(File photo)
The Drayton Valley Thunder split their home-and-home series against the Spruce Grove Saints this past weekend.
On Jan. 7, the Thunder where in Spruce Grove to face the Saints. The Saints beat the Thunder 8-5.
The Saints dominated the first period, outshooting the Thunder 22-4. At such a rate, the Saints managed to slip two past Thunder goalie Byron Fancy. Ewan McPherson scored, getting assists from Jayden Davis and Brett Pfoh at 11:13, and Hunter Brown adding another goal, assisted by Liam Watkins and Cody Pisarczyk at 19:29. At the end of the first, the Saints had a 2-0 lead.
In the second period, the Thunder got on the board at 3:04 when Lucas Krol got the assist from Stephen Kirkpatrick and Brody Tallman. The Saints then responded with three in a row. Caiden Gault scored on the power play at 8:15, thanks to assists from Brett Pfoh and Cade Mason. That was followed by a Luigi Benincasa goal at 12:28, with an assist from Caiden Gault and Evan Sundar. Benincasa scored again at 14:53, courtesy an assist from Jacob Rochford. The Thunder finally got a chance to strike back at 17:06, as Luca Ricci scored with an assist from Hayden Fechner and Lucas Krol. But the Saints were not about to rest on their laurels. Jayden Davis scored at 18:13, thanks to an assist from Cody Pisarczyk and Liam Watkins. Benincasa then picked up the hat trick at 18:58. At the end of the second, the Thunder had a commanding 6-2 lead. The Saints continued to be relentless, outshooting the Thunder 13-9.
It was the Thunder’s turn to be relentless in the third, however, as Evan Forrest scored another for the Thunder at 10:17, with an assist from Moe Hakim. The Thunder scored again on the power play at 10:55, as Brett Bamber was assisted by Grayson Reid and Moe Hakim on the play. The Thunder picked up one more at 17:19, as Lucas Krol was assisted by Brett Bamber. But before the buzzer sounded, Luigi Benincasa scored his fourth goal of the game. Benincasa scored on the Thunders’ empty net at 19:58, with the assist coming from Brett Pfoh. Final score was 8-5 for the Saints. The two teams were almost evenly matched in the third, as the Thunder outshot the Saints 10-9.
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Things were much tighter on Jan. 8, as the Saints came to the Drayton Valley Omniplex for the rematch. The Thunder managed a very narrow 3-2 win in overtime.
The Thunder were first on the board, as Grayson Reid scored at 5:25. Reid picked up the assist from Brody Tallman. At the end of the first, the Thunder were leading 1-0. The Thunder managed to outshoot the Saints 17-10.
It was a scoreless second period, as Thunder goalie Jackson Berry turned away all 10 shots on net. Saints netminder Zac Onyskiw proved equally sharp, as none of the Thunders’ 14 shots on net got past him.
The Thunder improved their lead early in the third, as Luca Ricci scored at 5:03. Ricci was assisted by Brett Bamber and Ethan Browne. The Saints got on the board at 5:53, thanks to an unassisted goal from Brett Pfoh. The Saints then tied things up at 18:26, as Jayden Davis picked up assists from Cade Mason and Brett Pfoh. At the end of the third, the game was tied 2-2, and was going to overtime. The two teams were evenly matched in the third, as the Thunder outshot the Saints 12-10.
Overtime was over at 3:19, as Grayson Reid picked up the game-winner for the Thunder. Reid was assisted by Ethan Browne. In overtime, the Saints outshot the Thunder 3-2.
The Drayton Valley Thunder now rise to fourth in the Viterra AJHL North Division, with 46 points and a record of 20-12-6. The Thunder do not return to action until Jan. 14, when the Bonnyville Pontiacs come to Drayton Valley for a two game series. The Thunder’s Jan. 12 game against the Lloydminister Bobcats has been postponed due to COVID-19 related reasons.
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