Bobcats defender Orin Olson tries to sneak one past Drumheller Dragons goaltender Liam Choquette on Sunday afternoon. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
Just over one-third of the way through the 2022-23 regular season, the Lloydminster Junior A Bobcats (9-9-1-1) have really been making November count with some big wins.
The ‘Cats started the month on the road with a game in Whitecourt on Nov. 4 where they beat the Wolverines (12-6-2-1) 3-2 in regulation.
The ‘Cats then travelled to Drayton Valley on Nov. 5 where they shut out the Thunder (6-15-0-1) 5-0.
Friday, Nov. 11 not only saw Remembrance Day ceremonies in the Border City, but it also saw the Okotoks Oilers (14-7-1-2) come to town when the ‘Cats served up a 3-2 loss in front of 815 hometown fans.
A consistent powerhouse in the AJHL south, the Oilers are currently ranked second in the division.
The Civic Centre had another impressive turnout on Nov. 13 when the Drumheller Dragons (10-9-1-2) came to town for a Sunday matinee game.
The Bobcats opened the scoring on Sunday with an unassisted goal from Jayven Leslie early in the first period. The Dragons answered the goal 13 seconds later with a goal by Noah Danielson.
Dragons forward Vann Yuhas got one past ‘Cats netminder Freddie Halyk at 6:26 in the second before Jordan Borysiuk would tie it up for the Bobcats two and a half minutes later.
The Dragons would take a 3-2 lead going into the third, but it wasn’t over yet.
At 9:40 in the final frame, Bobcats forward Connor Burke snuck a beauty past Dragons’ netminder Liam Choquette tying the game 3-3.
Five minutes of three-on-three overtime were played without any change to the scoreboard before the game went to a shootout.
Going into the shootout, Brock Krulicki started things off for the Bobcats and snuck one past Choquette.
The Dragons, however, would better the ‘Cats with goals from Kai Matthew and Yuhas winning the shootout 2-1.
The ‘Cats returned to the Civic on Tuesday night to host the Whitecourt Wolverines. Lloyd was first to get on the board at the 10:37 mark in the first.
The Wolverines were quick to answer with goals from Dylan Leslie and Tanner Komzak, giving them a 2-1 lead going into the first intermission.
‘Cats forward Brock Krulicki would even the score 3:11 into the second before Whitecourt’s Aiden Long made it a 3-2 game minutes later. Bobcats shooter Jack Parker would once again tie the game in the latter half of the second frame.
Overtime was looking fairly promising throughout the first half of the third period until Whitecourt’s Kaiden Wiltsie made it a 4-3 game on the powerplay.
The Bobcats are in Spruce Grove to play the Saints tomorrow night before returning to the Civic Centre to host Drayton Valley for a 2:30 p.m. matinee game on Sunday.
The ‘Cats finish out November on the road with back-to-back games in Grande Prairie before travelling to Whitecourt.
The ‘Cats return home to host the Sherwood Park Crusaders on Dec. 2 before driving to Bonnyville on Sunday to play the Pontiacs.
