The St. Albert Merchants are winning games defensively instead of offensively. The last three victories The Blue Guys are plus three in goals for/against while giving up only three goals. “We’ve all just been playing better defensively,” said right-winger Cam Mazur. “We’ve kind of beared down in our own end lately and helping our goalies out and they have also played really well. They’ve stolen us a couple of victories for sure.” The Merchants (13-8) are plus seven overall while averaging 3.62 goals against after the third one-goal game in a row in Sunday's 3-2 affair against the Edmonton Mustangs (4-12) at Bill Hunter Arena. “That probably wasn’t one of our better games but we still got it done, starting at the back end again and playing defence really well. The goals will come as long as we play defence first,” Mazur said. The fifth win in six games is a startling reversal of fortune after a scary 2-6 slump that included four setbacks in a row while outscored 21-8. “During that low time we definitely weren’t playing our game and kind of stayed away from playing defensively and then we turned it around and figured out how to play in our own end and now it’s working out for the best,” Mazur said. The Merchants proved they could protect their net with authority while grinding out a 2-1 defensive gem against the rival Morinville Jets (12-6-1) Nov. 18 at Ray McDonald Sports Centre. Ethan Crotty (8-6, 3.48 GAA) was tested 29 times while the Merchants, with a depleted lineup, struck twice on 13 shots, including Andy Barr’s winner in the last minute of regulation time. “It’s a hard rink to play when you’re the visiting team so that win could be a turning point,” Mazur said. “In the past we’ve just been a high scoring team but ever since we figured it out in our own end we’ve played very good defensively and it’s going better for us.” Solid performances by Brandon Boughen (5-2, 3.97 GAA) backstopped the Merchants to a pair of victories last weekend in place of the injured Crotty, a returnee from the 2016/17 team that averaged 4.55 goals against. Boughen, who played junior C last season, was up to the challenge. He faced a game-high 38 shots by the Mustangs after the Merchants were outshot 37-20 by the Beverly Warriors (16-4) Friday in another 3-2 squeaker. Beverly is the top team in the Capital Junior B Hockey League and is six points clear of the second-place Merchants. “Huge,” was how Mazur described the win at Akinsdale Arena, “Especially since they’re in first place. It gave us a lot of confidence and proves that we can compete against the best teams in the league. “Two of our top guys were also out and we’re playing really good without them.” Matt Havens, the team leader in assists with 17 and points with 26 in 18 games, and Brenden Passek, third in scoring with 19 points in 18 games, are sidelined with injuries. Havens may return this weekend and Passek should be back before the Christmas break. However, there is no target date for Adrian Parth, a promising newcomer at forward who had five points in 11 games before suffering an injury. To accommodate the losses up front, head coach Scott Rodda moved defenceman Mark Matsuba to centre to bolster the offence. The former Western Hockey League player with the Brandon Wheat Kings has three assists in the last three games and in 19 games has recorded four goals and 12 points. “He’s always been a very offensive defenceman so it was pretty easy for him to make the adjustment. He’s a very good skater and very smart with the puck and knows what he’s doing up there,” said Mazur, who is skating alongside Matsuba on a line with Sam Milner in recent games after spending most of the season working together with Havens and Passek. The trio combined on Milner’s seventh goal of the season to knot the count at two against the Mustangs. Matsuba also set-up Mike Bruni’s winner 59 seconds into the third period. Jack Langenhahn tied it at one in the second. Mazur and Bruni (power play) opened the scoring against Beverly in the first frame and Boughen kept the lead intact in the second as the Merchants were outshot 14-3 in the period. Liam Thomas made it 3-0 at 2:11 of the third. Langenhahn finished with two assists. Mazur’s goal was his team-leading 15th and after 20 games is second in scoring with 25 points. “I don’t think I’m doing anything special. I’m just getting to the right places at the right time and my teammates are finding me,” said the third–year Merchant, who has compiled 60 goals and 118 points in 102 league and playoff games and last season posted 18 goals and 35 points in the regular season. Friday the Merchants host the North Edmonton Red Wings (11-6-2) at 8 p.m. and Sunday’s game against the Spruce Grove Regals (1-16-2) starts at 7:45 p.m. at Grant Fuhr Arena. The fourth-place Red Wings are two points behind the Merchants in the west. “They’ve got a couple of high scorers and the key to beating them is shutting those guys down and if we can do that it gives us a really good opportunity to win and that would be another huge win and possibly separate us from some of the other teams in the standings,” said Mazur, 20, a Bellerose Composite High School graduate and midget AAA product of the St. Albert Tire Warehouse Raiders.
