Ste Anne Aces dominate start of SEMHL season
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The Ste Anne Aces may need to change their name if they keep up the insane offensive pace they’ve been on to start the South East Manitoba Hockey League (SEMHL) season.
While Aces are considered the best starting hand in Texas hold’em, that might not convey the complete offensive potential of this year’s Ste Anne SEMHL team.
The Aces put 19 goals past Portage, the league’s fourth-place finisher last season, in their season opener and then notched an 11-4 victory over Warren Nov. 2. The Mercs were last year’s league runners-up and lost to Ste Anne in the final.
With that insane offensive outburst, it’s no surprise to see the top six scorers in the league are all Aces players, led by Brendan Walker, Matt Bailey and Jordan DePape. All players have 11 points in two games.
“We just put the puck in the net and are having fun doing it,” Walker said after the game against Warren.
The Aces are aiming high again. After joining the SEMHL in 2022, Ste Anne has rattled off back-to-back championships, losing in the Manitoba final to Tiger Hills Hockey League champions Minota/Elkhorn both years.
“The people here are fantastic to us,” Walker, the team’s captain and last year’s regular season league most valuable player, said.
“We’ve got good management, it’s just a good all-around crew. It’s a well-oiled machine.”
Walker said strong fan support from Ste Anne is a key motivating factor for the team to continue their strong run of play, even as scores become lopsided.
“It’s something we love to do,” Walker said.
Despite what it looks like on the scoreboard so far this season, the Aces are dealing with some key player losses, as the Oakbank-based Springfield Winterhawks joined the SEMHL this season. Winterhawks players include former Aces Yvan Pattyn and Andrew and Owen Blocker.
Before Springfield announced they would be entering a team into the league, some speculated former NHLer Quinton Howden could join Ste Anne, but he is staying closer to home and suiting up as the Winterhawks captain.
With those losses, the Aces turned to Adam Hughesman to bring more professional experience to Ste Anne. The former Morden Bomber spent eight seasons playing in the ECHL and European professional leagues after a long Western Hockey League career.
“The true guys who want to win, clearly they know where to come,” Walker said, laughing when asked how the team can manage to recruit seemingly every high-quality Ste Anne-based player to the team.
“It’s awesome. I love it, and I can’t wait to get this year going.”
A game played between Ste Anne and the St Jean-based Red River Wild was completed after press time Nov. 6. The Aces will be on the road for the next few weeks, returning to play Notre Dame Dec. 7. For a full schedule, standings and results, check out The Carillon’s sports scoreboard every week on page 4B.