Fort McMurray was decisively defeated 7-2 at the hands of the Devon Xtreme, marking three losses in a row for the MOB. Ryan Arnold extended his point streak to 12 games, while Lucas McDonald and Leo Adams chipped in with goals. Nathan Claydon made his Oil Barons debut, stopping 35 shots on the night.
Devon struck early and often in the contest. Lucas Knorr opened the scoring 90 seconds into the game, poking home a centering feed from Jeremy Friesen. Ben Deacon made it 2-0. His shot from the slot squeezed its way through Claydon and trickled over the goal line. Lincoln Martin struck to make it 3-0 before the first intermission. The puck popped loose to the rookie forward and he backhanded it short side for his fifth goal of the year. The Oil Barons needed a spark to start the second period and they got it. Twelve seconds in, Ryan Arnold set up Lucas McDonald for his fifth goal of the season, cutting the Devon lead to 3-1. However, 33 seconds later, the Xtreme got the goal back. Knorr stepped in on breakaway, deking Claydon for his second goal of the game. A powerplay goal from Brynn Maclean made it 5-1 Devon. The defender let a wrist shot go from the blueline that found its way past a screened Claydon. Before the end of the period, Nolan Eastwood deflected home his sixth goal of the season to make it 6-1 Xtreme. Devon scored again early in the third period. Ben Deacon sniped home his second goal of the game. He leads all rookies in goals scored with 13 on the year. Leo Adams snapped home a goal on a breakaway with 10 seconds left, bringing us to the final score of 7-2.
Fort McMurray hits the road on Tuesday night when they battle the league’s hottest team, the Bonnyville Pontiacs. Puck drop at the RJ Lalonde Arena is at 7pm.
