Bobcats Head Coach/GM Travis Clayton made some adjustments to his line-up Saturday night and his team responded how he had hoped.
Zach Webb recorded four points, Pierce Diamond registered a shut-out and the Bobcats rolled to a 5-0 home win over the Drayton Valley Thunder putting an end to their three-game losing streak.
From the opening face-off, the Bobcats came out firing and did their best to keep the ice tilted towards the end of the Thunder.
Despite some good scoring chances on each end, the first goal of the game didn't come until the 16:03 mark of the opening frame.
Andrew Liwiski let a shot fly from the blue-line and after the puck bounced off the end boards, it came right to Webb who tapped the puck home for a 1-0 lead after twenty minutes of play.
In the second period the Bobcats began to pull away from Drayton Valley.
Not even three minutes into the frame, Webb came flying down the wing and snapped a shot past Thunder goalie Tyman Edelkoort.
Lloydminster then beat Edelkoort one more time in the second before the Thunder made a switch in net.
On the power-play, Mike MacLean hammered home a loose puck for his first ever AJHL goal.
The 6’6” forward’s goal chased Edelkoort from the net, being replaced by Joseph McLeod.
Then with just under four minutes to play in the middle frame, the captain struck for the third time this season.
Like MacLean, Connor Odelein also found a loose puck and quickly scored to extend the Bobcats lead to 4-0 after two.
Back on the power-play in the third, the Bobcats were able to take advantage of the man-advantage again.
After Daniel Hilsendager passed the puck to Webb, he quickly made a pass to Kobe Walker who deflected the puck past McLeod.
In the end, the Bobcats outshot the Thunder 31-29, as Pierce Diamond earned the 29 save shutout for Lloydminster.
Coach Clayton put Walker, Webb and Kaiser on the top-line for the contest and the move paid off immediately. The three forwards combined for nine points Saturday night.
The Bobcats went 2/3 on the power-play, while the Thunder finished 0/4.
Lloydminster will go for their second straight win on Wednesday night when they host the Spruce Grove Saints.