OKOTOKS, AB (Feb. 10, 2023) — Despite drawing a crowd of 1,144 to Okotoks Centennial Arena, the Okotoks Oilers dropped a 4–0 decision to the AJHL-leading Brooks Bandits on Friday evening.
Alex Scheiwiller (Calgary, AB) stopped all 10 shots he faced in the third period after coming into the game in relief of Parker Sawka (Cochrane, AB), who appeared to suffer an injury late in the second period and did not return after the intermission.
With the loss, the Oilers’ ten-game home winning streak came to an end. They matched the Bandits’ energy level early in the first period but tailed off as the evening progressed, conceding the game’s first goal to Brendan Poshak with 3:30 remaining in the opening frame.
Both of the Brandits’ Ukrainian-born players scored in the second period and were ultimately included among the Carstars Okotoks Three Stars of the game. Danylo Korzhyletski made it 2–0 off a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play just 3:36 into the second; Mikhail Simchuk poked a loose puck past Sawka at the 11:08 mark to increase the lead to 3–0.
Caelan Fitzpatrick sealed the deal for Brooks into Scheiwiller’s vacated cage with 1:11 remaining in regulation time. With the 4–0 win, Brooks fittingly improved to 4–0–0 against the Oilers in the two teams’ 2022–23 season series.
After Friday’s disappointing loss to Brooks on home ice, the Oilers will hit the road next week to take on the Blackfalds Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. MT on Valentine’s Day.
Recap: Mike Gould
Photo: Chad Goddard