Story Coming In:
After a weekend road trip in the Calgary area, the Oil Barons scraped their way into a playoff position. Two points above the playoff line and the Camrose Kodiaks, Fort McMurray has an excellent opportunity to climb the standings, as they are one point back of Drayton Valley and four points behind Canmore. The power-play showed its potential over the weekend, converting for goals in all three games. That included scoring the game tying goal Sunday against Calgary and going 3-for-4 on Friday in Canmore. Several players stepped for the Oil Barons this past weekend. Evan Arnold continues to close in on 100 career points after posting a goal and a helper, Vincent Lamanna extended his point streak to five games with assists in each game, Carter Schmidt had a three point night in Canmore, and Simon Gaul snapped a seven game point drought with a pair of goals against Calgary. There was also the stellar play from Noah Nelson, who made multiple highlight reel saves over the weekend, including one that won him the AJHL Play of the Week.
View From Blackfalds:
Ever since falling to Fort McMurray on November 21st, the Bulldogs have won all five games they’ve played. That stretch of play includes impressive victories over high ranked teams like Bonnyville, Sherwood Park and Whitecourt. Brendan Ross has been on fire with 11 points in his last four games, becoming the first player in the league to reach the 50 point mark. Hunter Brown has also found his stride, as the Fort St John product is currently on a five game point streak, which included a four point afternoon against Sherwood Park. The defense has also been a key factor in Blackfalds’ recent success. The Bulldogs have not given up more than three goals in a hockey game since their 5-4 overtime loss to the Okotoks Oilers on November 18th. These factors have won them favour with the CJHL’s rankings committee, as they were named the 11th best team in Canada.
Stats Leaders For Fort McMurray:
Goals: Gaul (13)
Assists: Evan Arnold (13)
Points: Gaul, Gruener & E. Arnold (18)
PIM: Hoogendoorn (49)
Goalies: Nelson: 5-6-0-2, 3.32 GAA, 0.922%, 1 SO
Gratton: 5-11-1-1, 3.51 GAA, 0.908%
Get your tickets here: https://tickets.fortmcmurrayoilbarons.ca/