FORT McMURRAY, AB (September 6, 2014) — Zach Fortin (St. Jerome, PQ) stopped all 36 shots sent his way Saturday night in his first AJHL start, as the Fort McMurray Oil Barons (2-0) completed a weekend sweep of the Drayton Valley Thunder (0-1-1) with a 3-0 win.
Despite being outshot 36-30, and 10-3 in the third period, the Barons held on to a lead provided by rookie forward Austin Holmes (Calgary, AB) and rookie defenceman Salvatore Scalise (Calgary, AB) in the second period.
At the 5:34 mark, forward Mitch Vanderlaan (Hanwell, NB) sped into the Drayton Valley zone along the left wing, firing a sharp-angle shot from the left corner that skipped off of goaltender Marc-Olivier Daigle and into the slot, where the puck hopped past the stick of forward Adam Wilcox (Alpharetta, GA) before Holmes collected it on his backhand, and fired it through a crowd for a 1-0 Barons lead.
Then 12:07 into the period, a pair of rookies combined on a 3-on-2 rush, with forward Jackson McKinstry (Calgary, AB) sending a tape-to-tape pass from the left circle of the Thunder zone to Scalise on the right side, whose quick wrist shot beat Daigle to double the MOB lead.
The Barons held onto that advantage until captain Jetlan Houcher iced the game late in third, weaving his way to the red line and firing a long shot into an empty net with less than a minute to go.
The Barons' attention now turns to the Lloydminster Bobcats, who will host the MOB on Wednesday night at 7:30.
Pre-game coverage starts on KAOS 91.1 at 7:15 PM.
KAOS 91.1 3 stars:
3. Jetlan Houcher (1G)
2. Salvatore Scalise (1G)
1. Zach Fortin (36 save shutout)