The St. Albert Merchants and Morinville Jets renew their rivalry tonight in the Capital Junior B Hockey League.
Faceoff is 6 p.m. at Ray McDonald Sports Centre.
The Merchants (10-7-2) and Jets (8-10) rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in the west standings.
In the last five games, the Merchants are 3-2 after Tuesday’s 6-3 loss to the Sherwood Park Knights (11-7-1) and the Jets are 2-3 as winners of their last two games.
The Jets are also averaging 30.9 minutes per game as the division’s most penalized team for third overall in the 14-team league.
Last month, the Merchants defeated the Jets 6-2 at Akinsdale Arena after going 3-1 against Morinville last season and 3-0-1 the previous season.
The first loss after three wins for the Merchants was in Sherwood Park, as Krys Kraychy opened the scoring at 8:33 of the opening frame and the Knights replied with a pair before the period ended.
It was 4-1 Knights in the second when Matt Havens notched his team-leading 18th goal in 15 games.
Cam Mazur struck on an early power play in the third and the Knights tallied twice during a 2:32-minute span to regain their three-goal lead with 11:04 to play.
Havens’ assist on Mazur’s goal was his 36th point for seventh place in the league scoring race.
The Merchants outshot the Knights 14-12 in the third and 44-41 overall. Ty Celland (8-7, 3.59 GAA) was in net.
The St. Albert Flyers continue their six-game homestand tonight in the Alberta Minor Midget AAA Hockey League.
Puck drop is 8 p.m. against the Grande Peace Storm (1-8-1) at Akinsdale Arena.
The Flyers host the PAC Saints (7-2-1) at 8:15 p.m. Tuesday.
The Flyers (6-4-2) are 4-3 on home ice after Wednesday’s 4-3 decision against CAC United Cycle (7-6).
Scoring info from the team’s third win in seven games was unavailable at press time.
Prior to the contest, Cole Gupta led the Flyers in scoring with nine goals and 15 points in 10 games and Colton Girard (4-2-1, .937 save percentage) ranked second among AMMHL goalies with at 1.43 GAA and shared the league lead in shutouts with two.
The deadline for players and coaches to register for the second annual Slash Alumni Event is Dec. 4.
Visit www.raidershockey.ca for the link to register for the Dec. 21 alumni game, 1 to 4 p.m. at Go Auto Arena, and social gathering at Skybox Grill.
There is no cost for players or coaches to participate in the game or attend the social. Admission is also free to the game.
The team rosters are expected to be finalized Dec. 11.
The 2014 event brought together midget AAA females spanning the inaugural 2004/05 Slash to last season’s team. The score was 7-3 for Team Gold over Team Blue but the Blues won the post-game shootout.
Meanwhile, applications are also being accepted for the Esso Cup Legacy Female Midget Scholarship. The $1,000 scholarship offered will be awarded based on consideration of academic achievement, hockey dedication, commitment and coachability. All midget female players are eligible to apply. They must be a resident of St. Albert or reside within the St. Albert Minor Hockey Association boundaries, should have played in the system for at least two years and should be in their last year of midget eligibility.
A letter of acceptance from an accredited post-secondary institution is required from each applicant before a final decision is made.
The deadline for applications is March 1 and the scholarship will be awarded at the Raiders Awards Night on April 3 at the Arden Theatre.
Contact Trudy at [email protected] or 780-458-8725 for more information.
