The St. Albert Nektar Raiders have a point to prove at the 41st annual Mac’s Midget AAA World Invitational Tournament.
“We’re one of the top teams in our division so it’s great to be there to show everybody what we can do,” said right winger Kye Buchanan. “It’s a great honour.”
The Raiders (12-8-4), tied for second in the north standings, Fort Saskatchewan Rangers (14-9-2), Canadian Athletic Club (10-7-6) and all eight south division teams in the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League are competing in the 25-team tournament starting Boxing Day in Calgary.
Next week in pool three, the Raiders challenge the defending champion Regina Pat Canadians at 12:45 p.m. Wednesday; Okotoks Oilers at 5:15 p.m. Friday; Vancouver NE Chiefs at 5:15 p.m. Saturday, and Calgary Buffaloes at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
The first-place teams in all five pools, plus three wild cards, qualify for the playoffs. The final is Jan. 1 at the Saddledome.
“There are a lot of hard teams to play against. We just have to play to our advantage. We have a big team and a fast team, and if we just play our game we’ll be fine no matter who we’re playing,” said Buchanan, who experienced the grind of the Mac’s with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, the 2018 AMHL provincial champions who reached the quarter-finals only to lose 3-1 to the Red Deer Chiefs.
“It’s all about lots of ice baths, drinking lots of water and taking care of ourselves after games,” Buchanan said. “We just have to be ready to go for the next game.”
The Raiders return to the Mac’s with four players – Erik Boers, Carson Henry, Brady Nicholas and netminder Evan Fradette – from last year’s 4-2 semifinalists.
The first tournament appearance by the Raiders since the 2012-13 team finished 3-2 as quarter-finalists ended with the 1-0 loss to Red Deer as the Chiefs broke the scoreless draw in the third period.
Red Deer went on to lose the final 4-0 to Regina.
“It’s really important for us to be there,” said centre Eric Perneel. “If we can get those wins and qualify (for the playoffs), it would be good for us.
“It also gives us a lot of opportunities and gets us prepared for the (AMHL) playoffs, too.”
The Raiders roll into the Mac’s during an 8-3-2 clip.
“Everyone is going right now so we’re having a lot of success. Everyone is coming together for a 60-minute game,” Buchanan said.
The fifth win in six games was 4-2 against the Southside Athletics Club (7-15-1) Wednesday at Akinsdale Arena.
“Those games are really important for us to build our confidence going into the Mac’s,” Perneel said. “We’re all playing pretty good together. There’s good chemistry and all of our lines are going.
“We’re communicating on the ice and off the ice so we're getting better chemistry which leads into the games,” Perneel added. “We’re also getting a lot more shots off. We’re trying to reach that goal of 60 shots and we’ve come pretty close.”
Perneel, 17, potted a pair 31 seconds apart to open the scoring in the first period against the Southside.
The Spruce Grove product, who is flanked by Boers and Nicholas on the top line, leads the Raiders with 15 goals, including three on the power play, and 23 points.
Buchanan tallied in the middle frame and Mathew Rathbone sealed the deal in the third.
Shots were 30 apiece and the netminders were Ryley Osland (7-6, 2.12 GAA), a St. Albert product with Southside, and Fradette (5-4-1, 2.26 GAA).
In the last three wins, the Raiders recorded eight of their 13 goals in the last period.
“We’re a third-period team and we take advantage of that,” said Buchanan.
His third goal in as many games and the fourth in five contests was also the seventh in 16 games since joining the Raiders.
“Recently I’ve been putting up some points,” said Buchanan, who has produced 11 so far. “I’m getting a lot of shots off and finish off my opportunities.”
Buchanan, 17, has found his groove skating alongside Henry and Rathbone.
“It’s been working out pretty well,” said the former bantam AAA St. Albert Gregg Distributor Sabre and midget 15 St. Albert Flyer before hooking up with the midget AAA Hurricanes.
The journey back to his hometown started in the fall during tryouts with the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League before winding up with the Lloydminster Bobcats of the Alberta Junior Hockey league.
“I went to Spokane with an (knee) injury and I think I had only one skate,” said Buchanan, who was advised by the team to heal up. “I went up to Lloyd for a couple of months and I got a rehab there and played four games (and had one assist).
“I asked for a release so I’m here now.”
Buchanan, who stands almost six-foot-four with a heaping head of lettuce, generated 10 goals and 18 points in 33 games with the Hurricanes (24-5-6), plus one assist in 12 playoff games.
“In the playoffs you could tell we were by far the best team,” Buchanan said. “The year before Lethbridge was at the bottom of the league (at 7-22-5) so it was pretty crazy going from last to first in a year.”
At the Telus Cup in Sudbury, Ont., Buchanan collected two goals and one assist in seven games for the third-place Hurricanes.
“The speed was kind of the same but everyone had better systems more than all the Edmonton teams and the south teams (in the AMHL) so it was more like a system game there.”
ICE CHIPS: Friday the Raiders played the U16 provincial Canada Winter Games team in Red Deer but the score was unavailable at press time.
The next league game is Jan. 5 against the Calgary Royals (16-7) at 5:30 p.m. in St. Albert.
