Raiders swept
The St. Albert Nektar Raiders ended the season with three losses in a row in the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League championship playoff.
The Raiders finished with a record of 6-5 (37 GF/28 GA) and five games were decided in overtime, including a pair against the Calgary Buffaloes to start off the best-of-five provincial final, while going 1-4 overall in sudden death.
The Raiders lost game one 3-2 in Calgary on a penalty shot in the first OT period and game two 4-3 in St. Albert on a short-handed goal in the second OT period before the Buffaloes wrapped up the series with Wednesday’s 7-4 decision in Calgary.
The Buffaloes led 5-2 after the first period while potting three goals on the power play.
The score after two periods was 6-3 and the last goal by the Buffaloes was an empty-netter with six ticks on the clock.
Ethan Whillans and Tanner Sklaruk (power play) in the first, captain Erik Boers in the second and Eric Perneel in the third scored for the Raiders. Perneel also added two assists.
Shots were 20-8 in the first and 41-34 overall for the Buffaloes.
Evan Fradette (6-5, 2.17 GAA) started his 11th straight playoff game before Andreai Proctor-Ramirez took over net duties after the fourth goal by the Buffaloes with under six minutes left in the first.
Fradette stopped 14 of 18 shots and Proctor-Ramirez finished with 21 saves in his playoff debut.
The Raiders were also without forward Mathew Rathbone, as the assistant captain sat out the game with a suspension stemming from a five-minute major for a check to the head in game two.
Against the Buffaloes, the Mac’s Cup champions were unable to duplicate their come-from-behind series exploits against the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers in the north division final.
Power-play goals by the Rangers in the first OT period in game one and the third OT period in game two were followed by victories of 3-1, 3-2 in double OT on Brad Adams’ power-play marker and 4-0 in the series clincher as Fradette, the Mac’s Cup tournament MVP, faced 27 shots.
Perneel led the Raiders in playoff scoring with five goals and 10 points in nine games after recording a team-high 21 goals and 38 points in 34 games for 10th place in the league scoring.
Boers and Brady Nicholas produced 10 points apiece and Carson Henry had eight.
Boers and Jaxon Dube also lit the lamp four times.
The Raiders appeared in their first final since 2012 and the only provincial title in team history was celebrated in 1990.
The Raiders (19-11-4, 116 GF/92 GA) finished two points ahead of the Rangers (19-134-2) for the team’s first north pennant since 2010 as the co-recipients with Lloydminster Bobcats at 23-6-6.
The Buffaloes (24-7-3, 144 GF/74 GA) tied the 2018 AMHL champion Lethbridge Hurricanes (25-8-1) for top spot in the south and in the playoffs Calgary was 9-2 (43 GF/20 GA).
Crusaders hockey
The St. Albert Source for Sports Crusaders continued their winning ways on day one of the Hockey Alberta midget AA championship at The Meadows Community Recreation Centre.
The No. 1 team in the Northern Alberta Midget AA Hockey League at 26-4-2 in the regular season and 7-0-1 in the playoffs defeated the Camrose Vikings 5-1 and the Canadian Athletic Club 4-1.
Friday the Crusaders played the CNHA Canucks and the score was unavailable at press time.
The five-team round robin for the Crusaders ends today against Medicine Hat at 10 a.m.
Sunday the top two teams go for gold at 12 noon and the teams ranked third and fourth compete for bronze at 11:45 a.m.
After provincials, the Crusaders resume the NAMHL playoffs with the best-of-five final against the Vikings.
The series opener is 8:15 p.m. Thursday at Akinsdale Arena.
Game two is 6 p.m. Sunday in Camrose and game three is 7:15 p.m. Monday at Go Auto Arena.
The Vikings are 5-2 in the playoffs after placing third at 19-9-4 in their Rural conference division and one of the wins was 2-1 against the defending champion Crusaders on Nov. 4 in Camrose.
The preview of the NAMHL final was decided by five unanswered goals by the Crusaders in the second period after the Vikings opened the scoring 55 seconds into the frame.
Two-goal efforts by Ronin Pusch and Ethan Pool and Maddux Nollski’s power-play tally propelled the Crusaders to victory.
Shots were 37-24 for the Crusaders and Evan Hergott was in net.
Pusch, the NAMHL playoff scoring leader with 10 goals and 20 points, also potted a pair against the CAC.
Nollski and Matthew Reidy notched singles as the Crusaders finished with 48 shots while the CAC tested Cole Crozier 22 times.
Reidy also added two assists.
In the best-of-three Metro conference final, the Crusaders swept the CAC (13-8-1) 3-0 and 6-4 for the opportunity to repeat as league champions.
REM 15AA final
The St. Albert Royals were unable to finish what they started in the Rural & Edmonton REM 15AA Hockey League final.
Victories of 2-1 and 4-3 in overtime against the Hockey Central Panthers were followed by losses of 5-0, 2-0 and Wednesday’s 3-2 setback in Sylvan Lake.
The REM championship is the second in a row for the Panthers after sweeping the Royals in the 2018 best-of-five final in the minor midget AA team’s inaugural season with a lineup of players from Olds, Sylvan Lake, Eckville, Innisfail, Spruce View, Rimbey, Rocky Mountain House, Lacombe, Alix and Blackfalds.
This season the Panthers (24-1-5, 177 GF/39 GA) and Royals (23-3-4, 144 GF/56 GA) placed first and second, respectively, in the 11-team standings and in league play the teams battled to ties of 1-1 and 2-2 and the Panthers won 6-3.
In the playoffs, the Panthers finished 9-2 (53 GF/16 GA) and the Royals were 8-4 (41 GF/29 GA).
The deciding game in the series was knotted at one after 40 minutes as Nico Gallo, the OT hero in game two in St. Albert, pulled the Royals even.
Down by two, Lucas Sadownyk tallied with under seven minutes left in regulation time.
Jack Robinson (6-2) drew the start in net.
