PHOTO: Chad Goddard
James Richards scored in the 11th round of the shootout while Ryan De Kok turned aside 10 of the 11 shooters he faced and 33 shots in regulation and overtime as the Saints outlasted the Oilers in Okotoks on Saturday night, winning by a 5-4 score in a shootout victory at Viking Rentals Centre.
The Saints held the outright or share of the lead for a total of all but 12 seconds throughout the course of the game and used a pair of Brandon Funk goals to help them through regulation and in the shootout. It was Tre Peck, however, that opened the scoring in the game with his team-leading 6th goal of the season. Scott Sandilands spotted Peck driving down the right side of the net and drove the post before having the puck go off of him and past the glove side of Eric Young in the Oilers net for a 1-0 Saints advantage.
Jamie Hikida tied the game at the tail end of the opening period before it was the Saints to push their way back in front to begin the 2nd period coming courtesy of Brandon Funk. The 20-year-old forward snapped a quick shot off the right wing boards and zipped the puck past the blocker side of Young to give the Saints the lead back again before Carson Lloyd added to the advantage for a 3-1 lead.
The Oilers worked their way back into the game with a pair of goals before the second period was out as Hunter Sawka and Josh Wiebe got Okotoks to an even 3-3 score heading into the third period, where the Oilers took their first lead of the game on a long shot from the blueline that was redirected past De Kok in the Saints net.
It only took 12 seconds for the Saints to get the game back to even again with Funk notching his second goal of the game, taking a rebound off the pad of Young stemming from a Brett Barnes point shot that pushed the Saints back to even at 4-4, which would hold into the overtime period.
The 10 minutes of the 3-on-3 overtime solved nothing and led to a shootout, which turned into a marathon and lasted 11 rounds. Brady Witkin put the Saints ahead with a quick shot in the 6th round of the shootout before Jacob Gaudreau tied the shootout up with a goal to keep the night going.
Finally, in the eleventh round, it was Richards who lifted his shot over the right shoulder of Young to put the Saints ahead again in the shootout before De Kok turned aside Michael Kowalski to give the Saints their fourth consecutive victory with a 5-4 victory.
The Saints are back in action on Friday night as they travel to Blackfalds on Halloween to take on the Bulldogs for the second time this season. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM at Eagle Builders Centre with the game being streamed live on FloHockey and broadcasted live on FloHockey.
