The Saints found a way to get it done in Game One with three unanswered third period goals.
The Oil Barons opened the scoring with a late first period goal by Killian Hutt, a lead that stood till the 14:40 mark of the third period.
Oil Baron’s goaltender Brody Hoffman seemed almost impossible to beat until the final 6 minutes when Matthew Benning opened the gates and pushed 3 past him with only minutes remaining. Josh Lazowski and Nic Bourgeois potted the game winner and clincher respectively. Joel Miller made 30 saves to get the win. The final score was 3-1 for the hometown Saints.
The Saints now have a perfect 5-0 playoff record..
Game Two goes Saturday night 7pm in the Grant Fuhr Arena when the Saints will try to take a two game lead prior to heading up to Fort McMurray for Games 3 & 4 on Monday and Tuesday night.
The 2012 North Division Final is a rematch of the 2011Division Final. The Saints won the 2011 North Division Title with a 4-game sweep and moved on to capture the 2011 AJHL Enerflex Cup.
The 2012 AJHL Playoff Schedule, Playoff Bracket, and head to head stats for each series are available on the AJHL website. Watch each game of the 2012 AJHL Playoffs live on AJHL Pay Per View!