Saints beat Canucks 4-1 to close out AJHL Showcase
By: Adam Kulak
After a 5-3 defeat to the Brooks Bandits on Thursday, the Saints bounce back this afternoon, taking down the Calgary Canucks in their final game of the AJHL Showcase. It was a penalty filled game and the Saints were able to make Calgary pay, scoring three Powerplay goals in the game to secure the 4-1 here in Camrose. Max Duchesne would get his 2nd start of the season and Connor Martin would be between the pipes for Calgary as the Saints look to get back into the win column.
First Period
The Saints had a great start to this game, taking the play to Calgary for most of the opening period. Tanner Klassen got the scoring started early for Spruce Grove as 3 minutes in, Ryan Peckford would put a shot on, and Klassen would jump on the rebound for his 2nd of the season.
Little later at the 9-minute mark on the Saints Powerplay, Cameron Chin would beat Canucks netminder Connor Martin from the point for his 1st of the season. That would be the Saints second Powerplay goal of the period, there were a lot of penalties in the period and the they were able to make Calgary pay twice to get off to a good start in this game.
The shots were 11-4 in favor of the Saints as they hold a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Second Period
Just 16 seconds into the second period, Ryan Peckford would fly down the right wing and beat Connor Martin five hole as the Saints extend their lead to three goals right off the hop.
It was a much closer period in the second, Calgary outshot the Saints 14-11 as the Saints got into some penalty trouble. The Canucks wouldn?t find the back of the net as Max Duchesne and the Saints penalty killers did a great job killing them all off.
Peckford?s goal early in the period would be the only one of the frame, as the Saints head into the final 20 minutes with a 3-0 lead over the Calgary Canucks.
Third Period
Things started to turn around penalty wise in the third as the Saints started getting the calls to go their way. Calgary would get on the board halfway through the third as Damon Byers would break the shutout bid for Max Duchesne.
But that would be as close as they would get this afternoon. The Saints would add one more late in the period as Zach Douglas would get his first AJHL goal to put the game away.
Max Duchesne would stop 23 of 24 shots for his 2nd win of the season as the Saints improve to 7-1-0, beating the Calgary Canucks 4-1.
The Saints had a good start to this game, they had most chances and zone time in the first period and were rewarded for it with two early goals. They started to let Calgary get back into the game in the second period with several penalties. The Canucks would get on the board at the start of the third, but the Saints took control of the game once again as the third period went on and they were able to close out the 4-1 victory.
The Saints next games are next weekend, as they will travel to Fort McMurray next Friday and Saturday for back to back games with the Oil Barons. You can catch all the action on the Saints Radio Network starting at 7:00pm both nights.