After falling down 4-0 early in the second period, the Lloydminster Bobcats stormed back with three straight goals against the Whitecourt Wolverines on Sunday afternoon – and even rang a cross bar on a potential tying goal – but that's as close as they would get as the Wolverines took a 6-3 victory at the Scott Safety Centre.
Chasetan Braid got the Bobcats on the board in the second period, tapping a pass from Zach Webb past Wolverines goaltender Pierce Diamond to break the shutout and make the game 4-1. Rob Johnson and Matthew Jones got in on the scoring early in the third for the Bobcats, and Johnson bounced a wrist shot off the cross bar and out of play on what looked like the game-tying goal just moments after Jones made it 4-3. Jeremy Kelleway made 35 saves on 40 shots in the net for the visitors, including several stops that left the Wolverines in disbelief.
Whitecourt jumped ahead early as Ben Evanish finished a long shift in the Bobcats zone with a wrap around marker just under two minutes in to make it 1-0. In an evenly played first period, Diamond made several key saves to preserve the lead before Morgan Messenger deflected a point shot past Kelleway to make it 2-0.
The Wolverines came out flying in the second while the Bobcats struggled to get engaged, and just six minutes into the middle frame it was suddenly a 4-0 lead for the home team.
From there, the game shifted dramatically as the Bobcats picked up their physicality and began controlling the play, starting the comeback that nearly brought the game back to level in the third.
Still sitting one point out of a playoff spot, the Bobcats will be back in action this weekend when the Fort McMurray Oil Barons come to town for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday.