By Shane Tomayer
Last weekend the Bobcats faced defeat for the first time in a long while. They lost both games to the Wolverines on the road, the first in definitive fashion the second in the shoot out. Losses have not come frequently, as of late. With the two losses the Cats last 10 games provided a record of 7-1-2 as they’ve continued working their way up the North division standings.
Fast forwarding to this weekend the scheduled competition this weekend was not slated as simple The Calgary Canucks were the top ranked South Division team at puck drop Friday and the schedule dictated they face the leagues best powerplay on Saturday.
Friday night took a little while to get moving as neither team seemed at their best. A broken Canucks play inside the Bobcats zone at the 8 minute mark sent a free puck into neutral ice where Karter Radke stepped out of the penalty box and was instantly presented an opportunity for his first AJHL goal. All alone in the offensive zone he made a move and exposed the visiting goaltender where he could slide the puck past the outstretched tender and open the scoring, certainly a memorable first goal.
The Cats finished the first ahead by a pair. Calgary however answered that back in the second with two goals of their own in under a minute midway through the frame. Jeff Woywitka was quick to respond by using his timeout to calm any potential storm from the Canucks and control momentum. It was a move that seemed to pay off as 16 year old Dylan Deets scored just over 3 minutes later to hand the home side back the lead going into the final period.
The third period was entirely owned by the Bobcats. Outshooting the visitors 13-5 in the frame (34-25 total for the game), and making two of those count. Cooper more scored 8 minutes into the period and again into an empty net with under a minute remaining. His two third period goals compounded with his goal late in the first to complete his first AJHL hatrick and his 6th (to that point) three point game of his rookie season. Final score Friday was a 5-2 decisive victory.
Saturday was a different kind of opponent. While the Grizzly’s sit at the bottom of the division they had mustered a league best 24.2% powerplay at puck drop. Clearly the home side would need to focus on disciplined play and work to ensure that they were strong short handed when penalties did come their way. To add an extra element to the game Saturday night was the annual teddy bear toss. In addition to stuffed animals for local children the organization was collecting socks for the men’s shelter.
Seems that traditionally during themed games such as this the fans hold the breath until they finally get the chance to litter the ice with donations. They didn’t have to wait long Saturday. 2:05 into the period the Bobcats flooded the offensive zone Moore had the first crack stopped by the Grizzly’s goaltender. Skrepnek then sent the rebound off the post before Daniel Zhou slid one under the goalie for his 3rd of the season – but certainly the most entertaining as stuffed animals and socks showered from the rafters.
From there the Bobcats never really looked back. While the game was even at 2 after twenty minutes the game never really felt in jeopardy. The second period saw local Kade Fendelet and Allessio Nardelli snap goalless streaks of 6 and 14 games respectively. All while newest Bobcat (defenseman) Ben Costantino scored his first AJHL goal on the powerplay in his second game as a Cat.
While the Grizzlys refused to quit the Bobcats were relentless. They were able to shut down the Olds powerplay on all three chances given. On the other hand Costantino would add a second powerplay goal in the third period impressing fans with a powerful shot from the top of the left circle that simply outmatched the visiting goalie. His second of the night was followed 16 minutes later by an unassisted goal for Jaxon Hopko who marched the puck up ice and scored from nearly the same spot capping off a 8-5 victory that saw the Bobcats match their season high for goals in a game. In the win the hot hand remained hot. While he didn’t score, Cooper Moore contributed assists on the goals by Zhou and Costantino (x2), adding up for his 7th three point game this year and closing out a 6 point weekend.
With the win the Bobcats improved their season record to 16-10-1-3 certainly enough to be happy about.. When you consider their first win didn’t come until October 4, and that since then they are 16-4-0-2 their record is down right impressive. They have been and are the hottest team in the AJHL.
Next action for the Bobcats comes Wednesday evening. They’ll play host to the AJHLs top team the Whitecourt Wolverines in their final game before the Christmas break. Puck drop at the Civic is scheduled for 7:00. Action on Flo Hockey will start 15 minutes prior, or you can follow Bobcats social media or the Bobcat App for updates as the game happens
