a new level. Part two is to provide a level of lacrosse to programs that currently do not have the means to do so. Clubs like the West Edmonton Blues, the North Edmonton Wizards, Ft. Sask, Wainwright, Spuce Grove and other surrounding communities are welcome to encourage thier players to try out.

In bringing in Gord Brittan (manager) and Ian Caldeira (coach) from the Edmonton Warriors, the NAMLC proves they are serious in bringing in a new philosophy and development program. Gord and Ian has had many years in developing lacrosse players at all ages and levels. The last team Gord and Ian were involved with was the Edmonton Warriors Tier 2 team where in the two seasons during thier tenure, the Warriors brought in Gold in the North Division and Gold in the Provincials for the first year and Silver in the North Division and Bronze in the Provincals the last year.

The NAMLC also brought in a familiar face in Kris Partington. Kris has also had many years coaching in minor lacrosse for the St. Albert Rams and just recently played for the Sr. Rams coached by Terry Dokken. It is hoped that with the combination of Ian and Kris, the Crude will become a strong competitor for many years to come.

For a change up, Gord Brittan brought in Edward Radziewicz to help with the managing duties. Both Gord and Edward will create a very strong management core for the Crude. Player wise, the Crude draws from the experience of those that played for the Jr. B Rams. With the addition of some very promising new faces, the Crude hopes to put out a very strong product out on the floor. Thus far, things are looking very good for the Crude, and even though the coaches and management knows the upcoming season will have its ups and downs, it looks like the Crude will be a force to be reckoned with.