Kobe Grant turned aside 33 shots he faced for his first MJHL shutout and the Swan Valley Stampeders beat the Winnipeg Freeze 3-0 Saturday night at Jonathan Toews Sportsplex.
The Stampeder offence was led by Callum Fortin who collected a goal and two assists, Carter Cockburn picked up a goal and an assist, Noah Fladager added an empty net goal and Grant picked up his sixth win in a Stampeder uniform.
The Stampeders grinded out two huge points Saturday night, keeping pace in the crowded West Division Standings.
The Stampeders did a great job weathering the storm of the Winnipeg Freeze. Swan Valley didn’t trail the play by any means, but did give up a few high quality scoring chances but the Freeze couldn’t beat Kobe Grant in the Stampeder net. It took 17:26 of the opening frame Saturday night to find the game’s first goal. Captain Cockburn grabbed a loose puck out of the air in the Swan Valley end, took off down the ice and found a streaking Fortin who tapped home his sixth of the year.
Both teams traded several chances in the middle frame but neither team could beat Grant or Keegan Gordon.
Cockburn found a loose puck in front of the net, walked around a sprawling goaltender and deposited his sixth of the year 50 seconds into the final frame. The Stampeders killed off a four minute kneeing penalty by Trey Sauder late in the third period with the help of the stellar play of Grant in net. Fladager added an empty net with five seconds left in the game and the Stampeders pushed their win streak to two games defeating the Freeze 3-0.
Final shots
Swan Valley – 35
Winnipeg – 33
With tonight’s win on the road, the Stampeders improved their record to 11-12-0-2 and are inching closer to .500 on the season. These two teams will have a very quick turn-around as they are set to face one another again tomorrow afternoon at 2 2 p.m. from the Jonathan Toews Sportsplex. The game can be viewed on hockeytv.com.
Also, a quick reminder to head over to the Stall Online for all your Stampeder gear. Click the image below to find amazing deals and maybe a special gift this Christmas for the Stampeder fan in your family.