Enough is enough. With that mantra, the Lloydminster Bobcats scored a 4-3 shootout victory over the Calgary Canucks on Saturday at the Hub, one night after Lloyd’s lacklustre 5-1 loss to the Grande Prairie Storm on home ice Friday.
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“Yeah, 100 per cent, the worst game of our season,” Bobcats forward Kael Screpnek said about Friday’s flat performance in front of 1,603 hometown fans.
“This afternoon (Saturday), we had a team meeting, and we all looked at each other and said, ‘Let’s go get this one. This one is for us, not for anyone else.’
“We had more energy on the bench tonight. Yesterday, after (the Storm) scored that first quick one, the whole bench just folded right there and kind of let them take over the game right there.
“They (the Canucks) got the first one tonight, but we got right back up on the bench and had a really good push-back shift. I think that ultimately won us the game, was just pushing back every time they scored.”
The final push came courtesy of shootout goals from Raphael Messier and Landen Ward, who scored Lloydminster’s shootout winner for the second time in as many AJHL victories last week. Making his first start in four games, Ty Matonovich stopped a pair of Calgary shooters in the so-called skills competition and made 19 overall saves through the scoreless overtime.
FORTIN FROM THE WHL
In the Canucks’ net, Dimitri Fortin blocked 30 shots. With regulation, overtime and shootout losses, the 19-year-old goaltender is still looking for his first AJHL win since joining Calgary this month from the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders.
Ward’s goal with 6:38 left in regulation gave Lloydminster a short-lived 3-2 lead. Calgary’s Simon Bowland, with an unassisted goal, evened the score just 21 seconds later.
Bobcats veteran Matthew Hikida’s two-point night included his 10th goal of the season. Alex Levasseur also scored for Lloyd. Levasseur has four goals and six points in eight games since becoming a Bobcat in early January, after half a season in the QMJHL with the Gatineau Olympiques.
Josh Kelly, with six points in as many games, tallied twice for Calgary.
As important as the bounce-back win was for the Bobcats (23-12-4), they were equally encouraged to do so with purpose. They didn’t wilt when the going got tough against the credible Canucks (18-16-3).
It was an emotional game, even though it was a matchup of teams from different divisions. From a Lloyd perspective, Calgary native Screpnek was in his element, playing his agitating, energetic and fearless style against many of his childhood friends.
“I know a lot of those guys on the other side, played with most of them, so they know how I play,” said a smiling Screpnek, a 19-year-old centre and second-year Bobcat from the Calgary Royals minor hockey system.
“Most of the time, the other team doesn’t like me that much. And so, tonight, they got to feel that, and I got into a few scrums.
“But it kind of drives my game. I like when it gets kind of intense. But there’s a fine line. Sometimes I cross it. But today, I stayed on the right side of it.”
Screpnek’s 60 penalty minutes this season reflect his engaging ways, but so do his 26 points — including 20 assists — after 39 games. He and Gus El-Tahhan are the only Bobcats who have played in every game thus far in the 2025-26 campaign.
Screpnek backs up his moxie with meaningful contributions, as evidenced Saturday when he baited an opponent long enough to draw the Canucks’ retaliatory penalty.
“Yeah, I picked it up after the first 10 games of the season,” he said. “I was on a really good stretch.
“Then, these past five games, I think as a group we were struggling, myself included. Then, tonight, we looked at each other and said, ‘Enough is enough.’ We went out there and played a good group effort for a full 60-plus minutes.”
FRIENDSHIP WITH DEETS
It was that kind of a night for the Bobcats. Screpnek playfully reminded his teammates during their post-game snack that he had assisted on Hikida’s 1-1 goal to kick off the second period. That was indeed the case.
The banter probably continued later, because his buddy Dylan Deets also had an assist in Saturday’s game. Another one of those Bobcats known for his heads-up play, and heavy hits, the undersized Deets is also one of the crowd favourites, as the chants of “Deets, Deets, Deets” from the Hub faithful would suggest.
“Last year, we were both rookies and got pretty close,” Screpnek said about his connectivity with Deets. “Then, this (past) summer, we hung out quite a bit. Through the weeks (during the season), we’re always hanging out after practice. Our friendship is growing, for sure.”
In the team scheme of things, the Bobcats are trying to develop a similar cohesion, especially because they brought in four new players in January, and a couple of others in December, in the process raising expectations to perform. Finding that balance can come with early challenges.
“Yeah, 100 per cent,” Screpnek agreed. “There’s new guys who come in and there’s pressure on them to perform (and) pressure on us as a group to jive. Now, we’re moving in the right direction.
“I think the whole South (Division) side is weaker, but I know every team in this league can win. Like you saw with us against (last-place) Olds (in the Bobcats’ shootout win Jan. 19), you’ve got to come ready, or else you might lose it.”
Calgary came to the Border City last weekend without one of the AJHL’s top scorers, 44-point man Connor Radke, who was called up to the WHL’s Vancouver Giants. He missed the Lloyd date and the Canucks’ 4-2 loss to the Bonnyville Pontiacs (20-16-2) the night before.
The Canucks received a mid-season boost with the addition of Fortin, the Manitoba-born goalie whom the WHL’s Raiders released to make way for young gun Steele Bass, who spent the first half of this season with the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars. Still sporting his green-themed Prince Albert gear, Fortin was solid Friday in Lloyd, for the most part.
“Yeah, a lot of those guys have Dub experience,” Screpnek said about the reigning AJHL-champion Canucks. “The majority of their team has played major junior. You’d say those guys are better than us (on paper), but I think we put more effort than most of them and it showed tonight.
“Yeah, it’s blue-collar, Bobcat hockey. This group is getting tighter, and we’re big and strong and heavy. We play a blue-collar game and it’s fun to watch, fun to play.”
One of the Bobcats who illustrates all those qualities well is hometown defenceman Jaxan Hopko. Whether it’s accentuating offence or physicality, the 19-year-old Hopko is usually in the forefront. Including 13 points in a recent 10-game stretch, he has six goals and 21 points after 38 games. Last week, he was selected as the AJHL’s defensive player of the week.
“Hopko has had a breakout year this season,” Screpnek said. “After Esteban (Cinq-Mars) left to major junior (at mid-season), I think he filled his boots quite well. I mean, (he was named) defensive player of the week, so it’s showing.”
Up next for the Bobcats is a visit from one of their North Division rivals, the Fort McMurray Oil Barons, this Friday night at the Hub. Fort Mac (23-13-6) moved two points ahead of the Bobcats after scoring a 5-2 victory over the league-leading Whitecourt Wolverines (28-10-1) on Sunday and earning a split in their weekend series.
Oil Barons forward Justin Dumais, with a goal and two assists Sunday, took over the AJHL scoring lead. With 23 goals and 65 points after 42 games, Dumais climbed one point ahead of both Whitecourt’s Jalen Bianchet (39-36-28-64) and Bonnyville’s Maxwell Pendy (38-20-44-64).
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