DRAYTON VALLEY, AB (November 28, 2021) ““ Riding high after back to back wins over Grande Prairie and Whitecourt, the Okotoks Oilers (12-15-1) fell 5-1 in Drayton Valley on Sunday afternoon to cap off their three game northwestern road swing.
With the loss, the Oilers”™ lead over Canmore for fourth place in the AJHL South is cut to 1 point after the Eagles fell in overtime to Camrose the same day.
Okotoks got off to a tremendous start, outshooting Drayton Valley 12-5, but couldn”™t convert and instead found itself down 1-0 after Hunter Price scored from the end wall on a bank shot off of goalie Parker Sawka (Cochrane, AB) with 5:13 left in the frame.
Things flipped on their side in the second period, however. Evan Forrest scored on a net front scramble at the 7:51 mark to double the Thunder lead, and just ten seconds later Stephen Kirkpatrick finished off a rebound chance off the rush to make it 3-0. Ethan Casper scored at the 13:27 mark to give DV a commanding 4-0 advantage, and forcing Okotoks into a goaltender change.
The Oilers then pulled the goalie with nearly 7 minutes left in the third, pressing with extended offensive zone time. They broke through with 4:15 left when a Riley Bodnarchuk (Okotoks, AB) centering pass from the end wall was deflected home by Brendan Boyle (Kelowna, BC) to cut the deficit to 3.
But after an Oiler point shot resulted in a shattered stick, Kadyn Chabot took the puck for Drayton Valley and fired in the empty netter from the neutral zone for a 5-1 final score.
Okotoks outshot Drayton Valley 14-2 in the third and 31-22 overall in the game. They”™re on the road Tuesday night taking on the Olds Grizzlys at 7:30 PM, with pre-game coverage starting at 7:15 on The Eagle 100.9.