By Shane Tomayer
The Bobcats went through the annual trade deadline this past week with GM Nigel Dube making some moves to bolster the line up going into the stretch to the playoff run. In all he added forward Kai Billey from Devon, goaltender Conor Graham from Niverville (MJHL) and the return of Ishan Mittoo who started off the season with the Aberdeen Wings of the NAHL. Mittoo a familiar face to Lloydminster, played 109 games with the Cats over the last two seasons.
The three new bodies would all see action through the weekend while the Cats faced the Canmore Eagles Saturday and Drayton Valley Thunder in a Sunday matinee.
The Eagles ended the Bobcat playoffs in 2024 and in two previous contests this season Canmore came away victorious both times (in late September). So redemption was certainly on the line Friday evening against the South divisions top team.
Bobcats outshot the Eagles in all three periods and showed strong and physical play through out. But a bad second period in particular sealed their fate. They opened the middle frame down 1-0. However Canmore piled four more goals on in the second before a response came with under 4 minutes to go in the period when the Cats created a turn over in their end and Steinke carried the puck up ice and fired his 3rd of the season (shorthanded).
Early in the final period Kade Fendelet reduced the lead again on the penalty kill but it would not be enough. With Kaiden Kirkwood on the bench and an extra attacker on the ice the Eagles cemented the win with just over 3 minutes to play in regulation.
Penalty trouble and just looking disconnected at times seemed to be the reason for the loss Saturday. A frustrated head coach Jeff Woywitka was very clear, “at this point in the year we can’t play like that. Everyone needs to be better”.
While the Bobcats had a bad opening to the season (0-8) they’d only given up back to back losses once since then – in early December vs Whitecourt. So there was plenty of optimism that fans could expect another bounce back against Drayton Valley, who were playing their third game in as many days.
Fendelet opened the scoring late in the first period with his team leading 13th goal, his third goal and 4th point in the last four games. But late in period two the Thunder answered back with 2 goals in 13 seconds to take the lead. The first a result of a breakdown in their own zone and the second was a deflection that got past newcomer Conor Graham in his first AJHL start.
Again the Cats were forced late to pull their goalie in an attempt to even the score, but with seconds to go in regulation the Thunder found the open net from their own zone to seal fate for the home side.
The Bobcats will have a full week to get their legs back under them and the ship pointed in the right direction. They’ll need to regain form for their next action coming Saturday the 18th at the Encana arena in Camrose. The Kodiaks are the hottest team in the league right now going 8-1-1 in their last 10 and climbing to within two points of second place in the South standings.
Tune in on Flo Hockey or follow along on the Bobcat app to keep up with the action.