Fort McMurray battled through some adversity to split a weekend set against the Devon Xtreme. Brendan Gee was phenomenal in net for the MOB, while Ryan Arnold extended his point streak to nine games and Justin Dumais upped his point streak to four games. Fort McMurray also moved into a tie for second place in the North Division with the Lloydminster Bobcats.
Friday saw the Oil Barons fall behind the eight ball and they were never able to fully recover. Ben Deacon opened the scoring with his 11th goal of the season. The rookie from St Albert rifled a shot off the crossbar and in to give Devon a 1-0 lead. The Xtreme added to their lead midway through the second period. After Brendan Gee stoned Joseph Stabile on a breakaway, Ryder Mead picked up the puck and filed it through the Oil Barons netminder. The MOB got a response. While on a 2-on-1 with Evan Benoit, Justin Dumais elected to shoot for his 10th goal of the season. However, Devon restored their two goal advantage. After what appeared to be an illegal high hit that went undetected, Nolan Eastwood fired a shot that went off the end of Gee’s glove and looped into the net, making it 3-1 Xtreme. The third period started with several miscues, with Fort McMurray struggling to create any chances, until their top goal scorer struck. Cole Brown, making his Oil Barons debut, forced a turnover. The puck slid to Dumais who found a wide open Ryan Arnold in the slot, and the veteran forward made no mistake for his 15th goal of the season. Fort McMurray pressed for an equalizer but were unable to convert, and Lucas Knorr added an empty net goal to seal the deal for the home side.
The next night, the Oil Barons displayed a gutsy performance. It was the first time they had won a game while trailing heading into the third period. Brendan Gee was terrific in goal, stopping 25 of the 27 shots he faced, including an unbelievable diving save on Ashton Lee in the second period. However, Devon would open the scoring. A beautiful passing play saw the puck go to Brynn Maclean, who tapped home his fourth goal of the season. The Xtreme added one more goal before the end of the second period. Stefan Serediak got the puck in the slot, squeezing a shot through Gee for a power-play marker making it 2-0. Cue the comeback for the MOB. Ryan Arnold scored his team leading 16th goal of the year, to make it 2-1. Justin Dumais drove to the net and Arnold poked home the rebound. Then Griffin Gidney’s relentless forecheck forced a turnover, and the veteran forward found Evan Benoit wide open in the slot. The rookie from Calgary fired a shot off the post and in to tie the game. Both teams pressed for the go ahead goal, and it was the Oil Barons who would find it with a minute remaining in the game. Cade Petersen let go a wrist shot from the blue line that bounced off a defender and in, giving Fort McMurray their first lead of the weekend. Gee ensured the Oil Barons held on for the win, denying Nolan Eastwood the equalizer with a right pad save at the buzzer.
Fort McMurray returns home for a crucial two game set against the Lloydminster Bobcats. Both teams are tied for second in the north division heading into their tilts on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Puck drop for both games will be at 7pm.
