By COLBY STOESZ
The Martensville U16AA Marauders laid the hammer down on Saturday, October 12, taking out the visiting Prince Albert Renegades 8-2.
The Marauders took the ice for the first time at the newly-minted Martensville Recreation Center, which opened its doors just days earlier.
The Marauders took control of the game from the opening faceoff. Sean Lavoie scored his third goal of the young season to give the defending champs an early 1-0 lead. Later in the period, Seth Holtvogt scored with help from Corban Friesen and Grayer Johannesson, and Martensville went into the first intermission up two scores.
The Marauders are fresh off a championship in last year’s inaugural season. The newly-formed U16AA league serves to help 15-year-olds as they transition to U18 hockey and acts as a proving ground for promising young players. Martensville beat Weyburn 2-0 in the championship series to claim the league’s first title, and have their eyes set on the repeat.
The second frame opened with a quick Prince Albert goal, as Sirius Bendig closed the deficit to one goal for the visiting Renegades. Marauder Hudson Sawatzky buried his third goal of the season six minutes later, aided by Johannesson and Lavoie, to make it a 3-1 game.
Hazen Larson, set up by Cruz Harrison and Lucas Schell, netted a power-play goal for the home team to give his squad a three-goal lead heading into the third period.
The Renegades were down, but still fighting as the puck dropped to open the third period. Ethan Campell scored his first of the season to narrow the deficit to two points, but Martensville goalie Mason Hatzel was perfect from thereafter.
Martensville responded to the quick Prince Albert goal with four of their own over the next 19 minutes. Morgan Thompson, assisted by Holtvogt, grabbed his own first goal to make it a 5-2 game. Harrison scored just 34 seconds later to widen the gap to four, and Larson scored his second of the game to give his team a 7-2 lead.
With three minutes to play, Thompson notched his second of the period, a short-handed goal, to take the score to its final tally of 8-2 in favour of the home Marauders.
Larson, Harrison, and Lavoie stuffed the stat sheet with three points apiece, while Johannesson, Thompson, and Holtvogt each tallied two points. Goaltender Hatzel faced 32 shots, saving 30 of them to earn the win for the Marauders.
Saturday’s win keeps Martensville atop the North Division standings, as they improve to 3-1 in their search for a second championship. They’ll play twice before their next home game on October 20, when they’ll host the Regina Tigers at the Martensville Recreation Center.