FORT McMURRAY, AB (February 11, 2022) ““ Jack McNaughton (Calgary, AB) stopped all 23 shots he faced, and Rieger Lorenz (Calgary, AB) scored two goals to push his team-leading total to 35, as the Okotoks Oilers shut out the Fort McMurray Oil Barons 5-0 on Friday night to kick off a three-game weekend road trip.
The win was the 200th in the head coaching career of two-time AJHL Coach of the Year Tyler Deis, as McNaughton moved one back of the franchise record for shutouts in a season (5, set by Nic Renyard in 2014-15), and Lorenz broke Corban Knight”™s record for goals by an Oiler rookie (34).
Lorenz”™s opening and game-winning goal came with 5:08 left in a tightly played first period, when he circled from the end wall to the high slot, outwaited a defender, and fired a speedy wrister past affiliate goalie Austin White for a 1-0 lead after the first.
In the second, the Oilers exploded for three goals, outshooting the Oil Barons 12-9 and not allowing a shot for more than seven minutes to open the frame. Sam Moshurchak (Calgary, AB) finished off a cross-slot pass from Brody Spencer-Ha (Foothills County, AB) to make it 2-0 at the 2:07 mark, and the score remained that way until Ryan Neumann (Calgary, AB) fired home a top shelf backhander from the side of the net with 2:01 left. Moments later, Lorenz scored his second of the game after taking a pass from Ty Yoder (Tofield, AB) sneaking in alone, and backhanding a shot home.
Brett Huxley (Calgary, AB) capped off the scoring 39 seconds into the third period with a sharp angle shot off the rush to notch the 5-0 final score.
The road trip continues Saturday night for the Oilers as they take on the Bonnyville Pontiacs at 7:00 PM. Pre-game coverage starts at 6:45 on The Eagle 100.9.