OKOTOKS, AB (November 5, 2023) — Christian Green (Boothwyn, PA) stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced, including some head-standing saves, as the Okotoks Oilers got four goals from four different goal scorers en route to a 4-1 win over the Bonnyville Pontiacs in front of a crowd of 1,008 on Sunday afternoon.
With the win, the Oilers move to 12-7-1 on the campaign, sixth place in the AJHL but only one points back of fourth place with a game in hand on both Calgary and Bonnyville.
Okotoks converted twice on long point shots in the first period, taking the lead on a Jackson Rowland (Calgary, AB) tip of a Hudson Gainer (Medicine Hat, AB) wrister, then following up with a power play shot by Rylan Brown (Sherwood Park, AB) that deflected off both Brett Huxley (Calgary, AB) and Sam Huck (Calgary, AB) to give the Oilers a 2-0 lead after the first. Green shone with two key saves in the first; denying Tyler Blocha on a net front tip off the rush, and Billy Batten on a wrister from the low slot using his glove.
Early in the second, off a defensive zone draw, Hayden Fechner (Edmonton, AB) skated all the way into the offensive zone, gaining a step on a defender and sliding a low shot between the pads of goalie Nathan St-Germain, giving his team a 3-0 lead and prompting the Pontiacs to switch goalies, bringing Bodee Weiss in relief.
Not long after the goalie switch, a wide open Nicolas Beaudoin appeared to have Green beaten as he tucked a puck through the crease and then got it back on a return pass, only to find the Oiler netminder kicking out his right skate to deny the backdoor tap in and keep the 3-0 lead.
Later in the period, the Pontiacs finally did break through when Green again robbed Beaudoin on a net front shot, but Max Seguin deposited the rebound to cut the deficit to two in the final minute of the frame.
In the third, Owen MacNeil (Calgary, AB) notched his first goal as an Oiler, sniping a wrister on the blocker side after a pass from the end wall by Jack Silverberg (Sherwood Park, AB). Green followed up with spectacular saves on a breakaway for Ludovic Tardif, and a two-on-one wrist shot chance by Luka Sukovic, to finish up his fifth win of his rookie campaign. Shots in the game finished tied 23-23.
The Oilers will match up again with the Pontiacs on Friday night when they head to the RJ Lalonde Arena. Puck drop is at 7 PM with pregame coverage starting at 6:45 on The Eagle 100.9.