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Raiders play to win

The secret to success for the St. Albert Nektar Raiders is simple. “Our guys love to win games and that’s all the motivation we need,” said captain Erik Boers of the top north division team in the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League.
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The secret to success for the St. Albert Nektar Raiders is simple.

“Our guys love to win games and that’s all the motivation we need,” said captain Erik Boers of the top north division team in the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League.

The Raiders kept their winning ways going in Thursday’s 4-2 series opener against the Canadian Athletic Club at Akinsdale Arena.

Taige Harding, Tyson Greenway, Carson Henry on the power play and Mathieu Gautier’s empty netter supplied the offence for the 2019 Mac’s Cup champions.

“We have to keep going in the playoffs like we did at Mac’s. We didn’t have the best odds going in to win but our team had the mindset that we were going to win that tournament right from the get-go and every single guy had the mindset that they were going to do everything they could to win the Mac’s,” Boers said of the team’s 6-1 record at the Mac’s tournament in Calgary during the Christmas break. “Guys were giving it their all every shift, going out blocking shots and doing everything they can just to help us win games and we have to do the same thing in the playoffs.”

Game two in the best-of-five north division semifinal goes tonight at Bill Hunter Arena and game three is Sunday at Akinsdale. Faceoff times are 7:30 p.m.

If needed, game four is 7:45 p.m. Wednesday at Bill Hunter and game five is 7:30 p.m. Friday at Akinsdale.

The winner plays the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers (19-13-2) or Grande Peace Storm (17-13-4) in the best-of-five north final.

The Raiders (19-11-4) and Rangers had first-round byes while the CAC (15-12-7) disposed of the Sherwood Park Kings (13-17-4) in four games and the Storm eliminated the Southside Athletic Club (13-19-2) in the fifth and deciding game of the opening round.

The last two seasons the Raiders also had first-round byes before bowing out in the semifinals to Leduc.

“We’re coming in without playing playoff hockey like the other guys,” said Henry, an assistant captain, prior to Wednesday’s practice. “CAC played last week, but we’ve been practising pretty hard and we’re ready to take them on.

“We have to play 60 minutes, get pucks on net, play as a 20-man unit and go hard every shift.”

In three previous contests with the CAC, the Raiders lost 3-1 Dec. 8 in St. Albert and won 3-2 on Greenway’s overtime winner in the Mac’s quarter-finals and 7-2 Jan. 12 at Bill Hunter.

“CAC is a great team. Every time we play them it’s a battle. It’s fun playing them,” Boers said. ”They’re not the biggest team in the world, but they are a fast team and to keep them in check we need to have total support by our guys, like having a guy right behind them to grab the puck as soon as the puck pops free and playing strong strategically in the D-zone and in the O-zone and not let them get many chances.”

Boers, Henry, Brady Nicholas and netminder Evan Fradette, the Mac’s Cup tournament MVP, are returnees from last year’s playoff series loss in four games to Leduc.

“After we won the first game 5-0, the guys had already thought we had won the series so we went into the second game and Leduc gave it to us for the rest of the series (by scores of 5-2, 3-0 and 7-4) and I don’t think our guys were ready for the push-back,” said Boers, 17. “This year Jack (Redlick, the head coach) has prepped us and trained us that playoffs are a whole different animal than the regular season and one game to the next is a totally different game strategically and just with the guys wanting to win more and more and more every shift as the playoffs go on.

“Our guys have got the mindset that playoffs isn’t just one game or one period that you outplay the other team, it’s every shift for the five-game series,” said the Grade 12 St. Albert Catholic High School student. “Basically, the team that wants to win and wants the puck more usually comes out on top and that’s what we plan to do.”

The Raiders also made adjustments to their schedule prior to the playoffs.

“Last year during our break we went on a little team trip and this time we stayed home and relaxed and kept going on the ice,” said Boers, a right-winger who finished second in team scoring with 15 goals and 28 points in 33 games as the power forward on the top line with Eric Perneel (21-17-38 in 34 games) and Nicholas (3-15-18 in 14 games).

The Raiders showed no ill effects from the bye week with a 13-5 shot margin in the third period for an overall count of 33-28.

The only goals Fradette let in were during a CAC penalty kill in the middle period and a power-play marker halfway through the third that knotted the score at two.

Henry netted the winner on the man advantage with 4:16 left in regulation time.

The 17-year-old centre was the fourth-highest scorer (7-12-19 in 34 games) on the Raiders and in recent weeks skated alongside assistant captain Mathew Rathbone (7-15-22 in 30 games) and Ethan Whillans (4-9-13 in 34 games).

“Our lines are set how we want them and we’ll work together to win as many games as we can,” Henry said.

Thursday’s result leaves the Raiders with eight victories to go in the playoffs for the AMHL championship and a berth in the Pacific Region national qualifier for the right to compete at the Telus Cup, April 22 to 28 in Thunder Bay, Ont.

“One of our goals was to win the Mac’s and then another goal was to win and get first in the north, and another one of our goals is to win playoffs,” said Henry, a Grade 12 Paul Kane student. “We can’t take anybody for granted. Even though we’re first in the north it’s still not going to be easy.”

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