By: Terry Martin
The AJHL finally begins its 2020 season this weekend and your Spruce Grove Saints will be back in action after a long and arduous offseason. The Saints will open their regular season at home against the Sherwood Park Crusaders this Friday at 7:00 p.m. and will visit the Crusaders Saturday for a 7:15 p.m. puck drop in Sherwood Park.
The Saints enter this weekend after, unfortunately, having both their games cancelled against the Fort McMurray Oil Barons due to inclement weather. Spruce Grove previously battled Sherwood Park in exhibition play, ultimately coming up short in both, losing a close tilt in overtime on Halloween.
Sherwood Park?s exhibition season included eight wins and two losses, with the defeats coming against Lloydminster and Camrose. The Crusaders peppered the Kodiaks in their last game, registering 40 shots with 20 of them coming in the 2nd period alone.
Players to Watch
For Spruce Grove, Luigi Benincasa was a standout in the exhibition season, leading the Saints with seven assists, while Jacob Rochford had six points. For the Crusaders, forward Ty Mueller lead the team with thirteen points, while Matt Savoie was second on the team in points as a 16-year-old.
For fans that did not secure tickets to the Saints home opener this Friday, the game is available on the Saints Radio Network (mixlr.com/sprucegrovesaints), HockeyTV and you can also follow along with Saints social media.