A little bit of history was in the making as the Oil Barons moved one step closer to a playoff berth, downing the Devon Xtreme 4-1. Alexis Beaulac got his first career multi-goal game, while Vincent Filion turned aside 15 shots for his 20th win of the season.
Beaulac opened the scoring early for the MOB. A one-timer from Louis-Charles Cunningham was turned aside from Preston Lewis, before Beaulac jammed home the rebound for his sixth goal of the season. The physical play started to pick up as the game went on. Tyson Baschuk delivered a bone-jarring collision for the Xtreme, while Cody Nordstrom hammered Jaxen Smyth in response for the Oil Barons. The goalies were sharp too, with Lewis robbing Nolan Eastwood of a shorthanded marker, before Filion took away a shorthanded opportunity from Smyth. Early in the second period the Xtreme responded. The former Oil Baron, Jason Huang deflected home a pass from Levy Kozma past the outstretched pad of Filion, knotting the game at one. As the second period went on, the game started to turn nasty with several scrums breaking out. The fans had to wait until the third period to see the deadlock broken and AJHL history was made. While on a delayed penalty call, Shawn Eliav received a feed from Cade Petersen before snapping the puck top corner to make it 2-1 Fort McMurray. Then four seconds later, Drew Freer flew up the middle of the ice on a breakaway, beating Lewis on the glove hand side, marking the fastest two goals scored by one team in AJHL history. Beaulac sealed the deal for the Oil Barons with an empty net goal for his seventh marker of the season, and Fort McMurray are now five points away from clinching a postseason berth.
The Oil Barons will wrap up their regular season schedule with five straight games on the road. It starts on Friday night when they visit the Grande Prairie Storm. Puck drop at the Bonnets Energy Centre is at 7pm.
