Slash win again
The 11th victory in a row for the midget AAA St. Albert Slash was against the second-best team in the Alberta Female Hockey League.Jaden Bogden tallied twice and Brianna Sank stopped 29 shots in Saturday’s 5-3 decision against the Lloydminster Steelers (17-5-1) at Go Auto Arena.
Tianna Yaremko opened the scoring before the Steelers made it 2-1 with goals on the power play and at even strength.
Bogden’s first goal was scored with the man advantage at 14:02 of the middle frame.
In the third period, Taylor Anker potted the team’s third goal and the Steelers replied with the man advantage.
Bogden’s 12th goal of the season was the winner at 16:07, with Madison Willan and Yaremko drawing assists, and Willan’s empty netter with 11 seconds remaining sealed the deal for the first-place Slash (18-1-1).
Willan finished with two assists for a league-high 39 points and her 21st goal is also tops in the AFHL.
The Slash directed 31 shots at Bella McKee (9-3-1, 1.30 GAA), the league MVP last season, while Sank improved to 9-1-1 with a 0.91 GAA.
The two-time defending Esso Cup national champions wrap up a four-game homestand Jan. 26 against the Red Deer Chiefs (8-12-3) at 2:15 p.m.
First for Raiders
The St. Albert Nektar Raiders grabbed sole possession of first place in the north division of the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League after posting two victories last weekend.Scores were 7-2 against the Canadian Athletic Club (12-8-4) at Bill Hunter Arena and 5-2 against the Grande Peace Storm (13-10-4) in Grande Prairie.
The Raiders (15-9-4) are two points ahead of the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers (15-1-2-2) with one less game played after Sunday’s result against the Storm.
The goal scorers were Eric Perneel and Matt Offenberger on the power play, captain Erick Boers and Carson Henry at even strength and Breck McKinley’s first as a Raider was a short-handed effort.
Henry also collected two assists.
Perneel’s goal was his team leading 17th in 28 games.
Shots were 29-22 as Andreai Proctor-Ramirez (8-4-3, 2.72 GAA) backstopped the Raiders to their third win in a row.
Tanner Sklaruk, midget 15 affiliate Ethan Sundar (power play) of the St. Albert Flyers, Boers, Perneel, Ethan Whillans (power play), Taige Harding and Brady Nicholas connected against the CAC.
Nicholas added three assists and Noah Kramps had a pair of helpers.
The shot count was 42-25 for the Raiders and Evan Fradette (6-4-1, 2.24 GAA), the Mac’s Cup tournament MVP, was the winning netminder.
The Raiders have a break in the schedule until next weekend with road games against the Okotoks Oilers (13-10-4) and Calgary Flames (10-13-2).
Merchants games
Fourth place in the west division is within reach for the St. Albert Merchants tonight in the Capital Junior B Hockey League.The fifth-place Merchants (11-1-5-4) are two points back of the Edmonton Mustangs (13-6-2) with a game in hand when the teams face off at 8 p.m. at Bill Hunter Arena.
Friday the Merchants visit the Sherwood Park Knights (21-9-1) at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday’s home game against the Leduc Riggers (14-16-1) starts at 8 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena.
The second victory in three games for the Merchants was 3-2 against the Strathcona Bruins (1-27-2) Sunday at Strathcona Olympiette Centre.
Bryce Sturm’s team-leading ninth goal and 36th point in 30 games was the game winner with five seconds left in regulation time. Marco Runco assisted on the power-play marker.
Runco and Ryan Deets also potted goals in the first period.
The Merchants finished with 48 shots and Josh Dechaine stopped 19 shots in his third consecutive start since joining the team.
Dechaine (2-1, 2.67 GAA) faced a game-high 45 shots in Friday’s 5-0 loss to the division-leading Beverly Warriors (23-8) in St. Albert. The Merchants were credited with 33 shots.
Jets in action
The Morinville Jets travel to Clareview Arena tonight for a game against the Beverly Warriors in the Capital Junior B Hockey League.Puck drop is 8 p.m. Clareview Arena.
Fifteen points separate the first-place Warriors (23-8) and third-place Jets (15-1-3-1) in the west division.
Friday the Jets are in Spruce Grove for a date with the Regals (6-26) at 7:45 p.m. at Grant Fuhr Arena.
The next home game is 7:30 p.m. Sunday against the Edmonton Royals (17-12-1) at Ray MacDonald Sports Centre.
The first win for the Jets after four losses was Sunday’s 2-1 decision against the Stony Plain Flyers (11-18-2) in Morinville.
Lee Gadoury and Tyler Sonnichsen scored as the Jets were outshot 30-28 with Luke Hall (5-3, 3.43 GAA) between the pipes.
The recent losing streak for the Jets included a pair of defeats against the two-time defending CJHL champion Wetaskiwin Icemen (20-6-2) – 7-6 Dec. 22 in Wetaskiwin and 5-2 Friday in Morinville.
