OLDS — Two straight shootout wins have given the Olds Grizzlys a chance to move into a tie with the Drayton Valley Thunder in the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s South Division when they host them Tuesday, Jan. 7.
Game time is 7 p.m. at the Sportsplex.
The Grizzlys, currently in sixth and last place in the division, now have 26 points in 31 games, just two points behind the Thunder after edging the Bonnyville Pontiacs 5-4 Friday night, then getting by the Devon Xtreme 2-1 in a second straight shootout Saturday night.
“(We’ve) got to play good defensively against Drayton Valley, make sure we aren’t giving up odd man rushes against. It’s a big game for us,” Grizzlys head coach Brad Tobin wrote in a text.
On Friday night, the Pontiacs jumped out to a 2-0 lead less than nine minutes into the first period before the Grizzlys responded.
Hunter Motley scored his fourth of the season, assisted by Aiden Knutson and Tristan Taylor at the 10:18 mark.
The Pontiacs restored their two-goal lead at 10:58, but the Grizzlys didn’t buckle.
Braeden Veldhuizen scored his eighth of the season with help from Jonathan Doucette and Tristan Taylor at 18:56.
The Pontiacs scored another at 1:27 of the second period, but the Grizzlys responded in the third when Jaxson Doyle got his second goal of the season at the 3:27 mark, assisted by Doucette and Nolan Viesner.
Knutson tied the game for the Grizzlys with his first goal of the season at 11:10 of the final frame on the powerplay, assisted by Veldhuizen and Taylor.
There was no scoring in overtime, and that led to the shootout. Knutson was the hero for the Grizzlys.
Ben Dardis went the distance for the Grizzlys, stopping 32 of 36 shots. The Grizzlys fired 29 at Bonnyville goalie Ryan Tamelin.
Both teams were very disciplined when it came to penalties. There were only two, both of which occurred in the third period.
The Grizzlys were 100 per cent (one for one) on the powerplay. The Pontiacs were scoreless in their lone powerplay opportunity.
On Saturday night, there was no scoring in the first period.
The Grizzlys jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 4:02 of the second period on a powerplay goal, Junshi Hideshima’s 12th goal of the season, assisted by Doucette and Quinn Abbott.
The Xtreme tied it at 18:49 of that frame.
There was no scoring either in the third period or in overtime, thus setting up the shootout.
Grizzlys Quinn Metzger and Hideshima both scored in that shootout while none of the Xtreme shooters scored.
Once again, Dardis played the entire game between the pipes for the Grizzlys, turning aside 27 of 28 shots he faced. He was also the hero when he stopped a penalty shot in overtime.
Xtreme goalie Preston Lewis stopped 31 of 32 shots he faced from the Grizzlys.
The Grizzlys were one for seven with the man advantage. The Xtreme were zero for three on the powerplay.
“(We) battled back in the third period against Bonnyville, stuck to the game plan and got rewarded with two points,” Tobin wrote.
“Against Devon, both goalies made some big saves throughout the game.”
Tobin praised Dardis’s work.
“Ben Dardis played well in both games.”
