A well-oiled machine set the stage for a showcase shutout.
Parker Sawka made 22 saves as the Okotoks Oilers (4-3-0) blanked the Drayton Valley Thunder 7-0 on Oct. 1 to close the Alberta Junior Hockey League Showcase in Blackfalds in sterling form.
“I felt pretty confident out there,” said Sawka, a 2002-born netminder from Cochrane. “We had a bit of a tougher game on Friday and let (Bonnyville) steal a game from us and I thought we really bounced back today after we made some adjustments.
“The boys really helped me out and made my job easy.”
With an emphasis on neutral-zone play and slowing down the opposition’s ability to create on the rush, the Oilers systematically took control on Saturday.
Defenceman Kade Turner opened the scoring in the opening 20 minutes with the Oilers earning a stranglehold with a dominant four-goal middle frame.
Foothills County’s Brody Spencer-Ha scored his second of the season with alternate captains Nick Wolfenberg, Conyr Hellyer along with second-year Oiler Connor Gourley finding the back of the net.
“After the second, Drayton Valley kind of shut it down,” Sawka said. “I knew we had the game in hand, but obviously wanted to do my best to keep it as low as possible on their end. And the boys really beared down on the PK at the end of the second.
“And with the seven goals it obviously makes my job a lot easier.”
In the final frame, blueliner Jamie Weller scored his first of the year and Sam Huck, making his season debut at the Showcase, scored his second goal in as many games.
Sawka’s 22-save performance marked his third shutout with Okotoks.
“It’s really exciting,” Sawka said. “At the Showcase, there’s lots of scouts there watching so you want to perform your best.
“I was happy to be out there playing and the shutout is the best possible outcome.”
On Friday, the Bonnyville Pontiacs clawed back from two one-goal deficits to edge the Oilers by a 4-3 count in Blackfalds.
Hellyer, Huck and rookie winger Hunter Sawka scored in the loss with freshman netminder Alexander Scheiwiller stopping 20 of 24 shots.
Earlier in the week, the rookie shotstopper picked up his first win in his AJHL debut as the Oilers doubled up on the Calgary Canucks 4-2 on Sept. 27 in the Stampede City.
Scheiwiller, a 2005-born Calgarian, had 23 saves on 25 shots.
At the other end of the ice, Gourley had a two-goal night with Wolfenberg and Spencer-Ha also finding the back of the net.
Next week, Okotoks has a home-and-home set with the Brooks Bandits on Oct. 7 and 8, the latter of which is a 7 p.m. start at the Okotoks Centennial Arenas.
The Oilers close Thanksgiving weekend with an Oct. 10 matinee against the Olds Grizzlys with puck-drop at 4:15 p.m.
For more information on the team, go to okotoksoilers.ca.
