OKOTOKS, AB (February 20, 2023) — A season-high crowd of 1,238 was treated to a dominant performance by the host Okotoks Oilers on Monday afternoon, as the team took down their divisional rival the Calgary Canucks by a 5-1 score in a Family Day matinee.
Okotoks outshot the Canucks 33-20 in the game, with goaltender Parker Sawka (Cochrane, AB) making 19 saves in his return to the lineup for the win.
Conyr Hellyer (Okotoks, AB) opened the scoring with a backdoor tap-in set up by Sam Huck (Calgary, AB) off the rush at 12:01, making him the 15th Okotoks Oiler in franchise history to reach 30 goals in a season.
Connor Gourley (Calgary, AB) added to the lead with a rebound goal at 19:12, while affiliate defenceman Carter Matthews (Calgary, AB) made it 3-0 at the 12:15 mark of the second period with his first AJHL goal, scored off the rush on a nice setup by Huck.
Calgary pulled closer with a Zephyr LaPlante goal 1:25 into the third after a turnover by Okotoks behind the net, but the Oilers charged back with a net front scramble goal by Zeth Kindrachuk (Calgary, AB) at 11:00 and a turnaround wrister goal by Nolan Flint (Beaverlodge, AB) at 17:53 to notch the 5-1 final score.
Huck led the way offensively with three assists on the night. The Oilers went 1 for 3 on the power play, marking their third consecutive game with at least one power play goal.
Okotoks remains two points behind Blackfalds for second place in the AJHL South with a 34 – 19 – 3 record, but moved 5 points up on Drumheller for the third spot, with one extra game played. They will host the Brooks Bandits on Friday night for the first game of a home-and-home series, with puck drop at 7 PM; tickets are available at tickets.okotoksoilers.ca .