BONNYVILLE, AB (February 12, 2022) ““ Less than two minutes away from a regulation win, the Okotoks Oilers saw victory slip away on Saturday night, as a late tying goal from Sebastian Tamburro and overtime winner from A.J. Macaulay turned a 2-1 lead into a 3-2 overtime loss to the host Bonnyville Pontiacs.
Despite the loss, the point in the standings narrowed the team”™s deficit to Camrose for third in the AJHL South to 8 points, with a game in hand.
The Oilers opened the scoring 7:52 into the game on a net front backhand goal by Ty Yoder (Tofield, AB), doubling the Pontiacs in shots 12-6 in a sensational start for the road team. A scoreless second saw the Oilers still holding a 21-17 shot advantage, before the tide turned in the third.
Okotoks did double the lead early in the final regulation frame, when Conyr Hellyer (Okotoks, AB) finished off a backdoor pass from Bowden Singleton (Calgary, AB) at the 4:02 mark. But Bonnyville got on the board on a late power play goal from Cole Hipkin on a net front scramble at 16:16, and tied it on Tamburro”™s shot from the slot with just 1:43 left in the period, outshooting Okotoks 15-4 in that frame.
After some extended Okotoks possession in the extra frame, Macaulay danced around a defender on a 1-on-1 and scored on the breakaway to give Bonnyville the dramatic victory. Jack McNaughton (Calgary, AB) made 33 saves in the effort, including three in overtime, as the Oilers were outshot 36-25 in the game.
Okotoks will finish off their road trip Sunday afternoon in Lloydminster against the Bobcats at 2:00 PM. Pre-game coverage starts at 1:45 PM on The Eagle 100.9.