Fortress Centennial Arena remains a tough place to enter.
The Okotoks Oilers (32-16-3) extended their winning streak on home ice to 10 games, a stretch which dates back to late-November, with a 2-1 triumph over the Camrose Kodiaks on Feb. 4.
“Playing at home, everyone is comfortable,” said Oilers defenceman Brody Maguire. “We know the rink, we practice here every day which is always nice.
“Just having that routine that everyone knows when you come to the rink and you do the same thing day in and day out.”
On Saturday, Jagger Tapper staked the Oilers to a 1-0 lead with a first-period tally as the Green and Gold held the Kodiaks to just nine shots through 40 minutes.
“Those periods where we had all that pressure in their zone our main focus was to set each other up,” said Oilers forward Brett Huxley. “That really helped with the smart changes and keeping the momentum going and that helped limiting the shots in the D-zone.”
Sam Huck doubled the advantage, showcasing his terrific acceleration to win a puck battle down the ice off a face-off, streak in on a breakaway and stick it far side on the forehand with 7:15 left in regulation.
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Camrose got on the board with its 15th shot on Parker Sawka, as Nathan Sullivan broke the shutout bid with 5:23 remaining in the final stanza.
“It was one of those games where we knew the score was going to be low coming into it,” Maguire said. “Staying with that mindset of just keeping their scores to a zero and playing tight defence really gave us success."
Down to four regulars on defence due to injury, affiliate blueliners Carter Matthew and Patani Mutambo stepped up and gave Okotoks solid minutes on the back-end.
“They were unreal,” Maguire said. “They filled in those spots great and did their job.”
Away from home, Okotoks had a tough trip to Olds on Feb. 3 with the Grizzlys earning a 3-2 result.
The hosts scored three first period goals and held off a 40-minute surge from the visitors with blueliner Kade Turner and winger Zeth Kindrachuk tickling the twine for Okotoks.
“This was a huge game (against Camrose) and especially as a bounce back from (Olds),” Huxley said. “We knew what we had to do today, simplified in the D-zone, made sure we were strong on the walls and the two points were huge in the standings.”
At 67 points, Okotoks has a four-point cushion on second place above the Blackfalds Bulldogs and is five points up on the Drumheller Dragons.
“We have a tough schedule coming up and have to buckle down a bit,” Maguire said. “I think guys are really embracing that, blocking shots, getting pucks out, solid D and that’s going to give us success for sure.”
Next week, Okotoks remains on home ice with a marquee matchup versus the first-place Brooks Bandits on deck for Feb. 10.
For more information, visit okotoksoilers.ca.
