The St. Albert Merchants are banking on a championship win this year after last season’s loss in the deciding game of the Founders Cup final.
The top team in the Capital Junior B Hockey League has 10 games remaining as it prepares to go the distance for the first time since 2005.
“We just want to keep progressing and getting better as we gear up for playoffs,” said assistant captain Mike Roeleveld. “We know once playoffs come anything can really happen. The regular season doesn’t really mean anything if you’re not always working hard and making sure you’re making the right plays and the smart plays every game and just working your butt off essentially.”
The Merchants are 23-5 after their 10th win in 10 games in Sunday’s 11-4 blowout of the Edmonton Mustangs at Akinsdale Arena.
Last season, the Money Men finished 34-3-1 in league play and 45-11-1 overall as the fourth-place team at provincials.
The west division leaders are also averaging a league-high 36.9 penalty minutes per game but have allowed only 21 power play goals.
“We’re definitely trying to work on our discipline. We have the most penalty minutes in the league and that’s pretty much the only thing that would be holding us back,” Roeleveld said. “Five on five we outmatch any team in the league because we have some great depth but once we start taking penalties that’s when we get ourselves in trouble.”
Special teams combined for four goals – three on the power play and one shorthanded – against the Mustangs (16-9-1), who tallied twice on the penalty kill in the first period but trailed 3-2 after 20 minutes.
Braeden Farge at even strength and Mitch McNamara and Brent McGugan with the man advantage filled the net in the opening frame.
In the second, the Merchants scored five times on 15 shots while netminder Ty Clelland (16-1, 2.83 GAA) stopped 25 of 26 shots directed his way.
“He played unreal in the second period,” Roeleveld said. “It was only 3-2 after the first so we came out really explosively and our team ended up scoring five goals in the first 10 minutes of the second period.”
A pair by Roeleveld 58 seconds apart, including a power-play tally in the opening minute, and Zach Gonek’s single made it 6-2 before the three-minute mark. The pair by Roelveld were his ninth and 10th in eight games.
Josh Jewell and A.J. Yariwon also scored in the second.
Two goals in the third by Blair Macuch, including a shortie with 13:46 to play, pushed it to 10-3.
Jordan MacPhee closed out the scoring.
Macuch led the Merchants with five points and Roeleveld, Jewell and McGugan had four apiece.
Only two skaters and Cleland failed to register a point as the Merchants improved to 13-1 on home ice.
“We had about two weeks off so it was still a decent game nonetheless to get our legs going,” said Roeleveld, who did most of his damage as the right winger on the line with Jewell and Macuch. “We had glimpses of good moments and bad moments as a team. We got outshot (51-42) so it was kind of a wild game in that sense because both teams weren’t making the best plays, we just happened to capitalize more than they did.”
Roeleveld’s offensive outburst gave the newly minted 21-year-old a team-leading 21 goals and 40 points in 27 games. It’s a remarkable feat considering he sat out last season while recovering from surgery to his right shoulder and an appendix operation.
“I’m not too surprised because even in past years I’ve had some good success too. I knew as long as I worked hard in the off season recovering from my surgeries, I would be able to get back on track,” said the team’s top playoff scorer in 2013 with seven goals and 17 points in 14 games after compiling 14 goals and 34 points in league play. “I’m really focused right now especially after that year off. It's just made me love the game even more. It’s awesome showing up to the rink because I’m with all of my best friends. It’s pretty much the best atmosphere I can be in. It pretty much pushes me to play to my full potential every night.”
Roeleveld was rewarded for his comeback season with an all-star game selection. He joins defenceman Dan Rombough, the team’s captain, on the west all-stars at Saturday’s event in Beaumont.
Defenceman Mike Bruni will play in the rookie game and head coach Scott Rodda and his staff will run the Team West bench.
The rookie game starts at 1:30 p.m. and the all-star game is 4 p.m.
“It’s just good to get some recognition that I’ve been working hard and producing,” said Roeleveld, a student in the NAIT personal fitness training program.
The Merchants host the Strathcona Bruins (13-5-1) at 8 p.m. Friday. On Sunday, they hook up with the Mustangs at 8 p.m. at Bill Hunter Arena.
