The St. Albert Raiders have two exhibition games on tap at Akinsdale Arena before the regular season begins in the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League.
Tonight at 7 p.m., the Raiders host the Sherwood Park Kings, and Sunday, they entertain the South Side Athletic Club at 5 p.m.
The Raiders are 3-1 in the pre-season.
Their league opener is Oct. 1 at home against the Lloydminster Bobcats at 1:15 p.m.
Sandro Pisani and Geoff Giacobbo are back for another season behind the bench.
Last season, the Raiders finished second in the north at 20-10-4 and, in the division semifinals, bowed out to the Leduc Oil Kings in the fifth and deciding game in the series.
The St. Albert Merchants deposited their first win under new head coach Richard Hebert in Sunday’s opening game in the Capital Junior B Hockey League.
Jake Behiels potted two goals and Curtis Ronaldson turned aside 34 shots in the 7-6 victory against the Edmonton Mustangs at Bill Hunter Arena.
Matt Bowles, Zack Caines, Mike Roeleveld, Nicolas Addessi and Akeem Samuel also scored.
The Merchants cashed in twice on the power play. Roeleveld’s shorthanded tally made it 4-2 in period two. Samuel converted a penalty shot in the third.
Two goalies for the Mustangs combined to stop 38 shots.
Up next for the Merchants are the Morinville Jets. Game time is 8 p.m. Friday at Akinsdale Arena. The Jets won their first game Sunday, 5-2 against the Leduc Riggers in Morinville.
Last season, the Jets swept the four-game series against the Merchants.
Sunday, the Merchants play the Beverly Warriors at 8 p.m. at Clareview Arena.
The St. Albert Slash skated into a new season in the Alberta Major Midget Female Hockey League with two victories against the Lloydminster Steelers last weekend.
In the home opener Saturday at Performance Arena, Emily Mitchell handled 19 shots and Ashley Morin registered a natural hat trick in the 4-0 decision. Rebecca Wall opened the scoring in the first frame, with assists going to Kate Lumley and Sabrina Flemming.
Jessica Kampjes finished the game with three assists and Morin’s twin sister, Deanna, had two helpers.
Laura Wagner faced 40 shots in the Lloydminster net.
In the 5-1 win Sunday in Lloydminster, the Slash lit the lamp five times in a row after the Steelers got on the board 11 seconds into the middle period. Ashley Morin struck twice, followed by three goals in a row by Kampjes. The Morin sisters also combined for five assists, led by Deanna’s three helpers.
Shots were 29-22 for the Slash. In net was Kaelin Klim.
The next home game for the Slash is Sunday against the rival Edmonton Thunder. Puck drop is 2:15 p.m. at Performance against the 2011 Esso Cup national silver medallists.
The Slash roster against the Steelers included 11 players from their 41-15-4 overall record in 2010/11 as the host team for nationals. The Slash finished fifth out of six teams in the tournament.
The Slash also have a game scheduled Sunday in Spruce Grove against the Saints at 11:45 a.m. at Grant Fuhr Arena.
