It was a week of firsts for the Lloydminster Bobcats.
First and foremost, just a few hours before March 1, the Bobcats clinched an Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) playoff position during their stretch of four games — and three wins — in five days.
Read more: South shopping nets Bobcats five AJHL points
In the process, three Lloydminster defencemen scored their first AJHL career goals, as Brady Gamble, Xavier Normand and Oakley McIlwain each dented the twine in Bobcats’ victories.
McIlwain, the 20-year-old who landed with his hometown junior A team in a January trade with the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos, tallied in the third period of Lloyd’s 6-2 victory over the host Drayton Valley Thunder on Sunday.
The night before at Olds, the 18-year-old rookie Normand got the Bobcats started with his first-period goal in a 6-1 win over the Grizzlys. Saturday’s match was his 40th AJHL game.
Gamble, also an 18-year-old freshman, netted his inaugural AJHL goal last Wednesday at home in Lloyd during the Bobcats’ 6-5 last-second overtime victory over the Devon Xtreme. It was the 45th game of the season for Gamble, who last year captained the U18 AAA Lloydminster Lancers.
The only loss for the Bobcats during their hectic week was a 6-5 overtime setback against the North Division’s second-place Grande Prairie Storm, the primary team that Lloydminster is trying to catch in the final two weeks of the regular season.
During that game, 17-year-old defenceman Tafari Chingwaru scored his first goal — and fifth point — in 15 games since joining Lloyd in December. His two other AJHL goals came last season while playing with Drayton Valley.
After Grande Prairie’s 2-0 loss to the first-place Whitecourt Wolverines this Tuesday, Lloydminster (30-14-7) sat three points behind the Storm (34-14-2) and eight back of Whitecourt (36-12-3).
Below them, the Bobcats distanced themselves from the fourth-place Fort McMurray Oil Barons (28-17-6), who fell five points behind Lloyd after losing two of three consecutive games against the No. 5 Bonnyville Pontiacs (25-22-4).
Eight points separated the Oil Barons and Pontiacs after Fort Mac’s 3-2 overtime victory at home Sunday. Those teams go against each other yet again next Wednesday (March 11) in Fort Mac.
Devon, long out of the playoff race, sat in last place in the six-team North with a 16-27-6 record.
Lloydminster has just four games left in the regular season, while Grande Prairie now has five contests remaining.
In their final two home games on the schedule, the Bobcats host the Calgary Canucks (23-23-3) this Friday night and Olds (16-31-4) on Saturday evening. Lloyd finishes the regular season with games at Bonnyville on March 13 and Fort McMurray on March 14.
In their busiest week of the season, the Bobcats played all four games without first-string goaltender Ty Matonovich and the three road dates without one of their most effective forwards, Kael Screpnek. Both suffered injuries during recent home games — Screpnek on Feb. 25 versus Devon and Matonovich on Feb. 22 in a loss to the South-leading Canmore Eagles.
Trent Peterson, the 20-year-old U.S. goaltender who just joined the Bobcats in mid-February, has tended Lloyd’s net for every minute since Matonovich was sidelined with his knee injury. Backing up Peterson for the past four games was 18-year-old Owen Prasek, who hopped on the Bobcats’ bench soon after his U18 AAA Leduc Oil Kings narrowly missed the Alberta Elite Hockey League playoffs, losing the last spot to Lloydminster on the final day of the regular season.
BOBCATS 6, THUNDER 2: Kade Fendelet scored two of Lloyd’s three power-play goals, and Tucker Robertson potted the other. Jadon Iyogun got things started with his short-handed goal and the Bobcats opened a 3-0 lead in the first period.
Raphael Messier assisted on three Lloydminster goals, which also came from McIlwain and Alex Levasseur. Iyogun, McIlwain and Jaxan Hopko each posted two points.
In the past five games, Iyogun has four goals and eight points, giving the 20-year-old forward 23 goals and 40 points in 44 games overall.
Taynton Lavender and Jack Sears netted power-play goals for Drayton Valley, last in the 12-team league with a 14-35-1 record.
Peterson made 24 saves in the Bobcats’ net. Kaden Clegg stopped 37 shots for the Thunder, whose coach and general manager is former Western Hockey League coaching veteran Jeff Truitt.
It marked Drayton Valley’s fourth loss in as many games, all in a six-day span.
BOBCATS 6, GRIZZLYS 1:With three assists, Messier recorded the first of his back-to-back three-point games. Fendelet, with a short-handed goal, Iyogun and Dylan Deets each contributed two points. The other Lloydminster goals came from Normand, Robertson, Hopko, Ethan Elefante and Gus El-Tahhan.
Jordin St. Louis, a 16-year-old prospect of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, scored the lone Olds goal. It was his 18th goal and 42nd point in 45 games.
Peterson made 25 saves for Lloyd, which fired 33 shots at Grizzlys goalie Corbin Sanderman.
It was the third straight loss for Olds, which also lost 5-2 to host Canmore this Tuesday before visiting Bonnyville on Friday and Lloyd on Saturday.
STORM 6, BOBCATS 5 (OT): In front of 1,288 fans at Grande Prairie, latest University of Alberta commit Colin Doherty cashed in with the winning goal at 3:39 of overtime. It was the hat-trick goal for Doherty, the Storm captain.
Braeden Veldhuizen supplied two goals and an assist, while Zachary Wilson had one of each and defenceman Connor Frost added two assists.
Levasseur and Luke Dooley each scored a goal and an assist for Lloyd, which trailed 4-1 in the first minute of the second period.
The Bobcats’ other goals came off the sticks of Chingwaru, Hopko and Quinn Smith. Robertson, with two assists in that game, has eight points in the past six outings.
The 19-year-old Hopko’s 10th goal of the season came with 1:36 left in regulation time, setting the stage for the overtime period.
With points in 12 games in a row, Hopko has five goals and 17 points during that stretch and 11 goals and 38 points after 50 games overall.
Lloyd’s Peterson and GP’s Leland Gill made 25 and 24 saves, respectively.
The game was still young when two unlikely combatants, the Bobcats’ Messier and the Storm’s Max Leduc, fought each other after Messier hit Ethan Kronewitt. Messier and Leduc, both skilled players, were teammates with silver-medal-winning Canada West at the World Junior A Hockey Challenge this past December.
BOBCATS 6, XTREME 5 (OT): Iyogun’s hat-trick goal beat the buzzer at the expiration of overtime, giving Lloyd its first lead of the night — and the victory.
The Bobcats had trailed 3-1 after the first period, 4-2 at the midway mark and 5-3 following 40 minutes.
Third-period goals from Gamble and Iyogun just 21 seconds apart pushed the midweek game into overtime.
El-Tahhan’s two goals included a power-play marker. Three Bobcats — Chingwaru, Fendelet and Hopko — each collected two assists.
Devon rookie defenceman Darius Hordal scored a goal and two assists, while Grayson Niehaus had one of each. The other Xtreme scorers were Lincoln Martin, Kasey Russell Jr and Ashton Lee. Cash Ganske counted two assists.
Devon’s first-year goaltender, Tyler Swanson, had a solid 37-save performance. Peterson blocked 29 shots for his first win as a Bobcat.
Read more: Big crowds track Bobcats’ so-so weekend
