Thunder Lose Action Packed Battle of Edmonton

EDMONTON, AB – FEBRUARY 1, 2019

After a big win on Wednesday night against the Portage Voyagers the Thunder were hoping to keep the momentum rolling into Friday nights battle of Edmonton against the NAIT Ooks however the Ooks would take the 6-5 win in this thriller.

The night looked promising for the Ooks right off the start as they were able to find the back of the net first on a power play goal from #21 Brayden Harris. Shortly after that, the Ooks tallied another one with a slick goal from #17 Brandon Ralph.

Despite the tough start, the Thunder continued to press and answered with a beautiful goal from #11 Ian McLellan to get the Thunder on the board. Penalty troubles continued to haunt the Thunder as #18 Jake Mykitiuk scored on the power play to extend the Ooks lead.

Once again the Thunder were able to dig deep and answer with a goal, this time from #39 Romano Morrison. Before the period was done, the Ooks extended their lead to 4-2 with a goal from #16 Jarid Hauptman.

Although the second period did not see as much scoring as the first, it was excellent hockey to watch with battles taking place on both ends of the rink. The Ooks outshot the Thunder 15-14 in the period and it wasn't until the 15:37 mark of the period that #23 Rory Davidson found the back of the net for the Thunder to bring them within one goal. The Thunder were able to draw a penalty in the final minutes of the period and capitalized with a huge goal from #26 Cory Santoro. Both teams would head into the locker room tied at 4.

The third period had exciting chances on both ends but this time it was the Thunder who scored first. #26 Cory Santoro made the Ooks pay for a costly penalty by scoring his second of the night on the power play.

The Ooks did not seem to be phased by the late period deficit as they responded right away with a goal from #10 Tanner Dunkle who hammered one home as a power play had just ended. The Ooks were not done there as #9 Isaac Farrah added another goal to add some pressure on the Thunder as time was winding down.

After a Thunder time out, keeper #30 Tanner McCorriston was pulled at the 2:01 mark for the extra attacker. Despite defensemen putting their bodies on the line to keep the puck out of the empty net, the Thunder struggled to maintain offensive control and would take the loss 6-5 at home.

Thunder goalie Tanner McCorriston stopped 29 of the 35 shots he faced while Ooks #01 Patrick Gora stopped 31 of 36 shots faced to pick up the W.

Both teams will face off tomorrow night at 7:00PM at NAIT Arena.