ALTON ATHLETICS

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Alton senior Alex Rubin signs to play junior hockey for Jersey Shore next season

Last updated: April 22. 2015 7:01PM - 576 Views

By Pete Hayes - phayes@civitasmedia.com

Alton High senior Alex Rubin has signed to play junior hockey next season for the Jersey Shore Wildcats of the North American Tier 3 League. Rubin, who scored 59 goals and had 71 assists in four seasons at AHS, will leave for preseason training camp in August.

Billy Hurst | For the Telegraph
Alton High senior Alex Rubin has signed to play junior hockey next season for the Jersey Shore Wildcats of the North American Tier 3 League. Rubin, who scored 59 goals and had 71 assists in four seasons at AHS, will leave for preseason training camp in August.

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The Telegraph - Redbird Hockey falls to Edwardsville 2/19/2015

Last updated: February 20. 2015 12:11AM - 129 Views

Scott Kane | For The Telegraph
Edwardsville hockey coach Jason Walker guided his team into the MVCHA Class 2A finals with Thursday night's 5-4 win over Alton in the North Division finals.

Edwardsville hockey coach Jason Walker guided his team into the MVCHA Class 2A finals with Thursday night's 5-4 win over Alton in the North Division finals.

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Hockey drops Series to Edwardsville - AdVantage News 2/19/2015

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Redbirds push Tigers to limit before bowing

by Steve Porter

February 20, 2015

EAST ALTON – As far as the Alton Redbirds saw it, they did everything but win Thursday’s MVCHA playoff taut thriller against unbeaten Edwardsville.

The Tigers prevailed in a wild one, 5-4, that featured a dramatic finish, notably a disallowed tying goal in the final moments. Edwardsville’s narrow victory at the East Alton Ice Arena ousted Alton in the best two-of-three 2A North finals.

Edwardsville, 20-0 and 2-0 in the playoffs, advanced to the championship round against either Triad or O’Fallon. Alton, which ended 16-7, lost to the Tigers four times this season.

However, the latest loss went to the wire and Redbirds’ coach Abram Henson praised his team’s gritty effort.

“I’m extremely proud of the way we played,” Henson said. “That’s the best we have played against Edwardsville and it might be the best that any team has played against them.

“I felt we outworked them.”

Nine different players scored in the freewheeling contest, and Alton outshot Edwardsville, 33-20. It appeared the Redbirds and the Tigers were headed to a shootout, but Alex Rubin’s tally with 2.5 seconds to go was disallowed. Officials ruled the goal frame was off its moorings – thus negating Rubin’s score.

“It just happens. Some officials call it and some don't," Henson said of ruling on the disallowed goal. “It is what it is."

The referees put four seconds back on the clock and Tigers’ coach Jason Walker experienced a sense of relief when the game ended.

“We made enough plays tonight to sneak through,” he said. “Give them (Redbirds) credit. They played hard and we turned over the puck too much. It was a different game from the other times we played them.”

Three Edwardsville goals in a span of 7 minutes, 32 seconds of the second and third periods enabled the Tigers to shoot ahead 5-2. Alton led 1-0, Edwardsville got the next two goals before the Redbirds knotted it at 2-2 by the end of the first period.

Yet the Birds weren’t finished scoring. Scott Waldrup, assisted by Kain Henson, punched in a goal to cut the Tigers’ lead to 5-3 with 10:26 remaining in the game. Then teammate Christian Shank, assisted by Jake Bohn and Henson, scored with 3:55 to go and it was a one-goal difference.

The Birds buzzed around the Tigers’ net in hopes of getting the tying goal, but Edwardsville goalie Justin Nosser made some key saves. He made 29 stops overall, while Alton goalie Mitch Klug had 15 saves.

“That’s probably the first time we have been outshot this season,” Walker said. “We had some guys step up for us when we needed them to do it.”

Colin Kelsey, Cody Farmer, Jake Aurelio, Christian Trevino and Tyler Schaeffer scored for the Tigers, who survived Blake Thomlison’s game misconduct penalty in the second period. It was Schaeffer’s 46th goal, tying him with coach Walker (a player in 2001-02) for the team’s single-season record.

Jake Cunningham and Brendan Lowe also scored for Alton. Henson assisted on Lowe’s goal and finished the night with three assists. Cunningham’s goal was unassisted.

“Kain’s a natural leader for us,” coach Henson.

He added, “I’m very proud of the way we played, and we had a phenomenal season. I don’t have enough good things that I can say about our kids and the way they played.”

MVCHA PLAYOFFS

2A NORTH FINALS

EDWARDSVILLE 5, ALTON 4

(Edwardsville wins series, 2-0)

Edwardsville 2 1 2 – 5

Alton 2 0 2 – 4

Scoring

First Period

A – Jake Cunningham (unassisted), 9:43

E – Colin Kelsey (Tyler Schaeffer), 9:14

E – Cody Farmer (Cole Krebs), 7:58

A – Brendan Lowe (Henson), 2:29

Second Period

E – Jake Aurelio (Carson Lewis), 2:36

Third Period

E – Christian Trevino (Nick Austin), 12:27

E – Schaeffer (unassisted), 11:04

A – Scott Waldrup (Henson), 10:26

A – Christian Shank (Jake Bohn, Henson), 3:55

Statistics

Shots on goal: Alton 33, Edwardsville 20

Saves: Nosser (Edwardsville) 29, Klug (Alton) 15

Penalties: Edwardsville, 6 for 13 minutes, plus game misconduct; Alton, 5 for 10 minutes.

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The Telegraph - Tigers Roar Past Redbirds in Hockey Play-off Opener 2/17/2015

Updated on 06/10/2022

Last updated: February 17. 2015 10:06PM - 182 Views

By Pete Hayes phayes@civitasmedia.com

Tyler Hinterser of Edwardsville scored three goals in the first period in his team's 8-1 victory over rival Alton in Game 1 of the best-of-three North Division finals Tuesday night at the East Alton Ice Arena.

Scott Kane | For The Telegraph
Tyler Hinterser of Edwardsville scored three goals in the first period in his team's 8-1 victory over rival Alton in Game 1 of the best-of-three North Division finals Tuesday night at the East Alton Ice Arena.

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Redbird Hockey Wins Series vs. Collinsville - AdVantage News 2/16/2015

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Alton tops Kahoks, moves on in playoffs

by Bill Roseberry

February 17, 2015

EAST ALTON — The Alton Redbirds came out fast and furious Monday against the Collinsville Kahoks and skated to a 5-2 victory.

The win concluded the best-of-three series, propelling Alton into the MVCHA 2A North Division finals vs. top-seeded Edwardsville beginning at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday at the East Alton Ice Arena.

The Redbirds improved to 16-5 on the season with the win over Collinsville, while the Kahoks closed their first season in the 2A division at 7-14.

Alton didn't waste anytime on Monday, outshooting CHS 13-6 in the first quarter on its way to a lopsided 45-15 shot advantage for the game. The Birds led 2-0 after the first period and Alex Rubin scored the first goal of his hat trick in the opening 13 minutes.

“Knowing tomorrow is Edwardsville if we won, the kids came out fired up already,” Alton head coach Abram Henson said. “They were just ready to go. It's what you expect as a coach, especially in the playoffs and especially in an elimination situation. You expect everybody is going to come out and play with everything they've got and today the boys played very well from the beginning of the game to the end.”

Rubin knows he and his teammates can't come out complacent on Tuesday against a strong EHS squad which is 18-0 on the season and ready to play their first playoff game vs. Alton. That motivated the Birds to charge out of the gates Monday.

“We knew what was on the line for sure and we had to set the pace for tomorrow night and Edwardsville,” Rubin said. “We wanted to get our feet under us. We had practice earlier and went over a few things and we thought we really put them into action out there on the ice tonight and it obviously paid off.”

Alton bombarded Collinsville goalie Caleb Nowicki early and often, finally slipping the puck past him at the 6:36 mark of the first period. Jordan Myer flipped a pass across the front of the net to teammate Jake Bohn who was able to flick it past Nowicki before he could make the save.

Another goal came at the 4:05 mark when Rubin scored on an assist from Ben Drake to push the AHS lead to 2-0, which is how it stood when the horn sounded on the opening period.

“We dealt with them better than we did the last game,” Collinsville head coach Brien Bednara said. “We hung around and kept playing a good game, but they were bottling us up, they were skating fast and were aggressive on the floor check and gave us problems along the boards. They took advantage of some real nice passing and even though our goalie made some real nice saves, it was just too much for us tonight.”

Alton kept the pressure up in the second period, as Rubin scored on a wrister at the 9:41 mark off an assist from Brandon Lang to elevate the lead to 3-0.

A penalty to Myer for holding at 8:37 put the Kahoks on the power play for the third time to that point, looking to swing the pendulum their direction a little bit, but Alton had other ideas.

Just seven seconds later, Redbird Kain Henson lit the lamp again on an unassisted goal to make it 4-0. It erased CHS' power play and shifted the momentum back to Alton.

Collinsville finally got on the board at the 7:28 mark of the second period when Kodee Keys scored on a pass from Jason Sperry to shave it to 4-1.

But when the buzzer sounded Alton had outshot the Kahoks 16-2 in the period and was in the driver's seat.

Rubin completed his hat trick at the 9:27 mark of the third period, accepting a pass from Myer right in front of the net and poking it past Nowicki to make it 5-1. The Alton student section flung hats onto the ice to show their appreciation for Rubin's effort in the win.

“It was fun,” Rubin said.

CHS tacked on a second goal off the stick of Cory Sperry right in front of the net with 1:21 to play. Nicolas Hager and Jason Sperry assisted on the goal.

One thing the Redbirds know needs to be sured up are the penalties. Alton had five two-minute minors for the game, while Collinsville was only tagged for one penalty in the game.

“The penalties weren't helping us obviously and that's going to be a big factor against Edwardsville for sure,” said Rubin. “The short-handed goal obviously helped, but I would definitely say we need to hold onto ourselves and stay out of the box against Edwardsville.”

Rubin is all to familiar with the scenario entering Tuesday between the Redbirds and Tigers. Last year it was his Birds who were undefeated entering the playoffs only to lose to a young and hungry EHS squad. This time the shoe is on the other foot with AHS as the underdog.

Rubin said that memory of the '14 playoffs is a motivating factor as well as a piece of revenge for the Tigers.

“We didn't lose last year either til playoffs, so they've got one coming,” Rubin said. “We're going to give them a game. I think we've really got to play the physical game because they're not all big guys — they're very quick — but I think we can tag them and if we keep certain guys in check we can definitely shut them down and put pucks in the net.”

Bednara added, “They're going to have to play (like they did tonight) all the way. They'll have to get that good goaltending like they did tonight (Mitch Klug) and in the last game because Edwardsville will take advantage of a weak goalie. (EHS) is a fast team, a trifle faster than us, but I think (Alton) will give them a good shot and it will be a good game either way. It should be a great series.”

2A NORTH PLAYOFFS

ALTON 5, COLLINSVILLE 2

CHS

shots 6 2 7 — 15

penalties — 1 for 2 minutes

AHS

shots 13 16 16 — 45

penalties — 5 for 10 minutes

SCORING

FIRST PERIOD

A — Jake Bohn 6:36 (Jordan Myer assist)

A — Alex Rubin 4:05 (Ben Drake assist)

SECOND PERIOD

A — Rubin 9:41 (Brandon Lang assist)

A — Kain Henson 8:30 (unassisted)

C — Kodee Keys 7:28 (Jason Sperry assist)

THIRD PERIOD

A — Rubin 9:27 (Myer assist)

C — Cory Sperry 1:21 (Nicolas Hager, Jason Sperry assists)

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Redbird Hockey Wins Series vs. Collinsville - The Telegraph 2/16/2015

Updated on 06/10/2022

Last updated: February 16. 2015 10:21PM - 183 Views

By Pete Hayes phayes@civitasmedia.com

Billly Hurst | For The Telegraph

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AdVantage News - Redbird Hockey vs. Collinsville 2/9/2015

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Alton redeems itself

by Diane Cox

February 10, 2015

EAST ALTON — The Mississippi Valley Club Hockey Association (MVCHA) playoff season is in full swing at the East Alton Ice Arena. The Alton Redbirds returned to the ice on Monday and tied the series 1-1 with the Collinsville Kahoks with a 7-3 victory.

The Redbirds entered Monday's game down 1-0 after suffering a surprising 6-5 loss last Thursday in a best-of-three series against the Kahoks. Having almost two weeks off the ice before the Redbirds entered playoffs, Alton head coach Abrahm Henson felt his team didn't play up to their abilities and knew Monday's game was a do-or-die scenario.

"The boys realized that whole last game was just mistakes," Henson said. "Tonight was do-or-die and so is our next game against Collinsville next Monday. We came ready to play tonight. We went over the basic stuff in the locker room before the game and we played like we were ready. If our guys play their game, they will win. There is no doubt in my mind. We're a good team, the guys work hard and they deserve it."

Alton set the tone early taking a 3-0 lead over the Kahoks in the first period of action. Redbirds' assistant captain Alex Rubin and senior forward Brendan Lowe found Scotty Waldrup open in front of the Kahoks goal to get Alton on the board at 11:47.

Lowe kept the action going for the Redbirds when he took a pass from captain Kain Henson to double up the score at 9:20 to give Alton a 2-0 lead.

Waldrup took a lone shot at the Kahoks with 2:40 left in the first period to give the Redbirds a 3-0 lead at the buzzer.

"Tonight we were really putting it together as a team," Rubin said. "Everyone was passing the puck better and no one was selfish with the puck, we worked as a team. We got back where we were playing the game we needed to play to beat these guys (Kahoks)."

The Redbirds didn't slow down with the 3-0 lead, adding three more goals in the second period.

Assistant captain Jake Cunningham found the back of the net for Alton off a pass from Rubin at 5:49. The Kahoks then found themselves a man down when Nick Hagar was sent to the penalty box at 3:10, charged with a cross-check. Alton capitalized on the powerplay when junior defensman Ben Drake sent the puck to senior forward Jake Bohn to bury the shot at 2:28 making it 5-0 for the Redbirds.

Rubin didn't waste any time to raise the bar one more notch for the Birds when he sent a solo shot over the glove of Collinsville goaltender Caleb Nowicki at 2:06 to extend a 6-0 lead over the Kahoks.

Collinsville regrouped at the start of the third period to stage a comeback and take advantage of powerplay opportunities.

Alton sophomore Tanner St. Peters took a seat in the penalty box at 12:00 on a hooking call, giving the Kahoks a five-on-four advantage. Alton's Henson took a minor penalty at 11:02 to bump the odds to a Kahoks' five-on-three.

Collinsville forward Cory Sperry took advantage, accepting a pass from defenseman Jacob Scrum to find the back of the Alton net to get the Kahoks on the board at 10:49. The goal from Sperry put an end to St. Peters' penalty, but left Henson in the box for the Redbirds.

Jason Sperry then took a pass from brother Cory Sperry to bury the puck on the Henson powerplay at 9:36 and bring the score to 6-2 while ending Henson's penalty.

"We took a couple of penalties that we shouldn't have and they hurt us a little bit," Rubin said. "We took that timeout and gathered ourselves and got our heads going in the right direction again. Hopefully we can play our game like this next week and move on to Edwardsville in the next round."

Collinsville forward Kalib Carlyle received a pass from forward Scott Ledford and Jared Drake to cut the Redbirds lead in half at 6-3 at the 6:07 mark.

The Redbirds scored one last goal at 1:48 with a solo shot from Cunningham to seal the final score at 7-3 and tie the series at 1-1.

"We have a long week to think about this game and make adjustments," Collinsville head coach Matt Bednara said. "We need to work on some things and hopefully we can play next week like we did in the first game and also like how we played in the third period tonight. We have to be responsible in our own end. Not just for our defense, but our forwards as well. Alton is a fast team, we can't chase them around, if we chase them, they're going to put it in the net."

Alton and Collinsville face off in a final of the best-of-three series with the winner advancing to play first place Edwardsville in the 2A North Division finals. Game time is 7:15 p.m. Monday at the East Alton Ice Arena. The first game of the 2A North Division finals will take place at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday at the EAIA.

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The Telegraph - Redbird Hockey ties Series with Collinsville 2/9/2015

Updated on 06/10/2022

Last updated: February 09. 2015 11:31PM - 190 Views

By Pete Hayes phayes@civitasmedia.com

Alton's Jake Cunningham scores his second goal of the game against Collinsville Kahoks goalie Caleb Nowicki in the third period of Game 2 of the MVCHA North Division semifinals Monday night at the East Alton Ice Arena. The Redbirds won the game 7-3.

Billy Hurst | For The Telegraph
Alton's Jake Cunningham scores his second goal of the game against Collinsville Kahoks goalie Caleb Nowicki in the third period of Game 2 of the MVCHA North Division semifinals Monday night at the East Alton Ice Arena. The Redbirds won the game 7-3.

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Redbirds drop first Play-off Hockey Game with Collinsville - The Telegraph 2/5/2015

Last updated: February 06. 2015 1:56AM - 96 Views

Scott Kane | For The Telegraph
Alton's Jake Cunningham had a goal and an assist for the Redbirds Thursday night, but Collinsville beat the Redbirds 6-5 to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three MVCHA 2A North Division playoff series at the East Alton Ice Arena.

Alton's Jake Cunningham had a goal and an assist for the Redbirds Thursday night, but Collinsville beat the Redbirds 6-5 to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three MVCHA 2A North Division playoff series at the East Alton Ice Arena.

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EAST ALTON — Collinsville’s Jason Sperry and Cory Sperry each had a hat trick and the Kahoks held on to shock Alton 6-5 Thursday night in the first game of their best-of-three MVCHA Class 2A North Division semifinal series at the East Alton Ice Arena.

Jason Sperry scored all three of his goals in the first period of the late-nighter, which began at 8:45 p.m. Cory Sperry added two in the second and the eventual game-winning goal early in the third period. The Kahoks, who were shut out twice by Alton in the regular season, were outshot by Alton 37-23, but Collinsville goalie Caleb Nowicki came up with 32 saves.

Trailing 6-3 in the third period, Alton staged a rally on a pair of power-play goals from leading scorer Alex Rubin. He scored from assists by Kain Henson and Tyler St. Peters with 5:36 remaining and then again with 3:14 remaining, assisted by Ben Drake. But the comeback fell a goal short and the Redbirds find themselves with their backs to the wall.

Alton needs a victory in Game Two at 7:15 p.m. on Monday night to keep the series alive. Game Three, if necessary, is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Feb. 16. All North Division playoff games are scheduled for the East Alton Ice Arena. The winner of the series will advance to the North Division finals against Edwardsville, which finished first in the regular-season North standings. Alton was second in the regular season standings in the three-team North.

The first period featured three goals from each team including the first of the game from Alton’s Jorda

Hockey defeats Belleville on Senior Night - The Telegraph article 1/27/2015

Updated on 06/10/2022

Last updated: January 27. 2015 10:26PM - 129 Views

By Pete Hayes phayes@civitasmedia.com

Billy Hurst | For The Telegraph

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EAST ALTON — On a Senior Night that was even more special than usual, the Alton Redbirds rolled to an 8-2 victory over Belleville Tuesday night. And in the process, they honored a fallen teammate who’s been gone two years but whose memory has remained alive with the team.

Alton got three goals from Kain Henson and finished the regular season at 12-4 with the Class 2A Mississippi Valley Club Hockey Association victory at the East Alton IceArena. The win gave the Redbirds momentum at the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs following next week’s MVCHA All-Star games.

“This is the most complete game we’ve played in a long time,” Alton coach Abram Henson said. “It was a very special night all around.”

Indeed. The Redbirds honored 10 seniors, including Jordan Klope, who was killed in an automobile crash two years ago during his sophomore season. The team has honored him during the last two years and continued to do so during the pre-game Senior Night ceremony.

Klope’s parents, Chris and Sonja Klope, were present with the rest of the seniors’ parents to receive the same acknowledgements as the others. His

Hockey Redbirds defeat O'Fallon - 1/22/2015 The Telegraph article

Last updated: January 23. 2015 10:51AM - 192 Views

James B. Ritter| For The Telegraph

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Hockey Redbirds defeat Belleville 8-2 The Telegraph Article 1/8/2015

Last updated: January 08. 2015 11:31PM - 113 Views

Alton's Jake Cunningham scored a goal in Thursday's night's 4-2 MVCHA victory over Belleville.