Meredith Kerr
Journal Staff
The St. Paul Junior B Canadiens are on a hot streak after three wins in three days, including a 10-goal game against Frog Lake, a shootout win against Killam, and a win against Lloydminster that Coach Joe Young called a “hardworking grind.”
“Three games in three nights, it’s tough. It’s mentally tough and physically tough on the guys. It’s something that we don’t want to go through too often because it is really taxing and very tiring. But I thought the whole weekend the guys played extremely well,” said Young.
Braydon Burak opened the scoring 4:12 in to the first period of the Dec. 7 game against the Frog Lake T-Birds. At the end of the first it was 4-2 Canadiens, at the end of the second 6-3, and at the end of the night 10-4.
Burak also picked up two assists in the game. Dyson Roy scored three goals and assisted on two. Alex Astasiewicz earned one unassisted goal and two assists. Lane Wycotte scored one unassisted and a second with help from Zach Bendall. Other goals came from Isaac Laroque-Wall, Orrie Wood, and Sheldon Scrannage.
“It wasn’t an easy game to play, we hadn’t played in two weeks so it was nice to see we had the jump right off the start,” said Young.
He said the team has been working hard on game management and making the right plays at the right time.
Goalie Hayden Lyons blocked 33 shots on goal Friday night.
On Dec. 8, the Canadiens won 6-5 in a shootout at home against the Killam Wheat Kings. Goalie Brenden Williams blocked 24 shots on goal, while the Canadiens had a total of 38 shots on the Killam goalie.
“It was a typical St. Paul-Killam game. Always close. Tight checking, intense. We need those games and we really enjoy playing Killam, because win or lose, you know you’re going to be in for a battle and it can be a momentum builder down the road. That was a big win for us,” said Young.
On Dec. 9, the Canadiens travelled to Lloydminster for a 5-2 win against the Bandits, with Williams again in goal, saving 39 shots from the Bandits. St. Paul took 43 shots on the Bandits goalie.
“Some nights you’re not going to get all the finesse and talent, you just have to work hard and that’s what we did. We outworked them, we played really well defensively and our fore check was unbelievable,” said Young.
“We were a little bit short benched because of injuries and stuff like that. But we went in and played a simple game and worked hard,” said Young.
He declined to specify the nature of the injuries. Young did say five of the Canadiens players are out injured right now, and noted that while injuries are never something you want, with the Christmas break coming up it’s better to be injured now rather than later in the season.
The St. Paul Canadiens are now fourth in the standings of the Northeastern Alberta Junior B Hockey League with an overall record of 11-7-1 this season. At 23 points the Canadiens trail the Killam Wheat Kings by just two points in the standings.
Asked if there’s anything the coaching staff is doing differently with the team to see such positive results, Young said they have changed a few things in terms of how they prepare for games.
“We’re doing video sessions and trying to have more meals together to become a tighter team. Tighter teams are teams that play well and they stick up for each other and play for each other and that’s what we want to see,” said Young.
He said it seems to be paying off.
“At the start it was probably a bit of a shock to the guys, but now they’re enjoying it and they realize that what we’re trying to do as a coaching staff is going to help, and they’ve gone with it and we’re moving forward now,” said Young.
Asked if there were any specific players he wanted to commend for their efforts this weekend, Young said “I know it’s an old cliché, but when we win we win as a team and when we lose we lose as a team.”
