OCN, MB. – The Swan Valley Stampeders returned to the win column in a big way Tuesday night, defeating the OCN Blizzard 7-4 at the Gordon Lathlin Memorial Centre.
The Stampeders used seven different goal scorers in their victory. Myles Mason, Alex Walicki, Josh Danis, Justin Keck, Jakob Jones, Steven Arp and Trey Sauder all scored in the win while Kobe Grant stopped 34/38 shots he faced.
The Story
The Stampeders played a solid opening 20 minutes in OCN Tuesday night. Both teams skated to a scoreless tie and deadlocked at 14 shots apiece.
The floodgates opened up in the second period and six goals combined were scored at the GLMC. Swan Valley was able to break the deadlock 1:59 into the middle frame as Mason collected his eighth of the year, cleaning up a rebound. Ashton Paul answered back for the Blizzard on the power play, scoring his 21st of the season and beating Grant at 6:40. Walicki stayed red hot, collecting his seventh of the season five minutes later, also putting home a rebound. Danis was left all alone in front of the net and he finished off a great passing play from Noah Wilson and Walicki just over three minutes later. Keck found himself behind the Blizzard defencemen, skating in all alone, and went back-hand roof for his 20th of the year 31 seconds later. Jones rounded out the period, scoring from a near-impossible angle at 18:01 and the Stampeders held a commanding 5-1 lead heading into the third period.
Just like the second, the third was full of goals. OCN rattled off three straight goals by Riley Zimmerman (4:08), Darik Feasey (6:53), and Alex Bernauer (10:21) to make things interesting for the final nine minutes. The Stampeders bent, but didn’t break, getting back-to-back empty net goals by two local products, Steven Arp and Trey Sauder to help the Stampeders claim a 7-4 victory on the road Tuesday night.
Final Shots on Goal
Stampeders – 35
OCN – 38
Bonus Notes
- Alex Walicki has three goals and two assists in his last three games played.
- The first time the Stampeders used seven different goal scorers to win a game.
- Kobe Grant stopped 34/38 shots he faced to claim his 15th win of the season.
- The Stampeders move into a three way tie for first place in the MGEU West Division.
What’s Next?
The Stampeders will head home and get ready for a southern road trip this upcoming weekend. Their first stop is in Winnipeg at 5 p.m. Saturday evening to take on the Blues. The road trip will conclude with a matchup against the Steinbach Pistons Sunday, Jan. 29. Puck drop goes at 7 p.m..
You can view the game on hockeytv.com and stay up-to-date on all Stampeder social media platforms.
Upcoming home games to note
- Friday, Feb. 10 – Hockey is for Everyone (special game night jerseys will be worn). More details to be released this week.
- Wednesday, Feb. 15 – RBC game night.
- Wednesday, Feb. 22 – ACE Real Estate game night.