Fort McMurray suffered a pair of heartbreaking losses at the hands of the Lloydminster Bobcats and sit two points behind the Border City Bunch for second in the division. Both games saw the Oil Barons lose third period leads, while ending in overtime and a shootout. Ryan Arnold and Justin Dumais extended their respective point streaks to 11 and 6 games, while veteran forward Dustin Good made his season debut.
The script to Tuesday’s game was similar to the Oil Barons’ victory on Saturday, however, Fort McMurray found themselves on the other end of the scoreline. Ryan Arnold opened the scoring on the power-play to extend his point streak to ten games. Ethan Makokis fed Arnold a pass in the left circle for a one-timed bomb past Ty Matonovich. Justin Dumais also picked up an assist to extend his point streak to five games. The Bobcats quickly responded. Dylan Deets threw a bouncing puck past a screened Brendan Gee, knotting the game at 1-1. In the second period, the Oil Barons capitalized on their scoring chances. Leo Adams set up Drew Freer for the captain’s ninth goal of the season, restoring the MOB’s advantage. Evan Benoit then made it 3-1 Fort McMurray with a top corner snipe. In the third period, Lloydminster rallied. Jadon Iyogun extended his points streak to 11 games, rifling a shot over the glove of Gee to make it 3-2. Then with just over a minute remaining, Iyogun tied the game at 3-3, after his shot bounced off an Oil Baron and beyond Gee. Overtime saw the Bobcats dominate possession of puck after Ryan Arnold was denied by Matonovich. Matthew Hikida carried the puck into the offensive zone, found a way open Esteban Cinq-Mars, who stepped down from the blue-line, firing home the game winner past the glove of Gee.
Wednesday saw the Oil Barons jump out to a quick start. Spencer Kunz ripped home his second goal of the season, going top corner on Ty Matonovich. However, Lloydminster knotted the game at 1-1. Kael Screpnek set up Quinn Smith, who snapped a shot glove side on Brendan Gee. Fort McMurray restored their advantage late in the first period. During a scramble in the crease, Evan Benoit poked home the loose puck for his fifth goal of the year. Less than a minute later, the Bobcats tied things once again. Dylan Deets charged down the right wing before setting up Raphael Messier for an easy tap in. The scoring paused until midway through the second period. Morgan Hackman ripped a shot off the crossbar and in, giving Lloydminster a 3-2 lead. But Fort McMurray charged back late in the frame. Ryan Arnold kept his point streak alive, sweeping the puck to Ethan Makokis, who bounced it past Matonovich for his first career AJHL goal. A couple minutes after that, the Oil Barons jumped ahead 4-3. Justin Dumais found a wide open Dustin Good at the top of the slot, and the veteran made no mistake for his first goal of the season. In the third period, Lloydminster found an equalizer. Hackman picked the pocket of Benjamin Morton and Smith struck for his second goal of the game, tying the game at 4-4. The rest of 60 minutes solved nothing, overtime didn’t produce a winner and for the first time this season, Fort McMurray headed to a shootout. The goalies reigned in the skills competition. Through six rounds, both netminders were near perfect. The only blemish, Messier fired a shot off the post and in, giving Lloydminster a 5-4 win and putting the Bobcats two points above the Oil Barons for second in the North Division.
Fort McMurray wrap up their three game home-stand with another North Division showdown. It will be the third meeting in the span of a week between the MOB and the Devon Xtreme on Friday. Puck drop is at 7pm.
