By Terry Martin
Coming off an overtime win last night against the Storm, the Saints wanted to keep their early season winning streak going tonight. The Saints play in the first period was not what they wanted to see in the early part of the game. Spruce Grove quickly saw themselves on a 5 on 3 and down two goals. The Saints then came off the media timeout with a great faceoff play by Hall to cut the lead to one. Spruce Grove kept up their momentum and pace, eventually tying the game after Gamache capitalized on the powerplay late in the period. The Saints then took the lead late on a scramble in front, with Gamache getting his second of the night. The final shots in the period were 17-11 for the Saints.
Both teams then carried that high energy that they had in the first period into the second. The goals didn?t come until later in the period when the Storm tied the game at 3. The Saints then marched down the ice to take back that the lead halfway through the period. No sooner than when the Saints goal was being announced, the Storm had tied the game at 4. The Saints led the period in shots with 29, while the Storm had 21. With some rough stuff to end the period, both teams went into the dressing room hoping to get that last goal to win the game.
The third period did not disappoint, Hall and Casparie dropped the gloves early and gave the fans an entertaining tilt. The Storm capitalized on their powerplay chance at the midway mark of the third, as Paycen Bjorklund found the back of the net with a shot from the circle. The Saints kept up the pressure and battled to the very end, but ultimately came up short, the final score ending up 5-4.
Final shots for the game were 42-27 Saints.
The Saints will be back in action next weekend with two games in Fort McMurray!