League: Edmonton Federation Hockey League

Sturgeon 701 at Sherwood Park 703 – Saints

By John K. White

The Saints came out flat after crushing Ft. Saskatchewan in their previous tiering-round game, and the visiting Sturgeon Mustangs used aggressive forechecking to pump in four goals in the first period.

It was an uphill slog from there, and Sturgeon may have drawn extra inspiration and edge after one of their top players went down hard after a mid-ice collision with the Saints’ Connor Kreiser. The play resulted in a five-minute major penalty against the Saints for kneeing and a misconduct.

The Mustangs took the next five penalties in the second period, and the Saints did manage one goal to make it 5-1 after two.

Saints’ defenceman Brenden Bullick was a presence all game, whether it was on the penalty kills or on zone entries.

In the third, Sturgeon goaltender Drake Young elevated his already strong game to new levels, making several spectacular saves to keep the Saints hopes dim. Despite that, two late Saints goals from David Fleming and Illia Gniazdovskyi made things interesting. But, the surge came just a bit late as the Mustangs held on for a 5-3 final.

Another tiering round has ended. Hear are your leaders for the 2024 – 2025 season tiering round:

Points = 11 Dominic Amyotte-Lorenson and Anraj Dahliwal

Goals = 6 Dominic Amyotte Lorenson

Assists = 6 Anraj Dahliwal and Easton Roy

Penalty Minutes = 30 Connor Kreiser

Wins = 3 Carsten Scheuer

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Game photos by John K. White

5 at 3

Sherwood Park 703 – Saints at Ft. Saskatchewan 701

A fairly even, but sloppy, first period by both teams saw the Saints out shoot FS701 11-10 and out score them 1-0. One penalty a side in the opening frame.

The Saints come out stronger in the second period out shorting FS701 4-0 and drawing a penalty. The Saints quickly take a penalty to create some 4 on 4 play. Both teams are having trouble controlling the puck due to ice conditions. The Saints dominate play in the second period out shooting FS701 17-3. The score was 3-0 for the Saints after two periods of play.

An early goal in the third period extends the lead to 4-0. The Saints then go up 5-0. Another quick goal to go up 6-0. The Saints continued their domination out shooting FS701 13-2 in the third period and 46-15 for the game. Final score 7-0 Saints.

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Game photos by Bill Clark

7 at 0

Sherwood Park 703 – Saints at Knights of Columbus 702

A fairly even first period saw the Saints out shoot KC702 11-8 and out score them 1-0. The Saints held some strong offensive zone pressure for a lot of the period and had the more dangerous chances.

The Saints did not register a shot until 8:13 left in the second period. They did make it count as it resulted in a goal to give the Saints a 2-1 lead. KC702 then ties the game with a 5 on three goal. KC702 out shot the Saints 12-3, but the Saints hold on to a 2-2 tie after two periods of play. KC702 held a 20-14 shot advantage after 2.

A fairly sloppy first half of the period by both teams. The Saints scored a couple of goals to start the second half of the period. The Saints were short handed for the last 4 minutes of the game, but scored a short handed goal to take a 5-2 lead. The Saints kill off the penalty and win 5-2. Shots were 12-9 for the Saints in the third and 29-26 for KC702 for the game.

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Game photos by Bill Clark

5 at 2

SE702 at Sherwood Park 703 – Saints

No pictures or write up available.

5 at 3

SE702

Sherwood Park 703 – Saints at Northwest Zone 703

The Saints dominated the first half of the period outscoring NW702 3-0 and out shooting them 8-2. NW702 then showed some push back closing the margin to 3-2 and tying the shots up at 9. A late goal by the Saints gave them a 4-2 lead after one period of play.

NW702 continue to apply the pressure early out shooting the Saints 4-0 and spending the majority of the first 4 minutes in the Saints end. However, the Saints scored on their first shot of the period to make it 5-2. The Saints added a short handed goal to increase the lead to 7-2. Shots were even at 16 in the period and the Saints will take a 8-2 lead into the third period.

The Saints got into a little penalty trouble in the third period having two lengthy 5 on 3’s to kill, but managed to hang on to a 9-3 victory. Shots were 7-7 in the period.

Photo gallery

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Game photos by Bill Clark

9 at 3

Southwest Zone 704 at Sherwood Park 703 – Saints

Both teams seemed a bit rusty in the first period as it was the first game of the season for both squads. SZ704 got on the board first, but the Saints responded quickly to tie the game. The first period ended deadlocked at 1.

An early goal gives the Saints a 2-1 lead in the second period and the Saints go up 3-1 less than three minutes into the second . The Saints dominate the second period and held a 5 -1 lead after the frame.

The Saints let off a little in the third period, but still held on for a 5-2 victory outshouting their opponent by a wide margin. Unfortunately, the Saints suffered injuries to Zac Crane and Reno Zaharia that forced both players to leave the game.