FORT MCMURRAY, AB (November 21, 2014) – The Fort McMurray Oil Barons (14-11-3) got off to a red-hot start in the first period, and suppressed a late game surge from the Whitecourt Wolverines, winning 5-4 on Friday night.
The Barons got things going at the 5:45 mark of the first, when Zach Wittenburg (Chestermere, AB) banged home a feed from behind the net, giving the Barons the 1-0 lead.
49 seconds after that, Jordan Xavier (Calgary, AB) tipped home an Alyn Nanji (Markham, ON) point shot, extending the lead to 2-0.
And 1:33 after that, Isaac Ceh (Chicago, IL) banged home a loose puck, giving the OIl Barons a 3-0 lead less than halfway through the first period.
That goal also ended Pierce Dushenko's night in the Wolverines' net, giving way for Joshua Dechaine.
That seemed to spark Whitecourt, who got on the board less than a minute later, when Trace Elson picked off an errant pass and beat Zach Fortin (St. Jerome, PQ) to cut the lead to 3-1.
But the MOB responded, when Jackson McKinstry (Calgary, AB) beat Dechaine on a second-chance opportunity, bring the Barons lead back to 3.
The wild first period scoring came to a close when Joseph Nardi converted on the Wolverines' powerplay, to make it a 4-2 Barons lead after the first.
In the second, the Barons once again struck first, as Adam Durkee (Nederland, CO) scored on the powerplay to stretch the lead to 5-2.
But Morgan Messenger replied just past the 15:00 mark, keeping Whitecourt within 2 goals.
And that lead was down to one goal when Justin Young tied it with 4:22 to play in the third.
But the Barons shut the door from there, holding on to beat Whitecourt for the second straight game.
Fortin picked up 25 saves in the win, while Dechaine made 14 saves on 16 shots in his 50+ minutes of play.
With the win, the Barons move within two points of the Sherwood Park Crusaders for third place in the north division.
Up next, the MOB and Wolverines meet for a third straight game on Saturday night (November 22).
Puck drop is at 8:00 with a 7:45 pregame show on KAOS 91.1
KAOS 91.1 3 Stars:
3. Adam Durkee (1G/1A)
2. Trace Elson (1G/1A)
1. Jackson McKinstry (1G/1A)