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Sawka shuts out Thunder as Oilers win 6-0

DRAYTON VALLEY, AB (January 22, 2023) — Parker Sawka (Cochrane, AB) stopped all 24 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season, as the Okotoks Oilers capped off their final North division road trip of the season with a 6-0 win in Drayton Valley on Sunday afternoon.

Sam Huck (Calgary, AB) shone with two shorthanded goals in the game, while the Oilers got the remaining four goals from four different goal scorers.

A dominant first period saw the Oilers outshoot Drayton Valley 17-9, but hold only a one-goal lead on a Shayne Tibbles (Calgary, AB) rebound goal just 90 seconds in. But Thunder goalie Colin Reay kept the game close, until Sawka stood out in the second period, making two desperation saves to keep his team ahead. Not long after, the Oilers began to pull away, first on a Huck shorthanded breakaway goal at 11:13, and then on a Conyr Hellyer (Okotoks, AB) wrist shot from the left circle at 13:05.

In the third, the Oilers scored three more; a Jagger Tapper (Calgary, AB) wrist shot off the rush at 4:42, a Kade Turner (Calgary, AB) power play goal on a backdoor wrist shot at 12:09, and Huck’s second of the game, stripping a defender of the puck in front of the net on the penalty kill and sniping a wrister past Reay to notch the 6-0 final score.

Okotoks outshot their opponents 53-24 in the game, and will next head to Olds to take on the Grizzlys on Tuesday night at 7:00 PM. Pre-game coverage starts at 6:45 PM on The Eagle 100.9.