With the parity in the Alberta Junior Hockey League goaltending is often the difference between a one-goal loss and a two-point effort. Fortunately for the Okotoks Oilers, their duo of masked warriors is giving the team an opportunity to win regardless of opponent.
After starting the season with just nine wins in 23 games, Oilers starting goalie Michael Tadjdeh has just one loss in regulation in 11 starts, while rookie netminder Jared D’Amico has provided valuable cover for his 20-year-old counterpart.
Tadjdeh said the Oilers’ flurry of trade activity in November, which saw the departure of former captain Ben Gamache among others, lit a fire in him to sharpen his goaltending and embrace his role as a leader on the squad.
“When we started making all the moves on the team I sort of brought it upon myself to get that much better and do anything I can to help the team win,” said Tadjdeh.
The proof is in the results, as Tadjdeh has gone 8-1-2 since Nov. 22, a span in which he’s posted two shutouts and improved his save percentage to .902.
Okotoks’ acquisitions of 20-year-old defensive defencemen Craig Gans and Caylen Walls have made life easier for Tadjdeh, said the veteran netminder.
“It’s been pretty huge with those big bodies in front of the net they do a good job of clearing the lanes and letting me see all the pucks,” Tadjdeh said.
Oilers assistant captain Matt Maleschuk said the team’s defensive zone coverage has been a key contributor to the improved play of Tadjdeh.
“He’s always the last line of defence and we kind of left him out to dry more towards the start of the year,” said Maleschuk. “I think it’s more that everyone is buying in and playing better, but obviously (Tadjdeh) has been playing almost back to how he did in playoffs last year.”
Tadjdeh was dynamic for the Oilers during their 2011 postseason run, posting a .927 save percentage and a miniscule 2.05 goals against average. Oilers head coach James Poole said Tadjdeh’s return to form is attributable to the netminder riding a wave of confidence.
“He was kind of fighting the puck a little bit earlier in the year and I think that played with his head a little bit,” said Poole of Tadjdeh. “He’s got some better habits in practice and it’s spilled over in to games and when he started to get a few results going his way, I think he’s just kind of built off that.”
When the veteran netminder is given the night off, D’Amico is more than admirably filling in for him. In fact, the backup has produced the superior goals against average between the two Oiler netminders at, 2.40, and save percentage, .921 in his first season of Junior A hockey.
“I think I’m just getting more comfortable with the speed of play and getting used to shots with guys around (the net),” D’Amico said of his ascension. “I’ve always wanted to get better day by day and it’s pretty much gone like that for me.”
D’Amico, whose given up three goals or less in nine straight starts, said he’s also been challenging shooters more of late, something his five-foot-eight, 155-pound frame demands upon him in between the pipes.
Maleschuk said having a rookie goalie who’s able to replicate the form of the starter when in the net is invaluable.
“Anytime you can have a backup goalie like that, especially a young goalie, and you know you have a chance to win; that’s huge,” he said.
The Oilers have not lost in regulation since Nov. 25, a hot streak that has transformed a sub .500 team in late November to a mark of 21-17-5 and has Okotoks challenging for the second and third seed in the South Division. Poole traces the Oilers’s change in fortune in part to the increasingly effective performance of both of his goalies.
“I think our chemistry has been a big reason for kind of turning the thing around, but I think the consistency in our goaltending has been right there with it,” said Poole. “D’Amico and Tadjdeh have given us an opportunity to win every night.”
The Oilers are back in action on Jan. 13 when they host the Drayton Valley Thunder, 7 p.m. at Centennial Arena. For more information visit www.okotoksoilers.com.
