By Terry Martin
The Saints were back on home ice for the first time in 2021 as they took on the Fort McMurray Oil Barons in game 3 of the 8 game set. The series was split one game each coming into tonight’s action.
In the first period the Oil Barons would come out with a furious pace, putting the Saints on their heels early. Palmer would stand strong and make some incredible saves throughout the period to give the team the energy they needed to bring the pace right back to the Oil Barons. Wallace would strike first for the Oil Barons, but Jayden Davis would continue his hot streak and tie the game at 1 just 20 seconds later. Shots at the end of the period were 22-11 for the Oil Barons.
The second period saw the Saints trying to kill off a couple early penalties. The Oil Barons would capitalize on one of their power plays as Harding would stuff the puck in the net after a scramble in front to put Fort McMurray up by 1. Caden Cabana would then get his first AJHL goal just a couple minutes later after picking up a juicy rebound in front of the Oil Barons net to, once again, tie the game. Fort McMurray would then quickly regain the lead with Hodge going upstairs on Palmer after being left alone in the slot. The Oil Barons would go into the third period leading the game 3-2 and leading in shots 29-21.
The third period featured some great back and forth action between both teams early on, but Fort McMurray would be the ones to extend their lead. Ryder Matter would capitalize on a turnover behind the Saints net to make the score 4-2 with 14 minutes left in the game. Max McCoy would then find a rebound in the slot to put the Saints down by 3. Jesse Burchart would then score his first AJHL goal to put the Oil Barons up by a score of 6-2, which would eventually be the final score. The final shots for the game were 45-25 for Fort McMurray.
The Saints will look to bounce back against the Oil Barons tomorrow at 7pm from Spruce Grove. Fans can catch all the action on the Saints Radio Network (mixlr.com/sprucegrovesaints) and on HockeyTV.