MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- It was as good a start as Team Saskatchewan could have asked for.
Three goals in the first period and a 5-0 lead before the 10-minute mark of the second propelled Team Sask to a 5-2 win over Alberta in their opening game of the Western Hockey League Cup on Wednesday night in Red Deer.
The annual tournament features the top 2009-born (15-year-old) players in western Canada, with most either drafted or listed by WHL clubs. Each province sends an all-star team, with the event acting as the first step in the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence.
Team Sask got off to flying start as Regina Pats prospect Hunter Wilm (Central Butte), Lanigan’s Kayden Stroeder (Edmonton Oil Kings) and Swift Current’s Carter Moen (Swift Current Broncos) all scored in an eight-minute span midway through the first period.
Team Sask’s defence was on point in the opening frame, and they’d come away with a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Saskatchewan’s early tournament balance showed as the game progressed, with no player picking up more than a single point.
Yorkton’s Aiden Wagner (Regina Pats) and Nipawin’s Blake Chorney (Vancouver Giants) continued to press the offence early in the second, giving Saskatchewan a 5-0 edge at the 6:15 mark.
Chorney’s marker was Team Sask’s lone power-play goal in five attempts. Alberta scored once on four power plays.
Crew Martinson (Tri-City Americans) got one back for Alberta with 2:05 gone in the third, and Jordin St. Louis (Portland Winterhawks) scored on the man advantage with four minutes to play for the game’s final goal.
Central Butte’s Adam Muntain (Regina Pats) went the distance in goal and turned in a solid showing with 37 saves. Drake Mooney (Regina Pats) stopped eight shots in 23:18 before giving way to Lief Oaten (Lethbridge Hurricanes), who had 14 stops the rest of the way.
The other round robin game Wednesday saw B.C. edge Manitoba 4-3.
Saskatchewan next faces B.C. at 4:15 p.m. Thursday and wrap up the round robin at 10:30 a.m. Friday against Manitoba.
