The St. Albert Merchants play their last home game before the playoffs in the Capital Junior B Hockey League Sunday.
Faceoff is 8 p.m. against the Wetaskiwin Icemen (6-25-3) at Akinsdale Arena.
The Merchants (28-6) were 15-2 on home ice before hosting the Spruce Grove Regals (7-24-2) but Friday’s score was unavailable at press time.
The fifth win in a row and 15th in 16 games for the Money Men was Wednesday’s 4-2 decision against the Beverly Warriors (20-10-4) at Londonderry Arena.
The Merchants pumped in four goals after Beverly opened the scoring in the first period while shorthanded and on the power play.
Mitch McNamara’s 17th goal put the Merchants on the board with 2:30 left in the period.
Josh Jewell’s ninth goal tied it in the middle frame.
Captain Dan Rombough’s 12th goal and team-high seventh on the power play 31 seconds into the third was the game winner.
Mike Roeleveld deposited his team-leading 25th goal into an empty net with 26 seconds remaining.
Casey Reid added two assists and is the team’s co-leader in points with Roeleveld at 47 apiece.
Shots were 34-30 for the Merchants and Ty Clelland (21-1, 3.16 GAA) was in net.
The Merchants close out the regular season against the Founders Cup champion Fort Saskatchewan Hawks (25-9-1) Friday at 8 p.m. in the Fort and the Morinville Jets (22-10-2) Feb. 10 at 8:30 p.m. at Ray McDonald Sports Centre.
The Merchants and Hawks are the top teams in their respective divisions. They are also the most penalized teams in the league at 1,258 PIM for the Merchants and 1,238 PIM for the Hawks.
Last year, the Hawks beat the Merchants in the fifth and deciding game in the Founders Cup final in St. Albert.
The Canadian Progress Club hosts its fifth annual Pond Hockey Championships next Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Lacombe Lake.
The three-on-three format features 48 teams and around 250 players.
The CPC St. Albert Cup will be presented to the winning team in the A championship bracket with their names engraved on it. The B championship winner will also be honoured.
The festivities include sleigh rides, outdoor cafeteria, beer gardens, music and a bonfire.
St. Albert Transit is also providing a park-and ride for the event.
Funds raised from team registrations will be donated to local charities.
Third place is at stake in the nitro north division Sunday, when St. Albert Gregg Distributors Sabres host the Canadian Athletic Club in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League.
Puck drop is 10:45 a.m. at Akinsdale Arena.
The Sabres (13-12-4) trail CAC (15-13-1) by one point with four games remaining for both teams. Where they finish in the standings will determine who will play the Sherwood Park Flyers (21-5-3) or SSAC Southgate Lions (18-8-3) in the best-of-three opening round starting Feb. 10.
The Sabres skate against the Maple Leafs (3-22-2) at 8 p.m. on Tuesday at Castledowns Arena.
Tuesday’s showdown between the St. Albert Crusaders and St. Albert Blues in the Northern Alberta Midget AA Hockey League starts at 8:30 p.m. at Mark Messier Arena.
The Crusaders (17-5-4), the defending league champions, are first in the Clean Harbors division and the Blues (13-11-3) are sixth in the Inside Edge division.
Both teams are in action today. The Crusaders host the Whitecourt Wolverines (5-19-3) at 2:30 p.m. at Mark Messier and the Blues visit the Beaumont Braves (15-10-2) at 7:30 p.m.
The Blues entertain the Leduc Roughnecks (13-12-1) at 8:15 p.m. Sunday at Go Auto Arena.
