St. Paul Canadiens 1st in NEAJBHL heading into Wainwright rematch

Through the first five weeks of the NEAJBHL season, the St. Paul Canadiens sit in first place, as the top five teams sit within four points of each other. 

It’s stiff competition throughout the league, as St. Paul, Lloydminster, Vermilion, Killam, and Wainwright are all neck and neck. 

The Canadiens picked up a pair of victories on the road this weekend, defeating the Cold Lake Ice 4-2 and the Vermilion Tigers 3-1. 

They sit 8-2 on the season so far and boast the league’s top scorer as well. 

Quinn Szpak has 9 goals and 15 assists through these ten season games, with a four point cushion on the next scorer in second place.

The Lloyd Bandits and Vermilion Tigers are tied for second with 14 points, but the Bandits do have a game in hand on Vermilion and St. Paul. There is a wide disparity between some clubs in terms of games played.

For example, the Onion Lake Border Chiefs have only played five games, while the Cold Lake have played 12. The Wainwright Bisons have iced them up on seven occasions, sitting with a 6-1 record and the league’s highest winning percentage.

Killam Wheat Kings for the moment sit 4th in the NEAJBHL with a 6-3-1 record.

The Cold Lake Ice were able to beat the Wheat Kings on home ice on Saturday to improve to 3-8-1 on the year. The Ice are on bye this weekend.

Vegreville and Onion Lake are winless on the season.

Vermilion hosts Lloyd on Thursday night in a key matchup. St. Paul’s game on Friday night sees them host the Wainwright Bisons, looking to avenge a loss earlier this season, before heading to Onion Lake on Saturday.

Wainwright then hosts Vermilion on Sunday.