In the opening leg of an extended road swing, the U18 AAA Lloydminster Lancers lost twice during the past weekend in the Edmonton area.
Read more: U18 AAA Lancers give up leads in pair of Hub losses
The Lancers, now on a four-game losing streak in the Alberta Elite Hockey League, fell 8-3 to the St. Albert Raiders on Sunday afternoon, after a 4-1 setback against the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers on Saturday evening.
Lloydminster’s stretch of five consecutive road games continues this weekend with two contests in Grande Prairie against the Grande Peace Athletic Club (GPAC) Storm.
The Lancers (2-10-2) are in last place in the North Division, but just four points behind the seventh-place Storm (5-9).
Last weekend, Lloydminster faced the top two teams in the North in Fort Saskatchewan (12-4-1) and St. Albert (10-2-3). Saturday’s game against the Rangers was the Lancers’ first action in 13 days.
On Sunday at St. Albert, Lloyd gave up a goal nine seconds into the game and another with one second left in the second period, which ended with the Raiders in front 6-3.
Nolan Bisson, who began this season with the junior A Lloydminster Bobcats, and former Lancers forward Jake Redden added third-period goals for St. Albert.
It was the first goal of the season for Redden, a Lloydminster native who just returned to the lineup the previous day after being sidelined with an injury for the early part of the schedule.
Bisson, with a two-goal game Sunday, now has seven goals and nine points after seven games since returning to U18 AAA. He’s also wearing the captain’s C for the Raiders.
Carson Ralph, with three points, scored the first two goals in Sunday’s game to give him 10 goals and 19 points in 15 games with St. Albert.
Raiders defenceman Jake Watt collected a goal and two assists. Lucah Lamb and Riley Sinclair scored the other goals St. Albert goals as 14 players figured in the team’s offence.
Kai Zurowski, with his sixth win this season, made 33 saves for the Raiders, who directed 45 shots at two Lloydminster goaltenders.
Asher Ammann gave up six goals on 30 shots through two periods, before giving way to Stran Edge, who stopped 13 of 15 shots.
Lloydminster defenceman Rhett Romanchuk, the team’s captain, scored a goal and assist, as did linemates Logan Flewell and Alec Robinson.
On Saturday, Gavin Pratt netted his fifth goal of the season — on assists from Flewell and Romanchuk — with just 1:24 left in Lloyd’s three-goal loss at Fort Sask.
Rangers captain Emile Plourde, with eight goals and 18 points after 17 games, scored twice against the Lancers. Ryder Cardinal and Ethan Collins also tallied for Fort Sask.
The Rangers posted 39 shots as Edge made 35 saves in the Lloyd net. The Lancers managed 28 shots against Kasey Fuson, a 16-year-old who recorded his third straight victory and his fifth win this year.
After playing the doubleheader in Grande Prairie this Saturday and Sunday, the Lancers visit the Leduc Oil Kings (5-8-3) on Saturday, Dec. 6, to complete a five-game road junket.
Lloydminster’s next home game is Sunday, Dec. 7. It’s an 11:45 a.m. start at the Hub against Fort Saskatchewan.
Read more: Late letdown costs Lancers in OT loss
