The St. Albert Nektar Raiders are barrelling towards the playoffs as leaders of the pack in the north division of the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League.
The Raiders (15-9-4) have six games remaining before league play ends Feb. 17 and the top two teams in the north receive first-round byes.
“We’re building and getting ready for playoffs. We want to go in on a nice roll,” said defenceman Taige Harding at Thursday’s practice.
The Mac’s Cup champions resume league play after a break in the schedule that included a rare weekend off with road games against the bottom two teams in the south division.
“We’ve got to push ourselves,” said right-winger Brad Adams of the Raiders facing off against the Okotoks Oilers (13-10-4) tonight and Calgary Flames (10-13-2) Sunday.
“We need to go to Okotoks and Calgary with something on our shoulders. We played Okotoks at the Mac's (captain Erik Boers scored the 2-1 game winner with 1:39 remaining in the pool three match) and they’re going to want revenge,” Adams added. “We just need to come out strong and play like we’ve played the last few games.”
The hangover from winning the Mac’s Cup on Jan. 1 lasted only one game, the 4-1 loss to the Calgary Royals (17-9-1) Jan. 5 in St. Albert, before the Raiders pulled off three huge victories against high-ranking division rivals.
“We were getting off a high from the Mac’s and we had to get refocused,” Harding said. “We came out strong because we knew they were must-win games for us. We kind of had that playoff mentality.”
The day after losing to the Royals – the first defeat after winning five out of six games in December – the Raiders rattled the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers 5-1 in their home barn to close within two points of the first-place team.
The next weekend the Raiders separated themselves from the Canadian Athletic Club (12-8-6) and Grande Peace Storm (13-10-4) while moving past the Rangers (15-12-2) for top spot in the standings. Scores were 7-2 against the CAC at Bill Hunter Arena and 5-2 against the Storm in Grande Prairie.
“It was awesome,” Adams said. “We had a tough loss at home and then we went to Fort Sask (the next day) and battled hard. It was a good game all around.
“CAC is another tough team. We played them at the Mac’s (Tyson Greenway sniped the 3-2 winner in double overtime in the quarter-finals) and we just came out hard and they couldn’t play with us. We were just all over them. That was a big win.
“The next day we bused up to GP and again we battled hard. You could tell our guys wanted that first place the way we battled and we came away with the W. It was definitely a fun bus ride home.
“Now we just need to keep preparing. There are only six games left and we need to stay in first place.”
The Raiders are still walking on sunshine as the first St. Albert male team to win the Mac’s Cup in the tournament’s 41-year history.
“It gave us confidence and confidence is huge in this league,” said Harding, 17. “We were all pretty excited after winning it, but our focus is on playoffs now.”
The six-foot-five Harding, a Grade 11 Bellerose Composite High School student, has two goals and nine assists in 28 games with the Raiders.
The former bantam AAA PAC Saint and midget 15 St. Albert Flyer is similar in nature to his dad, Mike, who played for the St. Albert Saints in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, as well as four seasons at Northern Michigan University. The defenceman turned forward was drafted by the Hartford Whalers in round six (119th overall) in 1991 and had minor pro stints in the American and East Coast leagues in addition to playing in two British leagues.
Adams agreed with the suggestion the Raiders have a spring in their step since the uplifting Mac’s experience.
“Every player had an unreal game. It boosted our confidence. You could just tell our team has come more together, said the Grade 12 Mayerthorpe High School student. “It’s fun right now especially coming down to the end of the season and the playoffs.”
Adams, 17, was selected the team’s player of the game in the 4-3 final against the Lethbridge Hurricanes at the Saddledome. His first-period goal knotted it at one and he added two assists while riding shotgun on a line with two 15-year-olds in Greenway and Jaxon Dube.
“To win it is amazing. I don’t think anyone knew or even guessed that we were going to win it,” Adams said. “We were ready every game and we just battled.”
The former bantam AA Whitecourt Wolverine, midget 15 PAC Saint and Lloydminster Bobcat (one assist in 28 games last season) in the AJHL has compiled five goals and seven assists in 25 games with the Raiders and has also been called up by Whitecourt’s AJHL team for a couple of games.
The next home contest is Feb. 2 against the Airdrie Bisons (14-12-3) at 8 p.m. and it’s also the Talk Today Game in conjunction with the Canadian Mental Health Association. The CMHA will have a booth set up at Akinsdale Arena with various awareness materials. Donations will also be accepted in support of the CMHA.
