Colton Parayko of St. Albert assisted on two goals in Team North America’s 4-1 win over Finland at the World Cup of Hockey on Sunday in Toronto.
In the second period, the St. Louis Blues’ defenceman fired the shots that Johnny Gaudreau deflected to make it 2-0 and Nathan MacKinnon converted into the 4-0 lead.
Parayko’s third assist of the tournament was registered in Monday's 4-3 loss to Russia, a power-play marker by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to close out the scoring in the third period.
Parayko logged 20:40 minutes of ice time after 17:09 of action against Finland.
The last group B round-robin game for the Team North America, a collection of Canadian and United States born U23 players, is against Sweden today.
Parayko, 23, is coming off a stellar season with the Blues as a National Hockey League All-Rookie team selection.
The former midget 15 Flyer and midget AA Crusader ranked second among rookie defencemen in goals (nine), assists (24) and points (33) in 79 games.
The six-foot-six blueliner led all rookie skaters with a plus-28 rating, which was fifth-best in the entire league and a franchise rookie record.
The Paul Kane High School alumnus also finished eighth in Calder Trophy voting for the NHL’s rookie of the year as the second-highest vote-getter among defencemen.
The third-round (86th overall) pick of the Blues in the 2012 NHL entry draft also recorded two goals and five assists in 20 games during the team’s playoff round that ended two wins shy of a trip to the Stanley Cup final.
Parayko played his junior hockey with the Fort McMurray Oil Barons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League before spending three seasons with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks. The former captain of the Nanooks signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Blues after his junior season in March of 2015.
The St. Albert Merchants started off the season in fine form in Sunday’s win over the Spruce Grove Regals in the Capital Junior B Hockey League.
Stephen Cretain tallied twice and Ryan Cooper and Mason Kenny also scored in the 4-2 decision in front of approximately 250 spectators at Akinsdale Arena. In net was Ryen Papirny.
The 50/50 payout for the home opener and sponsor/fan appreciation night was a hefty $120.
Off the ice, the Merchants’ tailgate party was a big success with about 150 people receiving free food and drinks, while the Stereo Villain trio cranked out the tunes in the parking lot.
Several sponsors stepped forward to provide burgers, beverages and multiple door prizes, in addition to Original Joe’s supplying the tent.
Tonight the Merchants visit the Beverly Warriors at 8 p.m. at Clareview Arena.
The next home game is Sunday versus the Founders Cup champion North Edmonton Red Wings at 8 p.m.
The U14 St. Albert Impact boys’ team is hosting a fundraiser Saturday at The Beer Hunter for the U14 National Cup, Oct. 5 to 10 at Moncton, N.B.
Three hundred tickets have been printed and all ticket sales at $10 apiece go directly to the team. Ten per cent of food and beverage sales will also be donated to the Impact.
The pub night starts at 7 p.m. and the fundraiser includes a silent auction, door prizes, raffles and a 50/50 draw with a maximum prize payout of $5,000.
For more information, contact Impact head coach Chris Clarke at [email protected].
Corporate and business sponsors are also welcomed to contribute to the team’s $30,000-plus fundraising objective.
The Impact are the first boys' team from St. Albert to qualify for nationals as the Alberta reps since the 1989 gold-medal winning Cougars.
The U14 nationals features 10 teams and the Impact are grouped with Fraser Valley of B.C., Dartmouth FC of Nova Scotia, St. John’s SC of Newfoundland and Hillsborough United of Prince Edward Island in the qualification phase.
The Brampton East Blades of Ontario, Bonivital SC of Manitoba, Eastside FC of Saskatchewan, FDSA of New Brunswick and the Yukon Strikers form the second group.
The St. Albert Tire Warehouse Raiders close out their pre-season schedule tonight against the Sherwood Park Kings.
Puck drop is 7:45 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena.
The Raiders are 3-1 in exhibition action.
The first Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League game for the Raiders under new head coach Jack Redlick is Oct. 1 against the Canadian Athletic Club at 7:45 p.m. at Bill Hunter Arena.
The home opener is Oct. 2 against the Southside Athletic Club at 1:15 p.m. at the Akinsdale rink.
The St. Albert Gregg Distributors Sabres make their regular season debut Thursday in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League.
Faceoff is 7 p.m. against the KC Squires at Akinsdale Arena.
The Sabres are coming off a successful 7-0 pre-season under new head coach Lee Zalasky, including four wins at the John Ferguson Memorial Tournament hosted by the Southside Athletic Club. The last game was 5-4 over the Sherwood Park Flyers on Sunday.
