ST. PAUL - With a 3-1 win against the Killam Wheat Kings on Saturday night, the St. Paul Canadiens officially proved they deserved at least second place in the league, bumping the Wheat Kings down a notch to third place in the North Eastern Alberta Junior B Hockey League (NEAJBHL).
With nine games played, seven wins and two loses, the Canadiens now have the same record as the Wainwright Bisons - putting the teams in a battle for first place.
The St. Paul team had a strong weekend on Oct. 29 and Oct. 30, winning both games on home ice at the Clancy Richard Arena.
On Friday night, the Canadiens welcomed the Cold Lake Ice to town.
While the first period of the night kept both teams off the scoreboard, the Canadiens battled hard in the second period and found the back of the net three times.
The first goal came from Kurtis Labant, assisted by Kyler Morin-Steinhauer. Then, a few minutes past the mid-way point of the period, Logan Higdon scored, assisted by William Chemago.
The third goal came with just over a minute left in the period, and was scored by Liam Boyko, assisted by Chemago and Isaak Watters.
After a scoreless third period, the Canadiens claimed the victory, 3-0.
"I definitely think we had some growing pains for the first three to four games of the season," said head coach Shawn Germain, following the weekend of play and looking back at how the season has progressed so far. "We are a young team for the most part, so that was expected."
Over the last five games, Germain feels the team has started to "find (its) identity and we've become more difficult to play against."
On Saturday night, the Wheat Kings travelled to town and the two well-matched teams would battle it out.
The game would start with another scoreless first period, and the Canadiens would take the lead with a goal by Janson Pashniak in the second period while on the power play. Assists would go to Nicolas Beaudoin and Brody Green.
Pashniak would keep up to momentum, netting the second goal of the game in the third period. Chemago and Beaudoin would each get credited with assists.
The Wheat Kings would grab a goal of their own, but Pashniak would complete the hat trick and score on the empty net with less than 30 seconds left in the game, solidifying the 3-1 victory for St. Paul.
Canadiens goalie Ethin Campbell saved 25 shots on Friday night. And on Saturday, he stopped 44 shots on goal.
"I was happy with how we responded to a difficult weekend," said Germain on Sunday. But, "It certainly doesn't get any easier as we have another tough weekend coming up."
Up next, the Canadiens will face the Ice again, this time in Cold Lake on Nov. 5. Then, they will welcome the top team in the league - the Wainwright Bisons - to town on Nov. 6.