Slash Alumni Game
The sixth annual Slash Alumni Game is good to go Thursday at 5:15 p.m. at Go Auto Arena.
The annual showcase of past and present midget AAA Slash players is sponsored by the 2011 Esso Cup Legacy Fund.
In the Alberta Female Hockey league, the Slash (15-1-1, 52 GF/16 GA) suffered their first loss in regulation time in Sunday’s 2-1 setback against the host Red Deer Chiefs (2-14-1) in the last game before the Christmas break for the three-time defending Esso Cup national champions.
The Slash struck first with Jenna Goodwin’s team-leading 11th goal and 16th point before the Chiefs pulled even on the power play late in the second period.
The winner was scored with 5:08 left in the third.
Holly Borrett (6-1, 0.88 GAA) stopped 15 shots for the Slash and Ridleigh Hansen (2-7, 2.78 GAA) of the Chiefs was tested 34 times.
The second Slash shutout after the 1-0 shootout loss to the Lloydminster Steelers (7-8-2) Nov. 24 in the Border City was 6-0 against the Calgary Fire (8-8) on Raiders Day in St. Albert on Saturday at Go Auto Arena.
Mabel Maltais (9-0, 0.99 GAA) made 16 saves for her fourth shutout and the team’s seventh of the season.
Bronwyn Boucher potted a pair and Kamea Brezovski, Faith Greenough, Jaden Bogden and Goodwin netted singles.
Jayden Cadieux picked up three assists and Kyra McDonald had two helpers.
Merchants action
The St. Albert Merchants have two games remaining before skating into the Christmas break.
The Merchants host the North Edmonton Red Wings (17-5-1) Friday and the Fort Saskatchewan Hawks (11-5-6) Sunday at 8 p.m. Jarome Iginla Arena.
The Merchants will also be accepting donations in support of Jenna’s Wish for children undergoing treatment at the Stollery Children’s Hospital during the Christmas season.
Jenna Marko of St. Albert was seven years old in December of 2018 when diagnosed with stage four adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare cancer in adults and even rarer in children. Marko lost her battle with the disease Nov. 22.
Jenna’s Wish was initiated to raise money to buy toys for sick children at the Stollery where Marko received chemo and radiation treatments.
Visit stalbertmerchants.com for more information on the donation items listed through the Stollery’s guidelines and restrictions.
Donations can also be made to Jenna’s GoFundMe page.
The Merchants (16-10) are 3-5 since winning eight straight and the last loss was 8-2 against the Edmonton Royals (20-4-1) Sunday at Coronation Arena.
The Merchants were outshot 57-29 and three of the goals by the Royals were generated on the power play.
Period scores were 2-1 and 5-2.
Marco Runco opened the scoring before the five-minute mark and Bryce Sturm found the back of the net in the second.
Brett Akins (7-3, 4.98 GAA) was in net after backstopping the Merchants to Friday’s 5-4 shootout decision on home ice against the Wetaskiwin Icemen (9-13-3).
Akins stopped 39 shots while the Merchants registered eight in the five-minute extra period and 45 overall.
Wetaskiwin showed why it's the most penalized team in the Capital Junior B Hockey League (1,045 PIM in 25 games) with 28 infractions for 146 minutes, compared to 12 infractions for 53 minutes for the Merchants (629 PIM in 26 games).
The only power-play goal of the night was deposited by Sturm to make it 3-1 40 seconds into the third.
It was 4-1 when Wetaskiwin rattled off three in a row during 7:28 span with under 10 minutes left in the regulation time.
Cooper’s four-point performance included his team-high 20th goal in 23 games.
Cooper ranks fourth in CJHL scoring with 46 points.
Peter Corrigan and Josh Antunes also scored and Stuart Dovey added two assists.
Jets streaking
The Morinville Jets are winners of a season-high three games in a row in the Capital Junior B Hockey League with a pair remaining before the Christmas holidays.
Friday the Jets visit the Sherwood Park Knights (12-12-1) before hosting the Wetaskiwin Icemen (9-13-3) Sunday and game times are 7:30 p.m.
The fifth win in six games for the Jets (9-17) was Sunday’s 6-3 result against the Edmonton Mustangs (2-23) at Morinville.
Jeff Smith, Hayden Laporte, Zach Mcrae, Regan Regimbald, Ethan Vekved (power play) and Josh Mcrae (empty net) scored as the Jets racked up 50 shots.
Regimbald added three assists and Zach Mcrae had two helpers.
Kyle Nelson (3-3, 3.52 GAA) of the Jets faced 28 shots.
Midget AA result
The St. Albert Steel handed the St. Albert Source for Sports Crusaders their first loss of the season in the Northern Alberta Midget AA Hockey League.
Brett Reiter scored twice and added two assists in the 6-4 decision against the Crusaders (15-1-1) on Raiders Day in St. Albert on Saturday at Mark Messier Arena.
Joshua Cyr also produced two goals for the Steel (11-3-1).
Aidyn Hutchinson’s power-play marker for the Steel broke a 2-2 tie in the first period.
Brooks Robinson made it 6-3 with 3:07 to play.
Hutchinson and Brad Pollard chipped in with two assists apiece.
Scoring for the Crusaders were Kaelan Shelton, Zachry Desranleau, Shea Spofford and Brydon Foster.
Jack Robinson (five GA on 22 shots in 29 minutes) and Cole Crozier (one GA on 11 shots in 31 minutes) shared net time for the Crusaders while Ethan Kadatz (27 saves) went the distance for the Steel.
The fourth straight victory for the Steel ended a 12-game winning streak for the Crusaders.
The teams tangle again Jan. 24 at 8:45 p.m. at Mark Messier.
Thursday the Steel visit the Sherwood Park Oilers (10-6-2) at 8:15 p.m. and Sunday’s game against the NEBC Yukon Trackers (12-2-2) will be played at Grant Fuhr Arena at 1 p.m.
The Crusaders are in action Friday against the Trackers at 8:45 p.m. at Mark Messier and Sunday’s start time against the Canadian Athletic Club (13-3) is 4 p.m. at Confederation Arena.
The Crusaders, winners of consecutive Playoff Cup championships in the NAMHL, also play the Lloydminster Blazers (6-10-1) Dec. 28 at 2:15 p.m. at Go Auto Arena.
