Saints Beat Kodiaks 4-1 in Humboldt Memorial Game
By: Adam Kulak
It was a very special night here at the Grant Fuhr Arena, families and friends of current and former players as well as the families of Connor Lukan and Parker Tobin gathered inside to honour and remember two former Saints and two great individuals. There was a great video tribute and presentation before the game as both families were given special Humboldt themed jerseys with Lukan and Tobin on the back.
I?m sure Connor and Parker were watching the game from up above and the Saints certainly made them proud, with a 4-1 victory over the Camrose Kodiaks. Gamache, Biro, Peckford and Cooley would find the back of the net and Matt Davis would turn away 21 of the 22 shots he faced. They wanted to come out with a great game for Parker, Connor and all the families and they sure did a great job in doing so.
First Period
Neither team really took control of the game in the opening 20 minutes. There might have been a few nerves early as there were several broken plays and rocky moments to start the game. The Saints started to get rolling as Camrose gave them three straight powerplays in the first. They weren?t able to score on them, but they had a few good looks and it allowed them to try and create some momentum. Not a whole lot would happen in the first period as the score would stay 0-0, shots in the period were 17-11 for the Saints as they would look to open things up in the second.
Second Period
The Saints really started to take over in the second period as they outshot the Kodiaks 14-5 and would jump out to a two-goal lead. The Kodiaks were giving a lot of space in transition and the Saints took advantage of that. They were creating a lot from gaining the zone with speed and generating scoring chances off the rush.
Graham Gamache would get things started on a shorthanded marker as Cam Mitchell would feed him out front just under 6 minutes in. The first goal was barely announced before Jordan Biro extended the lead just one minute later as he would beat Griffin Bowerman to make it 2-0.
Things got chippy later in the period as the Kodiaks would initially get called for boarding and a big scrum ensued right after, resulting in 5 minor penalties handed out on the play. The Saints two goal lead would stand after 40 minutes of play as they head into the third period up 2-0. Shots after 40 minutes were 31-16 for the Saints as they really took the game over.
Third Period
The third period saw more of the same as what happened in the second. The Saints continued their strong play by adding a couple more goals and things also got even more heated than they did in the last period.
Ryan Peckford would light the lamp 5 minutes into the period with a post and in shot off the rush, giving the Saints a 3-0 lead. However, shortly after things started to get a little bit ugly in this game. Peckford would create a terrific end to end rush but he then received a late hit behind the net, creating another big scrum in the offensive zone. 81 penalty minutes were handed out in the third period and 101 minutes total throughout this game.
The Saints would get a 5-minute powerplay off that and Stanley Cooley would capitalize on it as the Saints extend their lead to 4-0. Camrose was able to get on the board on a late powerplay, Connor Brock would put it on net and the puck took a weird bounce and somehow ended up in the back of the Saints net as the Kodiaks break the goose egg.
That?s as close as they were going to get, as the Saints cap off a dominant performance with a 4-1 victory over the Camrose Kodiaks. The first period was a little bit slow for both teams, but the Saints really turned it on in period 2 and 3. Camrose had 11 shots in the first period and had 11 shots in both the second and third combined.
After the way this game played out, it will be interesting to see what the rematch holds tomorrow night between these two teams. The Saints will hit the road tomorrow as they are in Camrose for the second half of the home and home, puck drop is 7:00 PM at Encana Arena.