The hottest midget AAA team entering the Christmas break is back in action Sunday at Akinsdale Arena.
The St. Albert Raiders, undefeated in 14 games as winners of seven in a row, host the Calgary Buffaloes at 1:15 p.m.
The Raiders (13-4-7) are two points behind the first-place Canadian Athletic Club in the north division and the Buffaloes (15-5-4) are the top team in the south.
The 11th win in 14 games for the Raiders was 9-4 against the Calgary Flames (9-9-7) Dec. 21 in St. Albert.
The Raiders are 7-3-3 at the Akinsdale rink.
The St. Albert Merchants and Morinville Jets ring in the New Year on Sunday in the Capital Junior B Hockey League.
The first-place Money Men (22-5) host the Edmonton Mustangs (16-8-1) at 8 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena and the Jets (17-8-1) visit the Wetaskiwin Icemen (5-19-2) at 6:30 p.m.
The Merchants skated into the Christmas break as winners of nine in a row on the strength of three shutout decisions.
The 2014 Founders Cup finalist and fourth-place finisher at provincials is the CJHL’s second-most penalized team at 1,007 PIM.
The team’s home record is 12-1.
The Jets finished December with a 3-3 mark after winning a season-high five consecutive games in November. They are ranked third in the west standings and trail the Merchants by nine points.
Both teams will be represented in the CJHL’s all-star extravaganza Jan. 10 in Beaumont. The rookie game starts at 1:30 p.m. and the all-stars shine at 4 p.m.
The Merchants’ all-stars are captain Dan Rombough and Mike Roeleveld (19 goals in 26 games). Mike Bruni will play in the rookie game and head coach Scott Rodda and his staff will run the Team West bench.
The Jets are sending captain Jorden Rooke and Tyler Hagel (24 goals in 25 games) to the all-star game and Koben Hammett, Travis McLaughlin, Ty Tipton and goalie Lawrence Rosychuk to the rookie game.
The Morinville Kings have a rare afternoon home game scheduled Sunday against the Rocky Mountain House Rams in the North Central Hockey League.
Faceoff is 2:45 p.m. at Ray McDonald Sports Centre.
In the senior AA circuit the Kings (10-4) are entrenched in second place and Rocky (3-9) is tied for sixth in the seven-team standings.
The 2014 Hockey Alberta senior A champions are 3-3 on Morinville ice.
