Saints Fall in Fort McMurray

By Terry Martin

The Saints looked to bounce back against Fort McMurray tonight in game 5 of the 8 game set. McKay Hayes also made his Saints debut tonight, notching 25 points for the Milton Menace of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) last season.

It was a tough first period, to say the least, for the Saints as the Oil Barons put up 4 goals to start in the first 10 minutes of the game. Jake Aston would get one of those goals back, but Aidan Moore would get his second of the game to preserve the Oil Barons 4 goal lead at 5-1. The Oil Barons would add another to their total later in the period to make the score 6-1. Brett Pfoh would not be denied however, as he got his second of the year to cut the lead to 6-2 after 20 minutes. Final shots in the period were 14-10 for the Oil Barons.

After an uncharacteristic period, the Saints needed a return to form to steal this game back from the Oil Barons. Unfortunately, Fort McMurray would continue their scoring streak early in the period, making the game 7-2. Brett Pfoh would then get his second goal of the game with a beautiful tip in front of the net to cut the score to 7-3. Jesse Burchart would be given a penalty shot later on, capitalizing to bring the second period score to 8-3. The Oil Barons would also lead in shots by a total of 25-21 by the end of the period.

The Spruce Grove Saints came into the third period looking much better, bringing the pressure to the Oil Barons. Graham Gamache would get the first goal of the period to bring the game just within reach for the Saints. Both teams would trade a few power plays, but the Oil Barons would add one more goal and the final score would end up being 10-4. Final shots for the game were 37-26 for the Fort McMurray Oil Barons.

The Saints will be back in action on Sunday, March 28th at 4:00pm from the Grant Fuhr Arena. Fans can catch all the action on the Saints Radio Network (mixlr.com/sprucegrovesaints), on HockeyTV and at the Canadian Brewhouse in Spruce Grove starting at 3:45pm.