After falling short of a berth in the Alberta Junior Hockey League final once again the Okotoks Oilers face another off-season of questions.
The Oilers’ season ended in a most disappointing fashion as Okotoks squandered a 3-1 lead in the South Division final series to the rival Camrose Kodiaks losing Game 7 at home on March 29.
“We definitely didn’t play up to our potential,” said Oilers head coach James Poole.
Among the multitude of reasons for the early playoff exit, the Oilers’ powerplay was a specific source of disappointment.
Okotoks’ scored only five times in 52 opportunities with the man advantage for a conversion rate of nine per cent in the final.
The Oilers also failed to score a powerplay goal in the series’ last three games — going scoreless in 16 chances.
“Our powerplay didn’t make Camrose pay for their poor discipline,” Poole said.
Oilers co-captain Ben Gamache said his team was perhaps too anxious when it came to the man advantage.
“It’s pretty hard to explain,” he said. “It’s almost like we were too nervous to make a mistake out there.”
With the Kodiaks’ aggressive penalty killing, there was an extra emphasis on puck possession in the opposition’s zone.
In order to accomplish puck control, the Oilers needed to outwork their opponents — something Poole said they did not do.
“Ultimately, I just thought their penalty kill really outworked our powerplay,” he said.
Being outworked by the opposition became a theme for the Oilers in their final three games.
Poole said the Kodiaks’ willingness to forecheck and their relentless pursuit of the puck was not matched by the South Division’s top-seeded Oilers.
Although they held a distinct advantage, talent-wise, over Camrose, the Oilers coach insisted his team was not willing to pay the price to win.
“We had some individuals that didn’t compete to a level that you need to have in the playoffs,” Poole said. “Our grit level was the downfall.”
Gamache agreed with his coach’s assessment.
“We did have some spurts of aggressiveness… but it wasn’t consistent enough,” he said.
The failure of the Oilers to match the Kodiaks’ grit left Poole and his coaching staff with a clear blueprint on how to improve for next season.
Changing the culture in the organization will be a critical first step, said the Oilers coach and general manager.
The AJHL’s South Division regular season champions will look to adopt more of a team mentality among their recruits going forward.
“Some of our culture around Okotoks is geared towards individualism; the guys going after their stats and just worrying about scholarships and just the individual accolades,” Poole explained. “In the postseason, it’s all about the team and I think we had some players that weren’t quite on that page.”
Gamache echoed his coach, “We just need to get more grit.”
The Oilers’ co-captain said he is planning to return for his third season with Okotoks in the fall.
The chance to finish what he started and remedy two-straight seasons of playoff disappointments remains one of Gamache’s main goals. For the second consecutive season the Oilers lost in the AJHL semi-final.
After falling in Game 7 in front of a packed house of 1,922 at the Centennial Arena, Gamache expressed regret for letting the fans down.
“We feel like we let them down too,” he said. “They come out and support us every game and we were up 3-1 and ended up losing three straight. It’s kind of devastating.”
The process of re-loading the Oilers’ roster for next year is already underway as Poole will be forced to fill some gaps in personnel this offseason.
The blueline will need to be rebuilt as the defensive core will be gutted as the Oilers will lose AJHL Top Defenceman award-winner Colten Hayes as well as Matt Strong, Nick Bell and Brad Ryan.
“The biggest thing where we’re hurting is obviously on the back end, losing four players,” Poole said.
Okotoks management will seek to fill the void with young prospects and an established veteran who can step in and play right away.
The Oilers’ forward lines will also have a similar look heading into the fall.
Co-captain Jeff Barrett, AJHL leading scorer Kyle Reynolds and Michael Brown will be gone next season, but Okotoks will look to fill the scoring void from within.
“It’ll be a little bit of shuffling all over,” Poole said.
One of the bright spots among the expected returnees was the impressive development of some of the Oilers’ young forwards.
Rookies Scott Bolland and Houston Hazelaar took major strides in their rookie season, which will benefit the Oilers going forward, said Gamache.
“I know we’re going to be a little bit better next year,” he said.
After losing Hazelaar to an injury prior to the Camrose series, Poole was complimentary of Bolland’s ability to take his game to the next level.
“I thought he really rose to the occasion and stepped up his game,” he said.
With spring camps opening next weekend, the Oilers have already started to prepare for the 2011-2012 season.
Gamache promised his club would do everything to get better for next season and reward the fans for their support.
“I think we’re just going to learn from what we did this year and I think it’s just going to make us stronger,” he said.
