Fort McMurray returned home and earned a weekend sweep of the Olds Grizzlys. Ryan Arnold and Drew Freer led the charge offensively with three points each, Justin Dumais extended his point streak to 12 games, while seven different Oil Barons found the back of the net. Goaltenders Brendan Gee and Nathan Claydon were also terrific in their respective wins.
Five different players found the back of the net and the Oil Barons rolled the Grizzlys on Friday en route to a 5-1. A pretty passing play saw Jaggar John open the scoring with his seventh of the year. Cash Brebant found his hometown friend and John patiently tucked the puck around the pad of Cole Prelusky. Fort McMurray then made it 2-0 off the rush. Evan Benoit fired a shot off Prelusky pads, and Ewan Gillis followed up the rebound for his sixth goal of the campaign. The Oil Barons started the second period with a couple more goals. A point shot from Jayden Lazare went off the stick of Stefan Serediak and into the top shelf for Serediak’s first goal as an Oil Baron. Spencer Kunz then made it 4-0 after jumping into the play and receiving an excellent pass from Ryan Arnold. Olds got onto the scoreboard before the end of the second period. Jordin St Louis got in behind the defence, beating Brendan Gee on a deke. A special moment saw the MOB restore their four goal advantage in the third period. While down two players, Arnold stole the puck from the Grizzlys, charged the goal and scored for his league leading fifth shorthanded goal of the season and the Oil Barons walked away with a 5-1 win.
Things were a lot tighter during Saturday’s contest. Despite plenty of possession, the MOB didn’t strike until late in the first period. Cade Petersen sent a centering pass off the skate of the defender, which fooled Corbin Sanderman. It was Petersen’s ninth goal of the campaign, passing the number of goals he had last season. The Grizzlys got the goal back in the second period, against the run of play. After the puck ricocheted off two Oil Barons, it bounced to an open Brody Martin who deposited it into the net. Fort McMurray restored their advantage late in the frame. Fort McMurray forced a defensive zone turnover and Drew Freer set up Leo Adams for an easy tap-in. It was Adams’ ninth goal of the season. The third period saw the Grizzlys turn up the heat. With about eight and a half minutes left, Ryder Riedel was convinced he had the equalizer, however the puck ended up inside the pad of Claydon. Olds would get the tying goal with a little more than five minutes to go. Owen Hutzul’s one timer caught Claydon deep in his net and the game was tied at 2-2. Cue the drama. With overtime looming, the Grizzlys got caught with a too many men penalty. On the ensuing faceoff, Justin Dumais raced down the right wing, centered for Ryan Arnold, and the overaged forward found the back of the net at the buzzer for the game winner.
It’s a quick turnaround for the MOB as they travel to Red Deer for the AJHL Showcase. There they will take on the Calgary Canucks for the fifth time this season. Puck drop on Tuesday will be at 2pm.
