The St. Paul Atom 1 Canadiens overcame a three-goal deficit to force a tie against the first place Lloydminster Blazers on Saturday evening at the CAP Arena.
The Blazers came out strong in the first period, controlling possession and leaving the Canadiens on their heels, but goaltender Bradley Mistol’s strong performance weathered the storm and held the Blazers to only one goal in the first period.
Lloydminster continued to press offensively in the second period, and while they extended the lead to 3-0, Mistol once again shut the door on a number of chance opportunities to keep his team in the game.
“I was just trying to focus and play well . . . it felt really good,” Mistol said of his strong performance in goal, adding that he loves being an Atom 1 Canadien. “I have tons of friends on the team, it’s fun."
With three minutes remaining in the second period, Jayden Joly opened the scoring for St. Paul and cut the Blazers lead down to 3-1.
"I just skated down and took a shot,” said Joly, who thanked the work of his goaltender for keeping the Canadiens in the game. “He’s been doing really good since the beginning of the year."
Moments after Joly’s marker opened the score for St. Paul, Logan Gratton followed it up with a huge breakaway goal that saw him dive over the goaltender and through the crease to push the puck into the net, assisted by Liam Boyko.
“I just had it on my stick the whole time. I had control of it, and I deked the goalie then scored,” said Gratton, adding that he’s never scored a goal quite like that one before.
The Blazers managed to bounce right back after the two quick Habs goals, slipping one past Mistol to bring the score to 4-2 after 40 minutes.
The Canadiens regrouped in the second intermission and stepped back into the ice in the third determined to climb back into the game. Four minutes into the third, Damien Langevin-Whitford cut the Blazers lead down to one with a hard fought goal, with assists from Tyler Fontaine and Owen Boucher, and suddenly the Blazers were on their heels.
The Canadiens kept the pressure on Lloydminster and used the momentum to force a big turnover. Gratton then picked up the puck, carried it into the offensive zone and fired a hard shot on goal, beating Blazers net minder Ries Light over the glove, and tying the game up at 4-4.
“They’re the top team in the league, and we’re proud to have tied them,” said Gratton, adding that “having friends” is his favourite part of being a St. Paul Canadien.
Mistol, whose strong performance through the third period held the Blazers off the board and helped ensure his team’s comeback to force the tie, said his team had a simple mantra heading into the third period.
"Just keep on going, and working hard,” said Mistol.
