The Fort McMurray Oil Barons strung together 2 straight wins against the Grande Prairie Storm before ultimately falling short of the 3 game sweep against the Whitecourt Wolverines.
The MOB kicked off the road trip Friday night in Grande Prairie. An early goal by Storm captain Jackson Wozniak opened the scoring in the first period. The Barons would answer with two goals within 5 minutes – Josh Zinger netting his 6th of the season and Breydon Berthold with a powerplay marker for his 5th. The Barons would carry that lead into the 2nd period, where Grande Prairie would strike on the powerplay with a goal from Brody Dale. The third period was a back and forth affair in which neither team could break the deadlock. Overtime didn’t solve anything either, so the teams went to the shootout. Michael Hodge struck first for the Oil Barons, and turned out to be the only scorer. Evan Fradette turned aside all three Storm shooters to seal the win for the MOB – the first under new head coach Gord Thibodeau. Fradette made 38 saves on 40 shots for the win.
These two teams faced-off again Saturday night in a different pace of game, but with the same outcome. The Storm started strong, with two powerplay goals in the first. Ethan Strang opened the scoring, followed by Brett Meerman minutes later. Grande Prairie would add a third powerplay goal in the second from Austin Schellenberg to carry a 3-0 lead into the third. The MOB came out of the gate hot in the final frame, and played with renewed energy. An early goal by Brendan Stafford started the comeback, followed by powerplay markers from Michael Hodge and captain Konrad Belcourt. For a second straight night, neither team could finish it in overtime, and a shootout was required. Again, Michael Hodge was the lone goal scorer for either team, sealing the come from behind win for the Barons. GP native Cameron Beson made 33 stops on 36 shots for the MOB.
The Barons wrapped up the road trip with an afternoon game in Whitecourt on Sunday. To say the Wolverines have had the Barons number would be an understatement – Whitecourt had won all 5 previous meetings between the two clubs. The MOB ultimately ran out of steam in their third game in three days, and could not match the Wolverines scoring. Brayden Labant scored late in the first period on the powerplay to start things off. A lone goal by Sam Anderson in the second saw the Wolverines double up their lead. They then blew things open in the third, with three goals within 6 minutes by Kaleb Ergang, Ryan Wallz, and Bryce Osepchuk. Declan Douthart would score late on the powerplay to at least break the shutout, but the final would remain 5-1. Evan Fradette saw the start and made 28 saves on 33 shots.
Overall, it was a successful road trip for the Barons, and the two OT wins saw them come within 5 points of the Grande Prairie Storm for the 6th spot in the Viterra North. Head Coach Gord Thibodeau saw many positives from his player throughout the weekend, especially the character shown in the come-from-behind win Saturday night in GP.
The MOB return home this weekend to host the Drumheller Dragons on Friday night, and the Olds Grizzlys on Saturday. Tickets are available at the Casman Centre box office, or you can tune in to the game live on Country 93.3.
