With 12 games remaining until the playoffs, the St. Albert Merchants resume league play Sunday against the Edmonton Royals. The puck drops at 8 p.m. at Confederation Arena.
At the Christmas break the Merchants (15-11) stood fourth in the west, two points shy of second spot. The Royals (16-11-0-1) were third in the east.
In December the Merchants won four and lost one after going 6-2 in November. They are 10-4 at home and 5-7 on the road.
Offensively the Merchants are led by Chris Clark’s 32 points in 25 games and Jake Behiels’ 23 goals in 26 games. Clark is also the team’s penalty minute king with 135.
Two of the top three north conference teams in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League square-off Sunday, when the St. Albert Sabres host the Spruce Grove PAC Saints. Game time is 2:30 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena.
The Sabres (14-5-3) are second in the Nitro division behind the SSAC Southgate Lions (15-3-3). The Saints (14-3-5) are first in the Charger division.
The Sabres won four and lost one in December after posting six wins without a loss in November.
The Sabres also play at home Wednesday against the Leduc Oil Kings (14-8-1) at 7:45 p.m. The Sabres are 8-1-1 in St. Albert.
The schedule has been finalized for the John Reid Memorial Tournament, Jan. 20 to 23 at Servus Credit Union Place.
Sixteen teams from across western Canada and the United States are divided into four pools to determine the playoff pairings in the A, B and C divisions. The host St. Albert Sabres play the Red Deer Rebels White (10:45 a.m. Jan. 20), Phoenix Junior Coyotes (7:30 p.m. Jan. 20) and Burnaby Winter Club (2:15 p.m. Jan. 21) at Performance Arena.
Rounding out the tournament draw are the Airdrie Xtreme, Calgary Bisons, Calgary Royals, Kamloops Blazers, Kelowna Pursuit of Excellence Academy, Leduc Oil Kings, Notre Dame Hounds, Seafair Islanders, Sherwood Park Flyers, Spruce Grove PAC Saints, SSAC Southgate Lions and Winnipeg Hawks.
The semifinals are Jan. 22 at 1:45 p.m. at Mark Messier Arena and 2:15 p.m. at Troy Murray Arena. The final goes 2 p.m. Jan. 23 at Performance.
Last year the Los Angeles Selects shaded Burnaby 3-2 in the final.
The only St. Albert team to win the tournament was the 1983 Territorial Leasing Sabres.
The 33rd annual St. Albert bantam AAA tournament pays tribute to John Reid, a St. Albert minor hockey and lacrosse coach who died of leukemia at age 41 on Nov. 6, 2003. The next year the tournament was renamed in memory of the former St. Albert Saint, Sherwood Park Crusader and Alberta Golden Bear.
Visit www.johnreidmemorial.com for schedules and tournament information.
Meanwhile, volunteers are needed for all positions. For more details, call Trudy at 780-458-8725.
The St. Albert Flyers skate into the new year as pennant contenders in the Alberta Minor Midget AAA Hockey League.
In the north conference the Flyers (16-4) are four points back of the first-place Sherwood Park Squires (16-1-4) with one game in hand.
The first game after the Christmas break for the Flyers is next Saturday against the Maple Leafs (8-12-2) at 5:30 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena.
Their last game in 2010, a 6-3 win over last-place CAC United Cycle (2-16-3) in St. Albert, halted a three-game losing streak.
In the conference scoring race, Jake Mykitiuk is second with 43 points and is the top goal producer with 26 in 20 games.
The best defensive team in the north (52 GA) is backstopped by Landon Bow (9-2, 2.46 GAA and .925 save percentage) and Tanner McCorriston (7-2, 2.78 GAA and .903 save percentage).
