The return of a familiar face in between the pipes made an immediate impact for the Okotoks Oilers.
Brady Parker stopped 39 of 42 shots in his first game of the Alberta Junior Hockey League exhibition season as the Oilers got by the Brooks Bandits by a 5-3 score on Oct. 23 at Pason Centennial Arena, picking up their first win in the fifth of six games versus their South Division foes.
"I definitely had to get settled in a bit because it was my first game since February," said Parker, a third-year Oiler and two-time AJHL Top Goaltender finalist. "It was really exciting to play a game against Brooks like that, it's always an easy game to get up for and the boys played really well in front of me.
"I had to miss a couple weeks and was just prepared going in that there were no question marks. I was ready and it was nice to be back."
With returning goaltenders Parker and second-year Oiler Parker Sawka unavailable to play over the first two weekends of exhibition, the Oilers were backstopped by a pair of strong WHL netminders in Calgary Hitmen Jack McNaughton and Prince George Cougar Taylor Gauthier who were both solid in two games of action.
Parker took back his crease on Friday evening and didn't miss a beat, facing 36 shots over the first 40 minutes including a barrage of 21 shots in the middle frame as the Bandits fought to stave off an early deficit.
"We always know they're going to push back, especially if we have a lead," Parker added. "We've just got to weather the storm. We took a couple penalties, but did a good job killing them."
After Owen Cole opened the scoring for the visitors, Jack Works scored on the powerplay and defenceman Coltan Wilkie tallied shorthanded to give the Oilers a 2-1 advantage at the first intermission.
Second-year centre Blake Jacques added two goals in a three minute span in the middle frame with Anthony Cipollone and Ethan Lund countering for the Bandits to cut the lead to 4-3.
"I think we just stuck to our game plan of getting pucks deep, getting our feet moving and getting a high F-3 ," said Jacques. "I think the high F-3 was kind of a weak point in the previous games, but we stuck to those. That and getting the defensive zone locked in there really helped us pull that one through."
North Dakota commit Dylan James notched the crucial insurance marker in the third period, the sophomore sniper's first goal of the exhibition season.
"We definitely had some pressure on ourselves (to win), especially because we only had two games left in this exhibition series," Jacques said. "I think we're just getting used to their style of play, getting used to their tendencies and switching to that.
"All the games have been pretty close, it's a matter of bounces and luck and tonight we got the luck."
Okotoks and Brooks closed the six-game exhibition series on Oct. 24 at the Centennial Regional Arena with the Bandits earning the 7-4 triumph.
Works, Louis Jamernik, Zane Kindrachuk and defenceman Tucker McRae found the back of the net while Parker made 23 saves on 30 shots.
The upcoming exhibition schedule has not yet been released by the AJHL. For more information go to okotoksoilers.ca.
