It was a back and forth affair Thursday night at the Casman Centre in Fort McMurray.
Unfortunately for the Bobcats, they came up just short in a 4-2 loss.
In a game that could have gone either way, the Oil Barons scored a pair of goals in the third period (one being an empty-net goal) to pull away from the Cats.
Early in the first period, The MOB got on the board first with a power-play goal. Shane Fraser tipped home a JC Thivierge point shot past Bobcats goalie Pierce Diamond to make it 1-0.
However, just 14 seconds later, Zach Kaiser scooped up a Tucker Scantlebury rebound and bounced a shot off Fort McMurray goalie Chris Curr.
The score remained 1-1 after 20 minutes play.
In the middle frame, the Bobcats took their first lead of the contest.
After Daniel Hilsendager skated around an Oil Baron, the local product made a local connection when he back-handed the puck to Kobe Walker, who smacked home his 14th of the season.
Just over 30 seconds after the Cats took the lead, Lloydminster found themselves on the penalty kill, and once again the Oil Barons found the back of the net.
Again, it was Fraser, who tipped home a pass from Will Conley to tie the game 2-2 exactly a minute after Walker had given the Bobcats the lead.
In the third, Will Conley fired home a one-time to give the Barons a 3-2 lead, which would serve as the game winning goal.
Fraser would go on to complete the hat-trick with an empty net goal in the final minute to round out the scoring.
In the end, both teams finished with 38 shots on goal.
On the power-play, the Bobcats went 0 for 4, and the Oil Barons went 2 for 2.
Next up for the Bobcats is a trip to Sherwood Park on Friday to battle the Crusaders.