Teddy bears took flight early in the first period as the Olds Grizzlys lifted off for a thrilling 5-4 victory over the visiting Lloydminster Bobcats on Saturday, December 6th.
Forward Sam Giangualano (2006) from Calgary lit the lamp after a great individual effort at 6:08 of the opening stanza and fans were able to litter the ice at the Sportsplex with the stuffed toys on Teddy Bear Toss night presented by The Brick.
Olds would take the lead four times in total – 1-0, 2-1, 4-2, and 5-4 – as part of a huge win over the second place team in the North Division. The Bobcats (15-8-1-1) are also second overall in the Alberta Junior Hockey League so far this season.
Defenceman Brendan Thomas (2006) from Calgary, forward Ryder Riedel (2007) from Didsbury, blueliner Ryland Molde (2007) from Morlach, Saskatchewan, and forward Ayaan Vira (2007) from Okotoks also tallied for the Grizzlys as part of the victory over Lloydminster. Forward Jordan Wales (2006) from Delta, B.C. had a pair of assists.
Vira’s goal at 18:06 of the second period broke a 4-all tie and stood up as the game winner. It was his first point and first goal in the AJHL in his 9th game with Olds and 10th game overall. He played one game for the Grande Prairie Storm last season. Vira says “it means a lot, especially to get (my) first goal of the season to get that off (my) back and contribute to a win is huge, so I’ll be remembering this for the rest of my lift for sure.”
Goaltender Connor Johnson (2006) from Calgary made 30 saves to pick up his sixth win of the season in net for Olds.
The Grizzlys (9-16-1-1) suffered a 4-2 setback on Sunday, December 7th to the visiting Devon Xtreme (10-11-1-1). They will face off with the Xtreme again on December 12th in Devon. Olds is tied with the Drayton Valley Thunder for fifth place in the South Division and both teams are 5 points back of the fourth and final playoff spot which is currently occupied by the Canmore Eagles (12-11-1-0).
The next home game for Olds will be on Wednesday, December 17th at 7pm against the Grande Prairie Storm (13-10-0-1).
96.5 The Ranch collected post-game audio from Ayaan Vira.
Hear more post-game comments from Aaron Sawatzky.
The Ranch had this pre-game conversation with Tyson Soloski, Head Coach of the Olds Grizzlys.
