Kevin Lacroix scored the winning goal 3:25 into the second period as the Spruce Grove Saints beat the Whitecourt Wolverines 5-1 to take a 2-0 series lead in the Alberta Junior Hockey League North Division final on Saturday at Grant Fuhr Arena.
Casey Knight opened the scoring 1:10 into the game with an unassisted goal to send the Saints to the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.
Lacroix and Cameron Hughes scored in the second to make it 3-0 before Jermome Raymond tallied on the power play for the Wolverines to make it a two-goal game.
Hughes notched his second of the night about 90 seconds later with a power-play marker to put the Saints up 4-1 at the end of the second.
Spencer Galbraith made it 5-1 with an unassisted goal at 2:50 of the third period.
Saints goalie Kenny Cameron stopped 21 of 22 shots for the win while backup Nathan Park stopped both shots he faced in about six minutes of work. Tanner Kovacs turned aside 15 shots for the Wolverines.
Game 3 of the series shifts to Whitecourt Monday night.
The Alberta Junior Hockey League's South Division Final is all tied up at one game apiece.
Rookie import defenceman Nick Newman of Saugas, California broke a 1-1 deadlock from Eric Chevrier and Mark Logan just over five minutes into the third period as the Brooks Bandits defeated the Okotoks Oilers 2-1 Saturday night in Brooks.
Michael Fredrick of Lethbridge, Alberta was solid in net for the Bandits as he made 28 saves on 29 shot attempts.
Interestingly after the Bandits were 29 points better than the Oilers in the regular season, they have found their match in the playoffs with a very competitive hockey team from Okotoks. The first two games of the series has been very evenly played. Okotoks won game one in triple overtime.
The series now shifts to Okotoks Monday night. In the Northern Division, the Spruce Grove Saints defeated the Whitecourt Wolverines 5-1 to take a 2-0 series lead.
Full Story from The Edmonton Journal and The Edmonton Examiner