As the North Central Hockey League season reaches the Christmas break, the Athabasca Aces find themselves in the middle of the pack.
With a record of 6-4-0-3, the Aces are third in the six-team league, trailing the Devon Barons and Edson Ice but ahead of the Rocky Rams, Drayton Valley Wildcats and Hinton Heat.
So far, their season has been one of ups and downs in almost equal measure, as evidenced by their even tally of 65 goals scored and 65 goals allowed.
It’s been hard for the Aces to get on a roll with some uncertainty in their lineup, most notably the absence (until recently) of number-one goaltender Jeff Creaser.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Creaser’s return for the team’s final two games before the break produced a pair of strong efforts, one of them their very first win over the league-leading Barons.
“It was a really nice finish to 2012,” said Aces head coach Curtis Creaser of that final game, a 5-4 win on Dec. 14.
Sending the Aces into the break on a high note (and with some momentum) will make a big difference to their chances in the second half of the schedule, and all of those 2013 games will be crucial, according to the coach.
“Every game is a tuneup for the playoffs,” he said of the new year’s slate of games.
The Aces won’t gather as a team until the new year, unless they can organize an exhibition game in the interim.
Otherwise, the players will continue their usual schedule of recreational skating before donning their Aces sweaters once again.
“The guys are really excited,” said the coach.
The Aces are led in goals by Sean Wrusch with nine. Travis Duperron has the most assists with 12, and his 20 points also lead the team, ahead of Gerald Desjarlais (18) and Brett Topola (16).
The Aces will play their first game of the new year when the Wildcats visit Athabasca on Saturday, Jan. 5. The puck will drop at 8:30 p.m.
