It was an entertaining weekend in Fort McMurray that saw the Oil Barons split a pair of games with the Camrose Kodiaks. Ryan Arnold extended his point streak to 16 games while leading the offence with three points, Spencer Kunz had a pair of assists, while Brendan Gee got the win in between the pipes making 34 saves.
Despite a half hour delay, the annual Teddy Bear Toss game was a delight for fans in a back and forth contest. Fort McMurray erased two deficits to defeat Camrose 4-3 in overtime, which saw Ethan Makokis score the Teddy Bear goal and Ryan Arnold put up a pair of markers, including the game winner. The Oil Barons were flying out of the gate to get the Teddy Bear goal out of the way. Griffin Gidney pushed the puck to the blue line, where Makokis released a shot through a crowd and past a screened Carter Capton. However, the Kodiaks turned up the pressure on the MOB through the majority of the second period. Shane Purves picked the top shelf from an impossible angle to tie the game at 1-1. Less than a minute later, Liam Payne sniped the top corner over Brendan Gee’s glove to make it 2-1 Camrose. Fort McMurray stopped the momentum 1:15 later with a shorthanded goal. Leo Adams muscled the puck to center ice, where Drew Freer raced down the left wing, firing home his 10th goal of the season. The Oil Barons now have a league high seven shorthanded goals. Camrose restored their lead early in the second period. While on the rush, Deacon Drummond set up Purves for his second goal of the game, destroying the water bottle of Gee. It would take until the final minute of the frame for the MOB to answer back. A point shot of Ewan Gillis bounced off the stick of Arnold and past a surprised Capton. Both teams pressed for the go ahead marker in the third period, but some timely saves and a little luck with the goal posts, ensured these two teams would head to overtime. Fort McMurray had a litany of chances, but Capton made three stellar stops to give the Kodiaks a chance. Finally, the Oil Barons napped the game winner. Arnold saw space open on the left wing, raced around the defender and tucked the puck far post, for his team leading 19th goal of the year.
Saturday’s game had a playoff-like atmosphere between the two teams. The scoring didn’t open until midway through the second period. After Connor Knorr robbed Ryan Arnold, the Kodiaks had an odd man rush up ice. Deacon Drummond was denied by Nathan Claydon, but Kierin Osberg pushed the rebound into an empty net. Fort McMurray finally solved Knorr in the third period. While on the power-play Arnold set up Justin Dumais for a one-timer, and the Montreal product sent a knuckle-puck past the goalie. With the assist, Arnold hit 150 points in his junior career. Camrose restored their advantage. With another odd man rush, Tucker Tullikopf set up Logan Anderson for his first career AJHL goal. Fort McMurray needed another power-play to tie the game again. Cade Petersen slid the puck to Leo Adams, and the sophomore forward ripped it, shortside, equalizing the game at 2-2. However, shortly after, the Kodiaks got an opportunity with the man advantage. Junshi Hideshima’s point shot deflected off a defender’s skate and past Claydon, and Camrose established a lead that would hold to win it 3-2.
The Oil Barons wrap up their pre-Christmas schedule with a busy week on the road. They will play four games in five nights through the South Division, starting on Tuesday against the Calgary Canucks.
