Leading into the latter stages of the third period, the Lloydminster Bobcats were unable to hold on Saturday night in Olds.
Holding a 2-1 lead after two periods of play and through the first three quarters of the third period, the Grizzlys managed to tally the equalizer before securing the win in the final two minutes of overtime.
With 4:07 to play in the third, Olds managed to get the game back on even ground on a quick snapshot from Hunter Floris, his second goal of the game, which ultimately opened the door for Grizzly’s captain Ty Budai to net the winner.
It did not take Olds very long to get on the board when the game began. Just 43 seconds into the contest a bouncing puck wound up on the stick of Floris who snapped home his first goal of the game.
After the Bobcats continued to apply constant pressure, they were finally able to breakthrough when Andrew Smiley received a perfect pass from Noah Taron in tight and beat Grizzly’s goalie Duncan Hughes over his blocker for his first goal as a member of the Cats.
Lloydminster went on to outshoot Olds 18-8 in the period but the score remained knotted 1-1 after twenty minutes of play.
5:54 into the second frame, Bobcat’s rookie forward Ethan Mack tallied the only goal of the frame. After Ryley Hogan fired a shot from the blue line off of a draw, Mack deflected the puck in the high slot and it found its way past Hughes.
The Cats continued to carry that lead until Floris’ second goal of the game.
In the loss, Lloydminster had numerous chances to try and up their goal tally. Hunter Lamb was denied on a penalty shot, while Logan Bromhead and Matthew Mohrbutter were also stopped on breakaway attempts.
In goal for the Cat’s, Cale Elder made 32 saves on 35 shots.
The Bobcats finished the game 0 for 3 on the power-play, while the Grizzlys went 0 for 7.
Lloydminster will now wrap up their three game souther road swing by paying a visit to the Calgary Canucks on Sunday afternoon. Puck drop is scheduled for 3:00.