The Fort McMurray Oil Barons opened 2012 the same way that they finished 2011; with a decisive win in St. Albert.
Mitchell Board scored two powerplay goals and Brody Hoffman stopped 20 shots for the shutout as the MOB (33-4-3) took down their northern rivals 5-0 on Tuesday night.
With the win, the Barons completed a sweep of the Steel (6-34-2), winning all 6 games between the two teams.
“I think we were in control,” said Gord Thibodeau, head coach and general manager. “We were a little rusty on the stick in the offensive zone; there were some chances in the slot where they tapped our hands and we lost the puck a lot.”
Thibodeau says the Christmas break did have an effect early on.
“We started a little bit slow; it’s tough to get your pace and your intensity up again when it’s been out for two weeks,”
Despite the slow start, leading scorer Justin Rose potted the first goal of 2012 at 7:28 of the first period off of a backdoor pass by Mike Marianchuk. His linemate Brett Printz collected the second assist.
Defenceman Brock Maschmeyer doubled the lead at 9:15, forcing a Steel turnover at the halfboards and firing a wrist shot short side past goaltender Rhys Hadfield.
Board rounded out the first period scoring with his first powerplay goal at 17:47, as his shot from the high slot deflected off of a St. Albert player’s stick and between the pads of Hadfield.
The second period’s only goal stood out as play of the game; as forward Cole Penner blocked a shot on the penalty kill, carried it past a stumbling forecheker to gain a 1-on-1 rush, subsequently working around defender Taylor Graham and firing a breakaway wrist shot past Hadfield for a 4-0 lead.
“The beauty of the play, really, was the fact that he blocked the shot,” said Thibodeau. “Making a sacrifice, we’ve been talking about that; little things lead to good things.”
Earlier in the second, defenceman Colton Parayko engaged in his first fight of the year, scoring a unanimous decision against Steel forward Nick Kerr who had violently checked rookie defenceman Wil Tomchuk into the end boards. Kerr was given an extra two minutes for boarding.
Board completed the scoring 12:05 into the third period with his second powerplay goal on a slapshot from the left faceoff circle.
“Mitchell’s been struggling a little bit shooting the puck,” Thibodeau admitted. “We were jokingly saying ‘just close your eyes and hit the goalie in the chest and you’ll be surprised’.”
“That’s the first thing he said when he came back to the bench tonight.”
Hoffman’s 20-save shutout was the third of his AJHL career.
“He didn’t have a lot of tough stops but he had probably five or six,” Thibodeau said. “He handled the puck really well, especially on the penalty kill.”
The coach added that scouts from division I Clarkson University were in attendance to watch the six-foot-four netminder.
The Barons return home Friday night for a two-game set against the fifth-place Sherwood Park Crusaders (26-13-3), who feature the league’s leading scorer in forward Peter Quenneville.
The game will likely feature the debut of former Quinnipiac University forward John Dunbar, acquired earlier this week by the Barons.
Pre-game coverage starts at 7:45 PM on Country 93.3.
