To say it was an eventful night at the Civic Centre would be an understatement.
There were 10 goals, 72 shots, 13 power-plays and 94 penalty minutes as the Lloydminster Bobcats ultimately rolled to a 7-3 win over the Olds Grizzlys.
For the Bobcats they had seven different players find the back of the net, as the team picked up their fourth straight victory, and sixth straight win at home.
Like the did the first time these two teams met, the Bobcats jumped on the board first.
Having already been denied on a breakaway and fired a shot off the post, the third time was the charm for Braydon Jenkins who beat Olds’ goalie Andrew Henderson with a wrist-shot to give Lloydminster their third straight game with a power-play goal. Jenkins marker came just 5:20 in to the game.
Not quite 11 minutes later, the Grizzlys found their way on to the scoreboard. Parker Ward beat Lloydminster’s goalie Nick Sanders to put the visitors back on even ground. However, the tie was short-lived.
Just 59 seconds later it was Kobe Walker getting the Bobcats back out in front. Like he has all season long, Walker broke it, took the puck to the slot and fired home his 21st goal of the season.
Leading 2-1 after one period of play, things got a little crazy in the middle frame.
Only 3:10 in to the frame, Cayden Kraus managed to jam the puck past Sanders, however, the whistle had blown and the ref waved no goal. After a meeting between the three officials, they determined it to be a good goal, evening the score at 2-2.
Despite the call, the Bobcats managed to swing momentum in their direction.
In a 6:59 span, Lloydminster netted four straight goals to blow the game open and take a 6-2 lead. Zach Ziegler, Carson Franklin, Daniel Hilsendager and ‘AP’ Ryan Spence had the four goals.
In the middle of all of that, a scrum broke out between the two teams at centre ice leading to a fight between Leyson Coleman and Cale Cripps. Evan Wood and Jack Berger also received 10-minute misconducts on the play, with minor penalties called as well.
Once the final frame got underway, Tucker Scantlebury tucked home his 5th goal of the season to put the Cats up 7-2.
The Grizzlys would get one back late in the third when Quentin Greenwood put home a rebound. Trying to make the save, Sanders went down awkwardly after catching an edge on his skate. Sanders went on to leave the game to be evaluated, meaning Pierce Diamond was going to need to step in an finish out the final four minutes and change.
Diamond stopped all four shots he faced including a breakaway opportunity to shut the door and seal the 7-3 victory.
With the win, the Bobcats pulled within 1 point of the Bonnyville Pontaics for 6th in the North Division.
Both teams finished the game with 36 shots.
Lloydminster went 1 for 4 on the power-play, while the Grizzlys finished 1 for 9 with the man-advantage.
The Bobcats will go for their fifth straight win on Saturday night when they host the Fort McMurray Oil Barons.