By Terry Martin
The Spruce Grove Saints (5-7-0) are set to battle the Drayton Valley Thunder (5-5-0) with a four-game set in their upcoming AJHL series. The Saints and Thunder will open the series this weekend with a home and home. The Saints will start at home tomorrow night at 7:00pm and finish off the weekend in Drayton Valley on Sunday, April 18th at 4:00pm.
The Saints are coming off an eight-game series against the Fort McMurray Oil Barons (10-0-2), picking up a shootout win in first game and an exciting overtime win in the last game. Graeme Hampton and Graham Gamache were the heroes in those games respectively. Jayden Davis was named Rookie of the Week in the first week of return to play and Graeme Hampton, Caden Cabana, Liam Watkins and Logan Acheson would all score their first career Alberta Junior Hockey League goals during the series.
The Drayton Valley Thunder were part of a three-team cohort, as they played alongside the Grande Prairie Storm and Whitecourt Wolverines. They would split the games between two teams, going 2-1-0 against the Whitecourt Wolverines and 1-2-0 against the Grand Prairie Storm. Drayton Valley would have their last two games of the series cancelled due to the AJHL’s COVID protocols. The Thunder currently sit 4th in the AJHL North Division with a home record of 3-2-0 and an away record of 2-3-0.
Players to watch”¦
For the Saints, Graham Gamache sits 5th in the league in points with seven goals and seven assists in 12 games played. He was also the overtime hero in the Saints second win against the Oil Barons on Sunday, April 4th. Jayden Davis would receive the AJHL Rookie of the Week award on March 16th and is 3rd on the team in points with eight (5G, 3A).
For the Thunder, Eric Ward played the majority of the games for Drayton Valley, picking up five wins and earning a 0.917 save percentage along the way. Mason Marcellus leads the team in points with 11 (2G, 9A).
Saints fans can catch all the action on the Saints Radio Network (mixlr.com/sprucegrovesaints), on HockeyTV and at the Canadian Brewhouse in Spruce Grove.
Full second round schedule:
Friday, April 16th vs. Drayton Valley Thunder, 7:00pm – Grant Fuhr Arena
Sunday, April 18th @ Drayton Valley Thunder, 4:00pm – DV Omniplex
Friday, April 23rd @ Drayton Valley Thunder, 7:00pm – DV Omniplex
Saturday, April 24th vs. Drayton Valley Thunder, 7:00pm – Grant Fuhr Arena