With the win, the Saints completed a 5-0-1 record against the MOB in the regular season series, while the Barons remained 4 points back of Lloydminster for second place in the AJHL North with one game in hand.
A very evenly-played first period saw the Saints open the scoring two seconds past the halfway mark, when Cole Nicholson beat goaltender Zach Fortin (St. Jerome, PQ) on a wrist shot from the left-wing faceoff circle. But just under three minutes later, Luc Lalor (St. Albert, AB) deflected a Brett McNeil (Halifax, NS) point shot past goalie Brett Zarowny to knot the game up.
For Lalor, it was his third goal and fifth point in his last three games.
In the second, the Barons came out strong when Stefan Burzan (Surrey, B.C.) deposited a rebound past Zarowny generated by an Austin Holmes (Calgary, AB) shot to make it 2-1.
But the Saints would take firm control of the game, outshooting the Barons 21-6 in the frame and scoring four straight.
First, just after the expiry of their first power play, the Saints found leading scorer Jarid Hauptman wide open in the slot for a one-timer to tie the game back up. Defenceman Jordan Thomas scored on the next power play on a shot from the half boards, while Colton Leiter scored less than a minute after that on a screen shot from the outside of the right faceoff circle. To cap it off, Riley Simpson poked a loose puck that had slipped behind Fortin into the back of the net on the Saints’ third power play to make it 5-2.
The third period would see no scoring as the Saints held on for their fifteenth consecutive win. Two fights would erupt between Logan Franz and Parker Mackay, as well as Brett Doiron and Austin Hunter.
The MOB continues its latest road trip tomorrow night in Sherwood Park taking on the Crusaders at 7 PM. Pre-game coverage begins at 6:45 PM on KAOS 91.1.
KAOS 91.1 Three Stars:
1. Jarid Hauptman (1 goal, 1 assist)
2. Brett Zarowny (23 saves, 25 shots)
3. Jordan Thomas (1 game-winning goal)
