HOME GAME 28 RECAP: SAINTS WIN OT THRILLER 4-3, EXTEND WIN STREAK TO 9.
By: Adam Kulak
A back and forth night with both teams flying sees the Spruce Grove Saints come out on top. They defeat the Grande Prairie Storm 4-3 in an OT thriller for their 9th straight win here at the Grant Fuhr Arena. With lots of guys still out of the lineup, Ben Tkachuk, Grahame Gamache and Logan Acheson would all suit up for this game. Matt Davis would get the start in goal for his 35th of the season.
The Saints came out with a strong start in this game, tilting the ice early with the first 5 shots of the game. A penalty filled period in the opening 20 minutes as each team had 3 opportunities on the man advantage. Neither team could score 5v4 but the Saints powerplay looked very good. They did a great job of entering the zone and they moved the puck around well. A couple Grade A shots and redirects in the slot that either missed the net or Kaeden Lane would deny them. With 4 minutes left in the period, the Saints would open the scoring. Parker Saretsky would find Seth Fyten right out front for his 9th goal in his last 10 games as he stays red hot. That would be the only goal of the period, shots are 8-7 for the Saints as they lead 1-0 after 20.
It was back and forth in the middle frame as both teams were playing well and trading chances. More penalties in this period with 2 powerplays for the Storm and 1 for the Saints but both teams still couldn’t break through with the man advantage. 7 minutes in, Jordan Biro would spring Parker Saretsky on the breakaway, and he makes no mistake, going backhand forehand for his 17th of the season. The Storm had good opportunities as well and they would get on the board with 5 minutes left to cut the lead in half. The puck was thrown on net with traffic and Zach Cunningham managed to poke it through Matt Davis. Shots in the period were 9-8 Saints as they once again head into the intermission with the one goal lead.
It was a tight checking third period as the shots were only 5-3 Saints but both teams made the most of their shots. After 11 penalties in the first two periods, the refs put the whistles away for the 3rd period. The Storm would get 2 quick goals late to pull ahead 3-2. Noah Corson would get the redirect off a broken stick play to tie the game up. A few minutes later, Zach Webb would take a feed right in the slot to beat Matt Davis low glove to give the Storm their first lead of the game. With their 8-game winning streak on the line, they continue to press for the tying goal. And with a minute left, Seth Fyten would get his second of the night and 10th in as many games as the puck just trickles over the line to send this game to Overtime.
Overtime would not last long, as 19 seconds in, TJ Lloyd would say “You know what, I’m just going to end this right now”. With the open space, he would take the puck all the way up ice and would get his own rebound to put it away for the Saints. Parker Saretsky had a fantastic night with a goal and two assists as well as being around the puck all night long. Seth Fyten would continue his scorching hot pace with 10 goals and 13 points in his last 10 games. The Saints had multiple close chances that they couldn’t bury that almost cost them the game, but they stuck with it and were able to pull out a huge 4-3 win over the Grande Prairie Storm.
The Saints will look to make it 10 in a row as they get set to close out the regular season Sunday afternoon when they welcome the Fort McMurray Oil Barons, puck drop at 2:00 PM.