To say the Okotoks Bantam AA Oilers enter the league finals on a high would be a massive understatement.
The Oilers remained perfect in the post-season after dispatching the Cranbrook Hornets 2-0 in the best-of-three semifinal series and earning the right to represent the South Division in the South Central Alberta Hockey League (SCAHL) final.
Okotoks outlasted Cranbrook 7-5 in the series opener Saturday at Oilfields Regional Arena in Black Diamond, on the strength of a four-goal third period.
“We’ve got a lot better hockey in us than what we showed today,” said Oilers head coach Keith Harris after Game 1. “But still good teams find a way to win and that’s what our guys did even though we weren’t at our best, we still found a way. That’s why I’m pretty optimistic there’s good things in store for us because we keep doing that.”
The Hornets held a clear size advantage on the Okotoks squad, but the Oilers operate under the mantra of it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.
“Our guys try to focus on finishing our checks. Even though we’re not as big as they are we’re bumping them every chance we get and trying to take their time away from them,” Harris said. “When our team is playing at our best our team is following that.”
The SCAHL foes exchanged a pair of goals in the opening frame on two tallies from Okotoks pivot Wyatt Derksen who was answered by Cranbrook’s Garreth Osmar and Jayden Jefferson.
It was more of the same in the middle frame as Hornet Rylan D’Etcheverrey and Oiler Ryan Partaker traded markers.
Tate Laycraft opened the game up for the Oilers with consecutive goals to start the third period on a deft deflection of a Mitchell Wolfe slap pass followed by a beautiful breakaway tally.
“Their defenceman lost it on his stick and I took it from him, skated in, stick handled a little and picked the right of his shoulder,” Laycraft said of his second goal. “That’s my signature move on breakaways.”
Oilers winger Tyler Coffey gave Okotoks a three-goal lead on an absolute howitzer from the slot with just over 10 minutes remaining in the 6-3 contest.
“I got a pass off the wall, walked off and took a shot top left and it went in,” Coffey said. “Carter Harris made a really good screen in front of the net and I buried it.”
The Hornets would not go down without a fight, as Liam Murphy scored two goals in 26 seconds on Okotoks netminder Liam Aitken to suddenly put the Oilers on their heels with seven minutes left to play.
“It was pretty intense for a bit there,” Coffey said. “And the coaches called a timeout, calmed us down and we just playing hard and got it done.”
Coffey ensured the victory late with an empty net marker to close the door on the hard-fought 7-5 win for Okotoks.
Game 2 saw the Oilers come away with a 5-2 victory after making the 338 km drive to the Kootenay on March 10.
Carter Harris, Brandt Black, Ty Budai, Cooper Krauss and Nicholas Vanderheyden all found the back of the net for the visitors. Oiler netminder Tanner Webster made 16 saves to pick up the victory.
The sweep is a growing trend in Oilers country as Okotoks is a perfect 4-0 in the playoffs. Okotoks earned a first-round bye as the first-seed in the South Division, but showed little signs of rust in ousting the Lethbridge Raiders 2-0 in the best-of-three quarterfinal series.
Before the Oilers have a shot at the league crown, they will compete for Alberta bragging rights at the Bantam AA Major provincials, March 14-17 in Medicine Hat.
The Oilers are matched in Pool A alongside Fort McMurray, Sylvan Lake and the host Medicine Hat Venom, a team Okotoks edged by two points for first place in the South Division regular season standings.
“I think we can win provincials, honestly,” Laycraft said. “We’re playing like a really solid hockey team right now and I think we can go all the way both in winning the (league) banner and provincials.”
The Bantam AA Oilers will square off with the Wheatland Chiefs in the SCAHL final. The series starts on March 21, when the Oilers host the Chiefs at Murray Arena at 6:15 p.m.
