Sherwood Park, AB: The Sherwood Park Crusaders and the Grande Prairie Storm scored a total of 12 goals Saturday night in a thriller as captain Arjun Atwal celebrated 200 games for the Crusaders.
After a goalless first period, the Grande Prairie Storm opened the scoring 22 seconds into the second. Nathaniel Bierd scored on the power play.
The Cru tied the game up on the eight-minute mark. Jarred White (University of Alabama-Huntsville) finished from close range, with Tanner Fincaryk and Michael Benning (University of Denver) providing the assists.
Carter Savoie (University of Denver) then made his mark on the game. He got the Crusaders into the lead with a bouncing shot into the net. He also swerved around Storm players and finished to extend the lead to 3-1.
The two-goal cushion would not last. Eleven seconds later, Ethan Strang scored for Grande Prairie to half the deficit.
The third period proved to be just as entertaining. Devin Sutton tied the game for the Storm, but it was a short-lived joy. Mathew Shatsky got the Cru back in front 28 seconds later.
Grande Prairie scored a fourth goal, but the Crusaders came from behind once again to take the lead. Vincent Scott and Blake Sydlowski provided for Reid Irwin, who netted his ninth goal of the season. Four minutes later, Shatsky assisted Jacob Kendall for the Cru?s sixth goal.
The game was far from over. Ethan Strang scored his second of the night to close the gap again. However, there was no need for overtime, as Arjun Atwal tossed an empty netter to win the game for Sherwood Park 7-5.