The Okotoks Oilers need to find a way to slay the dragons.
Okotoks has dominated Drumheller over the past two seasons including a sweep in the first round of the Alberta Junior Hockey League playoffs last season, but it’s the Dragons that have been doing the slaying this season.
The Drumheller Dragons improved their record to 3-0 this season versus the Oilers after handing the hosts a 6-2 drubbing Saturday at the Pason Centennial Arena in Okotoks.
“For the guys returning from last year we were pretty sour about losing to Okotoks in the playoffs,” said Dragon captain Brennan Baxendall. “We have a different team this year with a lot of new guys brought in and somehow we’ve found a way every time against Okotoks to come out strong.”
The Oilers dispatched the Dragons in three games in last February’s playoff series and the orange-clad team has since developed a healthy level of sports hate for its divisional foe.
“There’s three teams in the South we pretty much hate and Okotoks is one of them,” Baxendall said.
“Being here for three years, the last two years Okotoks has had our number so it’s nice to turn the table on the Oilers and show them what it’s like.”
The Oilers posted a 5-0-1 mark against the Dragons in the 2011-12 season.
None of the three meetings this season have been close as the Dragons have outscored the Oilers by a 16-3 margin, including a 10-3 advantage in the Oilers’ barn.
“I don’t know if it’s that we’re not giving them enough credit for being a much better team than they were last year,” admitted Okotoks co-captain Greg Lamoureux. “You can look at almost every loss we’ve had this year it’s not that the other team has beaten us, we’ve made mental errors and bad mistakes early.”
Drumheller’s Bryton Mills opened the scoring on Saturday and was answered 14 seconds later by a tally from Okotoks blueliner Robert Hamilton. Stephen Doane restored the visitors’ lead with just under five minutes left in the opening period.
The Dragons took command with a four-goal middle frame highlighted by three-goals in 3:04 which ultimately chased Oilers’ starter Jared D’Amico out of the goal in favour of Keith Hamilton.
Okotoks head coach James Poole said the result may have resembled the season-series with Drumheller, but the performance was unique from the previous two losses.
“It was a bit of a different story,” Poole said. “They really exposed our forecheck, we made some big mistakes on the forecheck and then obviously we gave up a number of odd-man rushes that they capitalized on. Ultimately our compete level wasn’t good enough.
“It got ugly in the second period and we really put ourselves out of the game.”
The four-goal loss put a sour note on what was an otherwise exemplary week for Okotoks featuring two wins over the South Division’s current basement dwellers.
The Oilers edged the Canmore Eagles 3-2 in overtime on Dec. 11. Co-captain Robbie Fisher notched the game winner while shorthanded 1:11 into the extra session. Mitch Amatto and Scott Bolland also bulged the twine for Okotoks with Jared D’Amico picking up the victory.
The Calgary Canucks visited Okotoks for the first time this season on Dec. 13 and with a depleted lineup and were handed a 7-1 thumping.
Amatto, along with linemates Spencer Kryczka and Braeden Salverda, all registered three-point performances. Fisher added two goals of his own and John Edwardh contributed a goal and an assist. Keith Hamilton turned aside 16 shots for the easy victory in goal.
“The Canucks game was good in terms of the Salverda, Amatto and Kryczkas having good games, but ultimately we’re not quite where we want to be,” Poole said.
Okotoks (20-13-2) sits third in the South and holds just a four-point lead on the smoking-hot Dragons. The Oilers were in Brooks for their final road game of 2012 on Dec. 18, but results were too late for press time. Okotoks then hosts its final game before the Christmas break on Dec. 21 when the Grande Prairie Storm visit Pason Centennial Arena at 7 p.m.
For more information go to www.okotoksoilers.ca
