The Junior B St. Paul Canadiens lost to the Wainwright Bisons in overtime, in a home game played on Dec. 14 at the Clancy Richard Arena. The final score was 7-6 for the Bisons boys who netted the winning goal in an unguarded net.
After falling behind, the Canadiens managed to tie the game in the second period and kept it that way into the third period.
The boys battled back several times throughout the game against a great team, says head coach Shawn Germain.
“We were happy with our work ethic and compete level this weekend,” Germain said. “Obviously, seven goals is way too much to give up and expect to win. We need to be much better defensively and that's what we'll attack this week in practice.”
Lane Wycotte and Tison Young netted the first two goals for the team during the first period with assists from Brayden Goulet, Dylan Lindal, Arman Grewal, and Darwin Morin.
By the end of the first period, the score was 3-2 for the Bisons. But, the Canadiens battled through the second. After another Wainwright goal set the Canadiens back 4-2, Kurtis Labant shifted the momentum with two goals to his name in the second period, thanks to assists from Teagan Densmore and Morin, and the second during a powerplay with assists from Nathan Degraves and Young.
The game would be tied up heading into the third. Brody Green and Young both scored, with assists from Lane Wycotte, Degraves, Orrie Wood and Janson Pashniak, but Wainwright would net two goals of their own pushing the game into overtime.
Wainwright's Kailin Becher would take credit for the game-winning goal just three and a half minutes into overtime.
Goalie Hayden Lyons saved 50 of 56 shots.
Friday night
On Friday, the Canadiens played another home game against the Lloydminster Bandits, beating them in what looked like an easy win for the St. Paul team. The final score was 7-2.
The Bandits definitely didn’t enjoy themselves during Friday’s game – the team tallied 72 penalty minutes on 17 infractions. While the Canadiens tallied 27 minutes on eight infractions.
The Bandits came out strong in the first period, scoring the first two goals of the game in the first period, with the Canadiens only answering with one. While the Bandits attempted to intimidate the Canadiens with rough play, the St. Paul boys netted three goals during the second and third periods - unanswered by the Bandits.
Goalie Bradley Mistol saved 29 of 31 shots.
The Canadiens will play two more home games this at the Clancy Richard Arena on Dec. 18 (Lac La Biche Clippers) and Dec. 20 (Cold Lake Ice), before heading into a Christmas break.
