The Olds Grizzlys’ 3-0 victory over the Okotoks Oilers on March 10 snapped a run of 17-straight one-goal games between the Alberta Junior Hockey League foes and has the Oilers on the brink of elimination.
The Oilers trail their best-out-of-seven AJHL quarterfinal playoff series 3-1 despite taking one of two games from their South Division rivals’ barn.
Oilers head coach James Poole said the Grizzlys earned full marks for their victory in Game 4.
“Really we just got outcompeted, we had a lot of guys looking gun shy, and just not wanting the puck, guys just not going to the front of the net,” Poole said at the Olds Sportsplex after Game 4. “Everything was to the perimeter and their forecheck really hemmed us in.”
Poole said it’s been a competitive series other than the convincing loss in the fourth game. The Oilers lost Games 1 and 2 by 3-2 scores and won the third game 5-4 after completing a terrific comeback with two goals in the last 1:16 of play.
“Game 1 we should have really won that game, we had the opportunities and it would be a 2-2 series,” Poole said. “Game 2 we were really undisciplined, Game 3 we had a little bit of lulls, but we deserved the win there.”
Oilers captain Derek Bacon said the difference in the series has been the Grizzlys heeding the advice of their decision makers and sticking to their game plan.
“I think it’s coming down to them doing what their coaches are asking them to do,” Bacon said. “The one game that we did what James (Poole) really asked us to do and what we focused on, led us to win that game.
“We’re just trying to play between whistles and play hard and really get to the net. It worked in (Game 3) and we really got away from it in (Game 4).”
Two of the Grizzlys’ three goals in Game 4 were a direct result of Okotoks turnovers in their own zone. Bacon said the Oilers’ puck management has let them down in the series.
“A lot of goals have just been our mistakes and they’ve been forcing it with their (defencemen) pinching down,” Bacon said.
Olds head coach Brett Hopfe said his team has been blessed with good fortune against Okotoks.
“I thought we got lucky in the first three games; we may have been outplayed and the bounces sort of went for us and we were lucky enough to capitalize on our chances.”
Olds’ second line of Bart Moran, Dylan Hubbs and Mitch Owsley has been dominant through four games, amassing a combined seven goals and 10 points as well as accounting for two game-winning tallies.
“That line has been phenomenal for us,” Hopfe said. “We picked up Owsley at the trade deadline (from Drumheller) we felt like we needed a second line forward that was going to be able to score goals for us. Hubbs and Moran are grittier players and they seem to get him the puck.”
Olds netminder Jesse Ehnisz stood on his head in the first two games of the series in Okotoks, stopping 80 of the 84 shots he faced while picking up a pair of wins. A less than stellar performance in Game 3, in which the netminder allowed five goals in a loss, gave the goaltending reins back to Brandon Thiessen. The goalie switch in Game 4 paid off in spades as the Saskatchewan native pitched a shutout in his first start of the series.
“It is nice that we have two goalies that have lots of confidence and are playing extremely well,” Hopfe said.
Game 5 was March 13 in Okotoks, but results were too late for press time. If necessary, Game 6 goes March 15 in Olds. For more information go to www.okotoksoilers.com.
