The St. Albert Merchants maintained their No. 1 position in the Capital Junior B Hockey League in Sunday’s 8-2 romp over the Sherwood Park Knights at Akinsdale Arena.
Casey Reid potted goals on the power play and shorthanded to give the Merchants (7-0-1) an early 2-1 lead and Thomas Rotundo closed out the scoring with a pair of even-strength markers 37 seconds apart late in period two.
Jordan MacPhee, Taylor Wiebe and captain Kurtis Watts also tallied on the power play in the penalty-filled affair. The Knights (5-3) were whistled for 17 infractions for 61 minutes and the Merchants were penalized 15 times for 41 minutes.
Dan Rombough also found the back of the net and MacPhee, Jeff Harrison and twins Liam and Mitch McNamara had two assists apiece.
Shots were 51-29 for the Merchants as Justin Pawlenchuk (5-0) lowered his GAA to 2.70.
Max Cathcart (2-1, 1.61 GAA) posted the team’s first shutout of the season with a 16-save performance in Friday’s 9-0 drubbing of the Spruce Grove Regals (2-5) at Grant Fuhr Arena.
Josh Jewell notched two goals and Brent McGugan, Stefan Meunier, Jared Kwasney and Connor Hoekstra capitalized with the man advantage.
Blair Macuch and Sandan Hunter also scored as the Merchants registered 54 shots. Rombough and MacPhee chipped in with three assists apiece.
The win was the seventh in a row after losing the season opener 6-5 in overtime to the Morinville Jets (4-3) in St. Albert.
The Merchants are off to their fastest start since 1996/97, when the team finished 36-0 in league play.
Tonight at 8 p.m. the Merchants play the North Edmonton Red Wings (6-1) at Londonderry Arena.
Friday the Merchants host the Edmonton Royals (3-5) at 8 p.m.
The St. Albert Raiders racked up seven goals in Saturday’s win in Fort Saskatchewan to equal their offensive total after four games to start the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League season.
Ethan Lazaro and Luc Smith tallied twice and Kole Bryks, Jason Miller and Conner Lukan potted singles in the 7-1 decision against the hometown Rangers (1-5).
Lukan and Mark Matsuba added two assists apiece and Lazaro had one helper.
Lazaro is the team’s top scorer with three goals, including two on the power play, and five points in five games.
The Raiders (3-1-1) were outshot 35-28 as netminder Pat Gora improved to 1-1-1, with a 1.33 GAA and .958 save percentage.
This weekend the Raiders head south to play the Lethbridge Hurricanes (1-5) Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and the Southeast Tigers (1-1-1) of Medicine Hat on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
The next home game is Oct. 23 against the Rangers at 7:45 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena.
Meanwhile, the Raiders host the Canadian Olympic Women’s Team on Oct. 28 at 7:45 p.m. at Northstar Hyundai Arena.
Chris Curr stopped 47 shots in a losing cause Sunday, as the St. Albert Sabres fell 7-2 to the hometown Lloydminster Heat in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League.
The Sabres (3-4-1) were credited with 19 shots overall, as Luca Palladino and Marcus Walters struck on the power play. Palladino’s goal was his team-leading fifth of the season.
Down 1-0 after 20 minutes, the Heat (7-0) scored five times on 27 shots in the middle frame to lead 5-1. The first two Heat goals were scored with the man advantage.
The Sabres were coming off a 4-1 road win over the Leduc Oil Kings (2-5) Friday as Zach Marano, Samuel Smith-Ackerl, Ryan Cooper and Aidan Steinke scored and Nate Reinhart faced 23 shots.
The next game is Sunday versus the Maple Leafs (1-4-1) at 3:45 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena.
The St. Albert Flyers are undefeated after four games following Saturday’s 3-1 road win over the Camrose Vikings in the Alberta Minor Midget AAA Hockey League.
Sean Richards, Zach Webb and Jaedon Leslie scored and Joshua Dechaine registered 18 saves as the Flyers improved their north division record to 2-0-2.
The night before Leslie lit the lamp four times in the 6-2 victory against the Maple Leafs at Castledowns Arena.
Ryan Cox and Jake Bennett also connected. Cox picked up three assists and Richards had four helpers. Matt Murray turned aside 32 shots.
Leslie is the team leader offensively with six goals and 10 points and Richards is the top playmaker with seven assists.
The Flyers make their home debut this weekend at Akinsdale Arena against the SSAC Bulldogs at 8 p.m. Saturday and the Grande Prairie Storm at 1:15 p.m. Sunday.
