Heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, the Lloydminster Bobcats got the weekend rolling on the right foot, with a Saturday night victory over the Drayton Valley Thunder.
Playing host to the Thunder for the first time this season, and battle Drayton Valley for the second time in as many weeks, the Cats skated away with a 5-2 win.
Newly-named team captain, Zach Kaiser got things rolling early on for Lloydminster. Wearing the ‘C’ for the first time, Kaiser scored just seven seconds into the team’s first power-play of the evening for a 1-0 lead.
However, the lead was short-lived. Just 45 seconds later Jeremy Klessens beat new Bobcat’s goalie Curtis Meger to tie the score 1-1.
Then just one minute and 29 seconds later, the Thunder took their first lead of the game on a Ty Whitford goal.
Trailing 2-1 for most of the second period, the Bobcats shifted the ice in their favour following the radio timeout. Shortly after the midway point of the period, the Cats found the back of the net three times in quick order.
With just over five minutes to play in the period, Rylan Nivon deflected home a perfect pass from Kaiser to tie the game 2-2.
Then 57 seconds after, Hunter Lamb scored his second of the season when he put a loose puck past Thunder goalie Shawn Parkinson.
With 26 seconds remaining in the frame, Ryley Hogan scored his first goal as a Bobcat. Breaking off the right-hand wall, Hogan beat Parkinson with a back-hand shot in tight to give the Cat’s a 4-2 lead after two periods of play.
Having taken control of the momentum of the game the Bobcats continued to roll in the third.
Short-handed, Kaiser scored the only goal of the frame when he, and Tucker Scantlebury broke in 2-on-0. After Scantlebury dished the puck to Kaiser, the Orangeville product made no mistake for his second of the game.
In the end, the Thunder outshot the Bobcats 35-32.
The Cats went 2 for 4 on the power-play, while the Thunder finished 0 for 6.
Next up for the Bobcats is a trip to Sherwood Park Thursday afternoon for a 12:00pm game against the Crusaders, before returning home on Friday night to host the Bonnyville Pontiacs.