By John B. Spigott /
Bonnyville Pontiacs
The gap is starting to close in the middle of the North Division.
In a dogfight for that all-important fourth seed – and the first round home-ice advantage that comes with it – the Bonnyville Pontiacs are trying to fight off Sherwood Park heading into the Christmas break with two big games looming between the two teams on Dec. 16 and Dec. 22. However, the Pontiacs are having trouble gaining ground on any teams ahead of them in the standings, as Bonnyville went 0-3-1 in the span of two weeks against Fort McMurray and Spruce Grove, two of the three teams the Pontiacs trail.
Already minus captain Lucas Isley, the Pontiacs were dealt another blow with the loss of sniper Shawn Bates, who had missed four straight games with an upper body injury as of Dec. 15.
Lloydminster Bobcats
It’s been a tough stretch for new head coach Brian Curran and the Bobcats.
A loss in Bonnyville on Dec. 13 stretched the Bobcats’ losing streak to 11 games, and Curran says it’s not as though his club is playing that badly, as evidenced by a four-game homestretch in early December where the team only allowed 8 goals, but lost all four games after scoring just one goal.
“I’ve really never seen anything like it,” said Curran. “I would say conservatively that in those four games we had 40 scoring chances. It’s just like there’s plexiglass in front of the net. But we are getting more disciplined in our zone, and I still believe that if you take care of your own end that good things will happen.”
Spruce Grove Saints
The rich just keep getting richer in Spruce Grove.
After leading scorer Josh Lazowski decided the Medicine Hat Tigers weren’t for him and returned to the club, the Saints were buoyed by the addition by another former WHL speedster in ex-Saint Josh Koper. It didn’t take long for Koper to find his groove in the AJHL, notching a hat trick in his first game with the Saints, a 7-1 win over Lloydminster on Dec. 2
Losers of only three games in regulation all season, the Saints were still 10 points up on second place Grande Prairie as of Dec. 15, despite the Storm’s 13-game winning streak.
Fort McMurray Oil Barons
Perhaps a little overshadowed by the play of Grande Prairie and Spruce Grove, the Oil Barons are quietly playing some of their best hockey of the season.
Since losing 6-2 in Lloydminster on Nov. 7, the Oil Barons were 11-2-1-1 in their next 15 games with two losses to the Storm and one to Camrose the only blemishes on their record. Armed with two Rookie of the Year candidates in forward Markus Gerbrandt and goaltender Jesse Kallechy, the Oil Barons had given up only 107 goals in their first 39 games of the season.
Kallechy’s 11-3-1 record with a 2.12 goals-against average and a 92.79 save percentage was third-best in the AJHL as of Dec. 15
Grande Prairie Storm
There’s little doubt the defending AJHL champs are ready to take a run at back-to-back titles.
The Storm are surging heading into Christmas, and as of Dec. 15 had won 13 straight games to close the gap on Spruce Grove to 10 points for top spot in the North Division.
Zahn Raubenheimer, the league’s leading scorer, is matching his team’s hot streak, as the 20-year-old winger had at least a point in all 13 wins, and 30 overall during the run. Nearing the Christmas break, Raubenheimer held a slim five-point lead over teammate Dennis Rix in the race for the Ernie Love Trophy as the AJHL’s leading scorer.
Sherwood Park Crusaders
The Crusaders are becoming a tough team to figure out.
Hanging right around .500 for the bulk of the season, the up-and-down Crusaders have had head coach Ross Kenny at times trying to figure his club out.
“We have had a little bit of everything lately,” said Kenny of his team, who was 17-13-1-5 through 36 games. “We’ve been a schizophrenic team. The guys are locked into thinking about results, almost to a paralysis point. We’re trying to get the guys to really think about process goals, and that will really take care of the results.”
Four big games loomed for the Crusaders before Christmas, with a pair each against Fort McMurray and Bonnyville.
St. Albert Steel
Sniper Bryce Williamson has finally gotten his due.
The Steel’s leading scorer landed a coveted Division I scholarship on Dec. 8 that will see the 20-year-old suit up next season for the Bowling Green State University Falcons, the alma mater of head coach Greg Parks.
With 62 points in his first 35 games this season, Williamson’s offensive prowess had closed the gap between the sixth-place Steel and fifth-place Sherwood Park to six points as of Dec. 15.
Drayton Valley Thunder
Slowly but surely, the Thunder are starting to turn things around.
Under the guidance of head coach Fran Gow, a hard-working Thunder club kicked off December dropping a 3-2 game to red-hot Grande Prairie before beating Sherwood Park and Lloydminster.
Montreal-native Benji Rubin has found his stride in his first AJHL season, as the 20-year-old had points in eight straight games as of Dec. 15, and had surpassed Daniel Cobb for the team lead in scoring. |