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Alberta

RDP Queens to face Olds College Broncos in ACAC Championship series

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RDP Queens Hockey ACAC Championship Preview

Brent Forster – Red Deer Polytechnic Athletics

Red Deer, AB – With the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Women’s Hockey Championship approaching on Friday, the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens have been diligently preparing for their best-of-five final.

“We all have the same goal and same mindset of what we want to achieve,” said Mary Hirsch, a veteran forward. “[Coach] Kelly [Coulter] holds us accountable for what we need to get done and it benefits us in the long run.”

Hirsch (24)

The RDP Queens (11-2-2) solidified first in the standings with a 2-1 victory over the Olds College Broncos on March 4. With that accomplishment, the Queens received a bye to the championship final. Their opponent was undetermined until March 13 when the third seed Broncos (6-8-1) dropped the second place NAIT Ooks (11-4-0) in the best-of-three semi-final.

“The first week we made sure we skated and had intense practices because we didn’t know who we would face,” said Kelly Coulter, Red Deer Polytechnic Queens Hockey Head Coach.

Madison Fox (1): 0.83 goals against average & 0.965 save percentage 

With the Olds College Broncos’ victory, Coulter and the Queens began strategizing specifically for their opponent.

“This week of preparation is more geared towards how we want to play against Olds,” explained Coulter, who led the Queens to their last ACAC gold medal in 2016. “We play them a little different compared to how we would play against NAIT. This week is about refining some of things we do.”

The Queens won all five regular season meetings against the Broncos. It was evident that the Olds College Broncos’ focus was on a specific style of defence.

“The Broncos are a hard team to get a lot of shots on net. They do a good job of collapsing to the net front,” added Coulter, an ACAC Women’s Hockey Coach of the Year recipient. “They defend well. It will be a good matchup for us – a good challenge and we’re looking forward to it.”

Hirsch noted a few areas that the RDP Queens will concentrate on in the offensive zone.

“Moving the puck fast and possession behind the net will be huge, along with isolating players so we can work on a two-on-one or some kind of attacking strategy where we get a better scoring chance,” explained Hirsch, a Bachelor of Science Nursing student from Calgary. “In practice, we have worked on a lot of tipping, battling in front of the net, getting open, so those will be huge.”

Making fast and calculated decisions will be crucial.

“That’s something that we want to be aware of, looking for passing lanes and getting shots off quickly,” said Coulter. “Putting pucks on net always results in good things.”

While the Queens were the best defensive team this season, allowing only 0.91 goals against, Hirsch identified the importance of finding ways to score in the series.

“With Olds, you can’t let them hang around. They work really hard and have a good core,” said Hirsch, who led the Queens during the regular season with 12 points. “The games have all been really close and have all come down to the third period, so we need a goal scoring mentality.”

During the regular season, the RDP Queens’ offence ranked second with 2.4 goals per game. The Broncos had the third best offence (2.33 goals for) and third best defence (2.73 goals against).

The extra week off has allowed the Queens to recover from the intense 15 game regular season.

“Everyone is healthy,” added Coulter. “We have a really good bill of health, so we’re happy that it’s at the right time.”

The coaches and student-athletes have expanded their preparation to off the ice, as well.

“We did a team builder before the start of the postseason to go over our habits that we’ve talked about all year,” said Coulter. “Then we had some systematic and team discussions about making sure that everyone is pulling the rope the same way.”

First-year defender Alex Black (12) 

The student-athletes have made decisions and conducted themselves for the betterment of the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens.

“We have been going to the gym and working out, including team workouts Sunday mornings,” added Hirsch. “We are constantly putting the team first, so the big thing this year is sacrifice. We have a team first mentality to get us all the way to the end.”

Despite a hectic academic program, Hirsch is concentrating on being a supportive and productive member of the Queens.

“I’m full-time in my clinical placement right now, so I’ve been really busy, but when I get to practice, I’m focusing on what’s ahead of me and just trying to encourage my teammates,” said Hirsch, who is planning to graduate from the RDP Queens at the end of the season. “Just having that mindset is really huge and knowing that I’ve prepared the last four years for this, so I’m ready to go.”

The cancelation of the 2019/2020 championship and 2020/2021 ACAC season due to COVID-19 makes the ability to compete this season even more special.

“We are looking forward to getting started. The girls have worked hard all year, so it’ll be nice to get to the end and have a final this season,” said Coulter. “Last year was a tough year for everyone, so I think everyone will be excited to play for a championship.”

The Red Deer Polytechnic Queens will host the Olds College Broncos in game one of the best-of-five championship final on Friday, March 18 at 7 pm. Then game two will shift to Olds on Sunday at 7 pm. The remainder of the series will be completed the following week.

Tickets are available online.

Alberta

Alberta Conservatives looking to pass resolution protecting ‘female spaces’ from male intrusion

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

LifeSiteNews was able to look at a copy of a resolution from the Calgary-Lougheed CA, that will be discussed at the AGM, which states that the UCP “believes females deserve and require the safety, privacy, and dignity of spaces and categories reserved solely for them and their young children.” 

Members of Alberta’s ruling United Conservative Party (UCP) are looking to bring forth a resolution that calls on the government to introduce a law that would protect “female spaces” for biological females and their children.  

The UCP under Premier Danielle Smith will be holding their Annual General Meeting (AGM) this year from November 1 to 2, at which multiple local Constituency Associations (CAs) will bring forth resolutions to be voted on. While non-binding, resolutions often do lead to laws being passed in the future.

LifeSiteNews was able to look at a copy of a resolution from the Calgary-Lougheed CA, that will be discussed at the AGM, which states that the UCP “believes females deserve and require the safety, privacy, and dignity of spaces and categories reserved solely for them and their young children.” 

“Women’s washrooms, changerooms, shelters, and other female spaces are places where women are the most vulnerable physically and psychologically,” it adds. 

The resolution explains that men being present in women’s spaces is a safety issue that poses a real danger to women and young girls.

As it stands now, there have been countless examples of biological men being allowed to enter women’s spaces, both in Calgary and in other cities in the province and outside the province.

The UCP under Smith looks to focus on bringing forth laws focusing on parental rights, as well as protecting Albertans’ general rights, come the fall.  

LifeSiteNews recently reported on how a forthcoming piece of legislation planned to be introduced by the UCP includes a provision that would cement parental rights as a “God-given right,” with the goal being to prevent government overreach into how parents raise their kids. 

Also reported by LifeSiteNews is another bill from the UCP that would make it so parents will have to specifically opt their children into sexual education lessons rather than opt them out.

It is expected that the UCP government in Alberta will even being introducing a new “Bill of Rights” this fall. The bill contains a slew of pro-freedom proposals, including, as reported by LifeSiteNews, enshrining the “right to life” into law, including from “conception, gestation in the womb.”   

The bill also includes a section that guarantees each citizen has the “right” to medical “informed consent” as well as the “right” to “refuse vaccinations.”  

Earlier this year, Smith announced strong pro-family legislation that strengthens parental rights, protecting kids from life-altering, so-called “top and bottom” surgeries as well as other extreme forms of transgender ideology. 

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Alberta

Trudeau-appointed judge sentences Freedom Convoy-inspired protesters to 6 years in prison

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From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

Justice David Labrenz sentenced Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert, who were charged with mischief and weapons offenses during the 2022 Freedom Convoy-inspired border blockade in Alberta.

A Trudeau-appointed judge serving in an Alberta court has sentenced two men linked to the 2022 Freedom Convoy-inspired border blockade protest in Coutts, Alberta, to six years in prison.   

On September 9, Alberta Court of King’s Bench Justice David Labrenz sentenced Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert, who were convicted of mischief and weapons offenses stemming from the Coutts border blockade, to six years in prison. 

“Stay strong, live free, spread love – not war,” Olienick declared before being sentenced. 

“I’ve gained a stronger understanding into what divine destiny awaits me,” he added. “I will continue to help others spreading truth, happiness and joy. Unifying people together by using love as my solemn weapon.”  

Labrenz, who was appointed to the Alberta bench by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2018, sentenced Olienick to six years but gave Carbert an additional six months, putting his sentence at six and a half years. However, neither man is expected to serve their full sentence, as both were issued four years of credit for time already served. Both are also prohibited from owning firearms for life, and are required to provide a DNA sample.

Both men have been jailed since February 2022 when they were charged with conspiracy to commit murder during the protest in Coutts, which ran parallel to but was not officially affiliated with, the Freedom Convoy taking place in Ottawa.

Earlier in August, they were finally acquitted of the conspiracy to commit murder charge, but were still found guilty of the lesser charges of unlawful possession of a firearm for a dangerous purpose and mischief over $5,000. Olienick was also found guilty of unlawful possession of an explosive device. 

At the time, police said they had discovered firearms, 36,000 rounds of ammunition, and industrial explosives at Olienick’s home. However, the guns were legally obtained and the ammunition was typical of those used by rural Albertans. Similarly, Olienick explained that the explosives were used for mining gravel.  

The men were arrested alongside Christopher Lysak and Jerry Morin, with the latter two pleading guilty to lesser charges to avoid trial. At the time, the “Coutts Four” were painted as dangerous terrorists and their arrest was used as justification for the invocation of the Emergencies Act by the Trudeau government, which allowed it to use draconian measures to end both the Coutts blockade and the much larger Freedom Convoy occurring thousands of kilometers away in Ottawa. 

Since then, Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley ruled that Trudeau was “not justified” in invoking the Emergencies Act, a decision which the federal government is appealing. 

As LifeSiteNews previously reported, Labrenz’s decision follows a recommendation from the Crown prosecutor for each of the men to serve nine years in prison.  

Many Canadians online are condemning the ruling, arguing that the men are being treated in a way that is comparable to political prisoners in communist countries.  

“Unbelievable. They made an example out of them. Canada is gone as we know it,” one user lamented  

Others questioned why the two Alberta men were denied bail for two years while dangerous criminals are allowed to roam free under the Trudeau government’s “catch and release” policy. 

“Meanwhile, a guy out on parole for assault (and 60+ other “police interactions”) cut off one man’s head and another’s hand in broad daylight in downtown Vancouver…” one commented.

Indeed, this policy has put many Canadians in danger, as was the case last month when a Brampton man charged with sexually assaulting a 3-year-old was reportedly out on bail for an October 2022 incident in which he was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a dangerous weapon. 

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