The Lloydminster Bobcats kicked off their AJHL preseason on a high note Friday night, defeating the Kindersley Klippers 6-2 at the Cenovus Energy Hub.
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The home team set the tone early in front of 510 fans, putting four past Kindersley starting goaltender Ashton Thornton in the opening period on Sept. 4.
Lincoln Eaves opened the scoring at 3:40 into the first frame, before Shaun Going doubled the lead at 9:21. Emile Plourde added a power-play marker at 13:28 and Luca Vadori capped off the first-period surge just 24 seconds later to give Lloydminster a commanding 4-0 cushion going into the break.
Noah Gibson got the Klippers on the board early in the second period with a power-play goal at 2:05, but the Bobcats quickly responded. Rory Frew restored the four-goal cushion at 4:44. Kindersley pulled Thornton midway through the second after he allowed five goals on 30 shots. Backup Ethan Suhr came on in relief, stopping 15 of 16 shots.
Eaves netted his second goal of the night at 5:58 of the third period to extend the Bobcats’ lead to 6-1. Dane McInnis cut into the deficit for the visitors with a power-play marker at 6:44, but Kindersley’s late push was halted by penalties.
Tempers flared in a physical third period that saw multiple major penalties and game misconducts handed out to both sides, including fighting majors for Lloydminster’s Ethan Elefante and Kindersley’s Brody Sharpe.
Lloydminster heavily outshot Kindersley 46-17 on the night. Bobcats goaltender Sam Madgett turned away 15 shots to earn the victory. Eaves was named home team star after finishing with two goals and an assist, while McInnis took home visiting team honors with a goal of his own.
The two clubs will run it back on Saturday in Kindersley for the second game of their home-and-home exhibition set.
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