The Lloydminster Bobcats opened a five-game road stretch with mixed results on and off the ice last weekend.
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Battling injuries and suspensions, the Bobcats weathered the North Division’s last-place Devon Xtreme and posted a 3-2 victory on Sunday afternoon, after falling 6-3 on Saturday night against the league-leading Whitecourt Wolverines.
The loss to rival Whitecourt proved to be a double whammy for Lloydminster. Two of the Bobcats’ 20-year-olds — Kade Fendelet and Oakley McIlwain — were ejected from that game with major penalties for hits that eventually cost both players suspensions.
Fendelet, the Lloyd captain, received a two-game ban because of his boarding infraction against Wolverines forward Xander Schulte, the former Devon captain.
That incident happened at the expiration of the second period, with Whitecourt leading 4-3. The Wolverines went on to score two power-play goals during Fendelet’s major penalty, served by injured defenceman Dylan Deets.
McIlwain was tossed from the game late in the first period after receiving a major penalty for his blow to the head of Wolverines’ 19-year-old forward Mason Russell, with Whitecourt in front 2-1 at the time.
The AJHL handed McIlwain a one-game suspension, which he served during Sunday’s Lloyd victory at Devon. Fendelet missed that game and remains sidelined for the Bobcats’ next outing, this Friday night in Drumheller against the Dragons.
Lloyd’s defence was depleted Sunday with the absence of McIlwain and the ailing Deets, two key cogs on the back end. For that game in Devon, the Bobcats brought in an affiliated player, McKye Duncan, a 16-year-old defenceman with the U18 AAA Red Deer Chiefs. Duncan, listed at six-foot-two and 180 pounds, has four goals and 12 points after 26 games with the Chiefs, accumulating 42 penalty minutes in the process.
With the Bobcats, Duncan joined a Sunday defence corps that included Tafari Chingwaru, Ryder Ellis, Brady Gamble, Jaxan Hopko and forward Raphael Messier, who was pinch-hitting on the blue-line. Injured defenceman Xavier Normand missed both Lloyd games last weekend.
Bobcats’ rookie forward Ethan Elefante, a healthy scratch Saturday, drew back into the lineup Sunday in the absence of Fendelet.
The weekend results left the Bobcats (25-13-4) in fourth place in the North, two points behind the No. 3 Fort McMurray Oil Barons (25-15-6) and 10 points ahead of the Bonnyville Pontiacs (21-20-2).
The North’s fifth-place Pontiacs, trying to climb into the playoff picture, suffered another setback last weekend as they lost 3-1 and 2-1 in a home-and-home series with the Camrose Kodiaks (25-17-2), the South Division leaders.
Lloydminster handed Devon (14-23-5) its sixth straight defeat. The Xtreme closed to within one goal on a Lincoln Martin marker with 11 minutes left in the third period but couldn’t put the equalizer behind Jaiden Sharma, whose 33-save performance earned him Bobcats’ player-of-the-game honours.
Lloyd’s goals on Sunday came from Luke Dooley, Landen Ward and Quinn Smith. The game-opening goal was the first tally in 17 games for the hard-working Dooley. Ward’s power-play goal midway through the game put the Bobcats ahead 2-1 and Smith extended the lead a minute into the third, netting his 10th goal of the season.
Hopko, the Bobcats’ 19-year-old defenceman, added two more assists to his offensive tear.
The other Devon goal was a short-handed marker from Nolan Eastwood in the final minute of the first period.
The Xtreme outshot the Bobcats 35-29. Luke McKechnie, formerly of Whitecourt, tended goal for Devon.
It was the Xtreme’s first game without top scorer Ben Deacon, who left the team last week to join the BCHL’s Okotoks Oilers.
In the Bobcats’ loss at Whitecourt, the host Wolverines (31-11-1) received a hat-trick performance from Brendan Ruskowski, playing like he was Terry Ruskowski, the former NHL centre with Prince Albert, Sask., roots.
Whitecourt scored three of its six goals on power plays.
Nolan Schmidt tallied twice and defenceman Quentin Bourne picked up a goal and two assists.
Kael Screpnek, with two points, Jadon Iyogun and Messier, with a short-handed tally, were the Lloydminster marksmen.
Ty Matonovich blocked 41 shots on a busy night between the Bobcats’ pipes. The Wolverines’ Elliott Pratt stopped 28 of the 31 shots he faced.
Lloyd continues its road swing this weekend with three games in as many days, all against South Division teams. The Bobcats meet the Dragons (21-18-6) at 7 p.m. Friday in Drumheller, the Canucks (19-19-3) at 5 p.m. Saturday in Calgary and the Eagles (24-17-2) at 2 p.m. Sunday in Canmore.
The Eagles’ lineup includes 19-year-old defenceman Quinn Keeler, who spent the first half of this season with the Bobcats. Keeler has five assists in 11 games since joining Canmore at the trade deadline in January.
