A spooky weekend in the Olds Sportsplex this past Halloween weekend as the Olds Grizzlys took on two South Division rivals with the Calgary Canucks and Camrose Kodiaks, in town for two important games.
We kicked the weekend off with a Halloween night matchup against the Calgary Canucks, whom the Grizzlys were facing for the first time this regular season. The first period started with two goals from Conner Radke and Harper LoLacher to give the Canucks an early lead. The last three minutes of play saw two goals from the boys in Black & Gold as affiliate player Ayden Probe netted his first AJHL goal, followed by captain Hunter Motley for his second of the season, tying the game at two apiece. The second period was ready for action as these two teams were looking to be on the better side of a tie and were at each other’s necks throughout this game. David Hoy was the player to break the tie, finding the open net during a netfront scramble, giving the Grizzlys the lead for the first time in this matchup. This lead only lasted so long before Harper LoLacher put away his second of the night to tie the game, ending the second period the same as the first. The third period didn’t see much action as it was scoreless, sending the game to overtime. This was the first time this season the Grizzlys saw extra time, and they were guaranteed to leave the Sportsplex with one point. As the first overtime of the year, it surely did not disappoint. Both teams were fully in on the action without constant regrouping in the neutral zone, as both goalies were in for a treat, but this frame went scoreless as well, going into one more frame of extra time, sending the game to a shootout. Unfortunately, the Canucks came out on top, with Max Sullivan being the only player to score, taking the Canucks back down south with two points, sending Olds trick-or-treating with one point. Connor Johnson started the game, making 21 saves on 24 shots before leaving the game with an injury, putting Corbin Sanderman in the net, who stopped every shot he faced except for the shootout winner, as both goalies stood on their heads and played incredibly.
On Saturday, the Grizzlys looked to shake off their Halloween fears as the Camrose Kodiaks were back at the Sportsplex for the first time since the Grizzlys’ home opener for the Battle of the Bears. The Kodiaks were the better bear to start the game as Liam Payne opened up the scoring 58 seconds in, followed by Owen Dewitt just over a minute later. Bowen Grycan added one more to their early lead, but Hubert Larose struck immediately after for the second of his rookie year, putting the Grizz on the board. The second period looked the same, with Camrose striking twice before the hometown boy, Rhett Miller, struck on the powerplay for his second of the season and putting an end to the second period. Rhett Miller kicked off the 3rd with his second goal of the night, before Camrose added one more. The Grizzlys’ powerplay continued to be successful this weekend as David Hoy found the back of the net for the 4th goal of the season, continuing his hot start in Olds. Unfortunately, that was it for the Grizz as the Kodiaks got the empty netter, taking this game.
The Grizzlys have 3 home games coming up, with the next game on Wednesday, November 5th, when the Fort McMurray Oil Barons come to the Sportsplex for the first time this season. Friday night sees the Calgary Canucks back in town for a rematch, followed by a highly anticipated Saturday night matchup as the Grande Prairie Storm comes to town for the first faceoff since the penalty-minute-packed road trip up north earlier this season.
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