As the old saying goes, “you’ve got to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good.”
The Junior A Oilers put that saying into action against the Canmore Eagles on Friday night at the Centennial Arena in Okotoks.
A third period deflection by Kyle Reynolds gave the Oilers a 3-2 decision – the first of two victories over the weekend as Okotoks also downed the Camrose Kodiaks 3-1 the following night in the Kodiak’s own barn.
The triumph over the division-rival Kodiaks extended the Oilers’ lead to 12 points atop the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s South Division. Okotoks improved to 26-9-0-3 for 55 points while Camrose sits at 43 points with a 20-14-0-3 record, good for second place.
The first two periods in Camrose played out like expected — a tilt between two evenly matched clubs with a lot on the line.
In fact, the first goal of the game wasn’t even registered until 28 seconds into the third period when Ben Gallacher gave the Kodiaks a 1-0 lead.
The lead did not last long.
The Oilers’ Michael Brown continued his hot play of late with an unassisted marker to bring the game back to even.
Reynolds then added his second game-winner in as many nights with just over seven minutes remaining. Ben Gamache was credited with the assist on Reynolds’ 31st of the year.
Oiler defenceman Colten Hayes would add an empty-netter to put the finishing touches on a 3-1 road victory.
Michael Tadjdeh made 35 saves for the win while Brayden Hopfe was saddled with the loss for the Kodiaks.
The win in Camrose capped a good weekend for the Oilers which started with a home win over Canmore on Friday.
After Okotoks jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Friday night at the Centennial Arena, the Canmore Eagles stormed back to the tie the game after two periods.
The Eagles’ relentless forecheck flustered an injury-plagued Oilers squad that seemed to have trouble executing a simple breakout.
With the shots decidedly in favour of Canmore, the game seemed to tilt in the visitor’s favour as the third period wore on.
However, the Oilers had something the Eagles did not – the league’s leading scorer.
Reynolds reversed the Oilers’ fortunes with one flick of his stick, as he deflected home a goal with less than 50 seconds remaining in regulation.
The goal came at the protest of some of the Eagles’ players who contended Reynold’s stick was above the crossbar when he deflected the puck. The protests fell on deaf ears, however, and the goal stood.
The shell-shocked Eagles were unable to respond and the Oilers stole a win on a night arguably not theirs.
Michael Matyas picked up the win in net for the Oilers making 26 saves in the process.
Canmore captain Tyler Horton was obviously devastated at the game’s outcome – especially on the heels of a dominant effort by his team on the road.
“It could’ve gone either way. It just hurts so bad,” he said.
Although they came out on the losing end, Horton did note the score reflected a better effort than the one put forth four days prior. The Oilers defeated Canmore 6-2 in the first of half of what amounted to a home-and-home series between the two clubs.
Operating with the league’s top powerplay, Okotoks has become quite proficient at drawing penalties through trash talk and physical play.
The ability to incite undisciplined penalties is what sunk the Eagles in their first meeting, Horton said.
“They’ve got the number one powerplay in the league and it killed us in the other game, so we tried to make the conscious effort tonight to not go in the box,” he said.
The effort seemed to work as Okotoks only went 1-4 with the man advantage on Friday.
For the Oilers’ part, head coach James Poole said he was happy with Friday’s win, though he did not disagree with the sentiments his club was fortunate to claim the victory.
“They’re probably just in saying that. I think we definitely stole a game tonight,” he said.
Meanwhile, the busiest person on the Oilers’ staff might be the trainer.
Last week’s wins were all the more impressive considering the rash of injuries the Oilers have suffered as of late.
Playing without captain Jeff Barrett in what Poole described as a “long-term” (four to five weeks) injury, Okotoks has also had to deal with several defencemen going down.
Newly signed Nick Bell has been unavailable and World Junior A Challenge Team Canada West selection Rhett Holland is facing a week-to-week timetable for his return.
The sudden gap in the Oilers’ roster has led to more responsibility for veteran Colten Hayes and youngsters like Sasha Larocque.
The Oilers will just have to stay afloat for now, Poole indicated.
“We’re undermanned, we’ve got a few injuries and missing a few players,” he said. “We’ll have to make due.”
The Oilers will entertain the Grande Prairie Storm on Thursday before taking to the road for their final two games before the holiday break.
Thursday night’s puck drop will be at 7:30 p.m at the Centennial Arena.
