Story Coming In:
Fort McMurray enters the final weekend of the regular season having gone 4-4-1 in their last nine games. Averaging 3.44 goals a game, the offense has come to life with Carter Schmidt and Simon Gaul leading the way. The Oil Barons playoff position remains up for grabs. With one point separating them and Drayton Valley, Fort McMurray could still claim 9th place in the AJHL. The last time the MOB faced Grande Prairie was in late November, which included the Oil Barons annual Teddy Bear Toss game. The two teams split the two games at Centerfire Place, with each team scoring seven goals and giving up seven goals. Vincent Lamanna and Noah Heinrich both have three points against the Storm in a season series between two evenly matched up opponents.
View From Grande Prairie:
The Storm are in a three way tie with the Camrose Kodiaks and Canmore Eagles at 51 points. With the Kodiaks and Eagles playing against each other this weekend, it’s an excellent opportunity for Grande Prairie to finish in 6th and set up a Play In series matchup against the Olds Grizzlys. After a rough return from the Christmas break where Grande Prairie went 3-8-1-1 through January, the Storm turned things around in February posting a record of 4-2-0-1. Special teams has been solid this season, with the power-play sitting in 4th and the penalty kill ranking 6th. Nicholas Jones has also given the Storm a chance to win every game ranking fourth among AJHL goaltenders in goals against average with 2.81.
Stats Leaders For Fort McMurray:
Goals: Schmidt & Gaul (20)
Assists: Lamanna (24)
Points: Schmidt (40)
PIM: Hoogendoorn (111)
Goalies: Nelson: 6-11-1-2, 4.12 GAA, 0.898%, 1 SO
Stewart: 4-6-0-0, 4.67 GAA, .878%