It was a massive four point weekend for the Oil Barons to wrap up their four game homestand. With the two wins, paired with other games around the AJHL, Fort McMurray now sits ten points ahead of the Bonnyville Pontiacs for the final playoff spot in the North, as well as four points back of the Lloydminster Bobcats for third place.
Special teams made all the difference on Friday, as the MOB downed the Drayton Valley Thunder 4-1. Fort McMurray’s power-play was stellar going 3-for-6, including scoring on their first three opportunities, while the penalty kill was a perfect 4-for-4. A little more than four minutes into the game, the Oil Barons jumped out to an early lead. A beautiful passing play saw Carter Schmidt go cross ice for Justin Dumais, who tapped the puck in front for Mason Finley, and the veteran deflected home his eighth goal of the season. A few minutes later, the Oil Barons would double their advantage. Patani Mutambo picked up a loose puck from Schmidt, stepped to the middle of the ice, and threaded the puck through Nicholas Cristiano to make it 2-0 Fort McMurray. The MOB got one more goal in the dying seconds of the first period. Ryan Arnold picked out Schmidt in the left faceoff circle, and the Kelowna, BC product went bardown for his team leading 13th goal of the season, and his third point of the period. Drayton Valley came out flying to start the second period and were rewarded for their efforts, despite some excellent goaltending from Vincent Filion. A point shot from Jace Moffatt was deflected by Luke Marley, which was stopped by Filion, but Justin Ivanusec jammed home the rebound to make it a 3-1 game. However, the Oil Barons restored their advantage before the end of the second period. While on a 5-on-3 power-play, Ryan Arnold pushed the puck into the slot for Justin Dumais, who wired the puck into the top of the net, and the MOB cruised to a 4-1 win.
Despite a solid opening period, Fort McMurray found themselves trailing the Pontiacs 2-0 at Centerfire Place. After the Oil Barons just missed connecting on a 3-on-1, Bonnyville turned up the ice, where Kyle Kalamaras got his eighth goal of the season to open the scoring. A weird goal doubled the Pontiacs lead. A point shot from Alex Coventry went off the blocker of Filion and straight up in the air, looping over the head of the veteran goalie and bouncing in the net. The MOB came out flying to start the second period. Shawn Eliav cut the Bonnyville lead in half. The puck ricocheted off a defender and the pad of Cody Butikis, before Eliav ripped the puck under the bar for his second goal of the year. Mason Finley saved a goal for the Oil Barons making a block in front of a wide open net, before the Barons tied up the game. Justin Dumais pushed the puck to the middle of the ice, where Louis-Charles Cunningham sped into the offensive zone, slipping the shot under the glove of Butikis, making it a 2-2 game. The Oil Barons capped off three goals in 4:20 to take the lead. Patani Mutambo drove the puck to the net, where Griffin Gidney slammed home the rebound for his fifth goal of the year. Both teams had excellent chances, but Filion and Butikis put on a show in between the pipes. After pressing hard in the third period, Fort McMurray found insurance late in the game. With less than two minutes remaining, Ryan Arnold won an offensive zone face-off, and Danny Akkouche beat a screened Butikis to give the Oil Barons a 4-2 lead. Arnold deposited an empty net goal, and Fort McMurray wrapped up their homestand with a 5-2 win.
The Oil Barons hit the road for their only road trip of January. They will battle the Whitecourt Wolverines on Friday, before the rematch at the RJ Lalonde Arena against the Bonnyville Pontiacs. Both games start at 7pm.