The U18 AAA Lloydminster Lancers are at home in the Hub this weekend as they go up against two of the top teams in the Alberta Elite Hockey League.
Read more: Alberta teams on board as Lancers host U17 AAA showcase
The Lancers face the Calgary Buffaloes at 4 p.m. Saturday and the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers at 4:15 p.m. Sunday.
The Rangers (18-6-2) are the first-place team in the North Division, while the Buffaloes (13-8-3) sit second in the South section.
After a strong finish to 2025, Lloydminster (6-14-4) opened the new year with a pair of losses last weekend — 2-1 to the Sherwood Park Kings on Saturday at Tofield and 8-5 to the Edmonton Junior Oilers Blue on Friday in Lloyd. The Junior Oilers (17-5-2) are in second place in the North standings, while the Kings (13-11-2) are in fourth spot.
Lloydminster slots seventh in the North, one point ahead of the last-place Grande Peace Storm (6-12-3). The Lancers pulled out of the basement with a productive streak in November and December. In the latter stages of that swing, the Lancers gained seven of a possible 10 points in their final five games before the Christmas break, posting three wins, a regulation loss and an overtime defeat.
That 6-5 OT loss on Dec. 21 was against the same Junior Oilers team that came to Lloyd on Jan. 2 for the resumption of the AEHL regular season.
Soon after competing in the Circle K Classic tournament in Calgary during the holidays, Edmonton went up 3-1 in the first period en route to its three-goal victory over the Lancers.
The Junior Oilers led 5-1 early in the second when Lloyd changed goaltenders, as Asher Ammann took over from Stran Edge. The duo faced a combined 38 shots. The Lancers fired 44 shots at Edmonton goalies Oscar Hazen and Ethan Berard, who took over a minute into the third period when Lloyd forward Kelton Doolaege cut the lead to 6-4.
Doolaege also picked up an assist on Carson Mazzei’s second goal of the season. Gavin Pratt, Kael Scott and call-up Shaun Going, with his first U18 AAA goal, also scored for the Lancers. Tripp Fischer and Aiden Harman each recorded two assists.
Jake MacDonald, with 10 goals and 20 points after 17 games, tallied twice for Edmonton. Miron Borodin collected a goal and two assists.
FISCHER PART OF WHL TRADE
Late Tuesday, word broke that Fischer, the Lancers’ rookie forward, was involved in a 12-piece WHL trade that saw his major-junior rights dealt to the Seattle Thunderbirds from the Prince Albert Raiders. Headlining that trade, the Raiders gained NHL first-round draft choice Braeden Cootes, a centre who was Seattle’s captain. The Vancouver Canucks selected the Sherwood Park, Alta., native 15th overall in last June’s NHL draft.
In Saturday’s U18 AAA game at Tofield, Dax Derocher’s tally with 6:14 remaining gave Sherwood Park its one-goal victory over Lloydminster.
Knox Bendera’s power-play goal put the Kings ahead 1-0 in the first period. The Lancers’ Doolaege, with his ninth goal this season, evened the score three minutes into the second.
Ammann blocked 32 shots in the Lloyd net. Cole Chorostkowski made 34 saves for Sherwood Park.
The Kings won another one-goal game Sunday as they edged the Junior Oilers Blue 5-4 in overtime. Marcus Lamoureux’s two goals included the overtime winner.
In last weekend’s action, Lloydminster was still without one of its top scorers in rookie forward Brody Sunderland of Kitscoty. The Spokane Chiefs’ prospect has been sidelined for the past month.
The Lancers have added 15-year-old defenceman Cobin Garnett from Lloyd’s U17 AAA team. The former captain of the U15 AAA Lancers is from Mannville.
JUNIOR B PROMOTION
The U18 AAA Lancers’ Doolaege, a Castor native, dressed for the junior B Killam Wheat Kings on Sunday for their 5-4 shootout victory over the visiting Wainwright Bisons.
The Bisons are in a dogfight with the Lloydminster Bandits and Vermilion Tigers in the upper echelon of the Northeastern Alberta Junior B Hockey League standings.
Just two points separate those three teams, with the Bandits (20-5) in first place, one point ahead of Vermilion (18-3-3) and two in front of Wainwright (17-3-4). Killam (9-14-2) is sixth in the seven-team league.
In this weekend’s junior B action, Lloydminster is at home to the fourth-place Cold Lake Ice (11-13-1) at 8 p.m. Friday at the Hub. At the same time Saturday, the Bandits visit the last-place Vegreville Rangers (1-24).
The No. 5 St. Paul Canadiens (10-14) host Wainwright at 8 p.m. Friday and Vermilion at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Vermilion entertains Vegreville at 8 p.m. Friday, while Killam visits Cold Lake at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Read more: Junior B Bandits take two of three games at home
