The St. Albert Raiders are skating in select company as winners of the Joe Cherrington Memorial Trophy.
The Raiders are only the sixth St. Albert team, and the first since 1998, to capture the north division title in the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League.
The Raiders eliminated the Leduc Oil Kings, the host team for the Telus Cup national tournament, in four games to earn the right to play the two-time defending champion Red Deer Rebels in the best-of-five provincial final.
The last St. Albert team to win provincials was the 1990 Raiders, the fourth-place finishers at nationals.
"It's another milestone we want to achieve. Everybody in the room is thinking about how long ago we won it and that just gets us more excited," said right-winger Trace Elson. "After we took care of Leduc everyone is so excited to get the next series going."
The provincial opener was Friday in Red Deer but the score was unavailable at press time.
"The first game is a big one, plus it's in their barn so it would be nice to steal one from them," said left-winger Mitch McNamara.
Game two is Sunday at 2 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena. Parking will be at a premium after fans packed the stands in both St. Albert home games in the Leduc series.
"When the crowd comes out and supports the team it just shows that people care and they want us to do good," Elson said. "It gives you chills and gets you ready to go."
Game three is Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Red Deer.
If needed, game four is Friday at 8 p.m. at Akinsdale and game five would be Sunday at 3 p.m. in Red Deer.
The winner will host the British Columbia champion in the best-of-three series to determine the pacific region rep at the April 23-29 Telus Cup.
"It would be really cool to get that far," McNamara said.
No pressure
Despite their playoff success the Raiders are the underdogs against the Rebels.
"On paper we are but we're not scared of them," McNamara said. "There really is no pressure on us."
The Rebels led the league with 25 wins and 53 points as the top team in the south.
"They're skilled but we stack up well against them," McNamara said. "We basically have to keep the puck down low against them and have a good cycle game. If it goes back and forth we might not win, but if we play as a team we should do well."
The Rebels beat the Raiders twice in November by scores of 4-3 in St. Albert and 4-1 in Red Deer. In the first meeting the Rebels battled back from a 3-2 deficit with two late goals.
"They've got a pretty fast team, just like us, and they're real tight defensively, too," Elson said. "We've just got to go in and play our systems and listen to what our coach [Sandro Pisani] has to say. If we do that we should have some success."
Defensive minded
The Rebels were the No. 1 defensive team in league play with 74 goals-against, nine less than the Raiders. In the playoffs netminder Dasan Sydora was 6-1 with four shutouts and a sparkling 0.71 GAA and .970 save percentage.
"They have the best goalie in the league. He also got the MVP in the all-star game," McNamara said. "He will be tough but we have Wyatt [Hoflin], who is playing real good right now too."
Hoflin (2.04 GAA) posted his second shutout in eight playoff starts with a scintillating 36-save performance in Sunday's 1-0 series clincher against Leduc. The last two years in the north semifinals Leduc knocked off the Raiders in overtime in the fifth and deciding game.
"We have a rivalry going with them. They've beaten us the past few years and it was pretty exciting beating them," Elson said. "We had guys playing their roles in that series and the coaches put lines together that were clicking."
The Raiders were 6-2 in the playoffs after finishing second in the north at 21-9-4.
"We're not surprised that we're here and I still think we're going to go farther," McNamara said. "Everything is clicking right now. Good cycles down low. We're laying the body. Good goaltending. Like our coach said, we play as a fist, really close together."
Offensive trio
The Raiders are led by the line combination of Kevin Miller centring Elson and McNamara.
"Kevin and Trace are more skilled than I am. I just lay the body pretty much and stand in front of the net on the power play," said McNamara, 17.
The Grade 12 St. Albert Catholic High School student produced seven goals and 14 assists in 30 games in the regular season and one goal and two assists in the playoffs.
Miller, the team's top scorer with 15 goals and 26 assists in 33 games, notched his fourth playoff goal on the power play in game four against Leduc. He shares the team lead in playoff points with Elson at seven apiece.
"We know where each other is on the ice. We also have some plays up our sleeves that are getting us some goals," said Elson, 17.
The Grade 12 St. Albert Catholic High School student finished second behind Miller in team scoring with 15 goals and 20 assists in 28 games. He also played three games with Red Deer in the Western Hockey League. His brother, Turner, is a 19-year-old left winger with Red Deer and property of the Calgary Flames.
"It was pretty exciting to play with my brother. Not many people get that opportunity," Trace said. "It was pretty nerve racking so it was nice to have someone there to calm me down."
ICE CHIPS: Defenceman Ty Stanton, the north division player of the month for February, should return to the line-up against the Rebels after missing six games with a sore hip.
Thomas Foster, an offensive forward, is sidelined with a concussion.
