BROOKS, AB (October 2, 2021) ““ The Okotoks Oilers (3-3) staged a late comeback bid, but ultimately fell short in a 6-3 loss to the Whitecourt Wolverines on Saturday afternoon at the annual AJHL Showcase in Brooks.
Whitecourt scored twice in the opening six minutes, and added two empty netters in the third period to seal the victory. Okotoks ended up outshooting Whitecourt 23-21 in the game.
Ryan Duguay opened the scoring 3:43 in when he chased down a loose puck in the Oiler end and snapped a quick shot by goalie Parker Sawka (Cochrane, AB). Just under a minute later, Chase Broda finished off a 2-on-1 rush with Christiano Aiello to double the Wolverine lead.
At 16:52, Alex Dominique swept a goal home on another odd-man rush, and Whitecourt held a 3-0 lead after the opening period.
After being held to just 3 shots in the first period, the Oilers exploded for 14 in the second, but only converted once on a Tucker McRae (Calgary, AB) point shot on the power play at the 2:59 mark.
In the third, Thomas Vela finished a backdoor play on a Whitecourt man advantage to make it 4-1 at the 7:33 mark. Sam Huck (Calgary, AB) then scored on a breakaway after forcing a turnover in the offensive zone, pulling the Oilers within two. But Cooper Smyl notched an empty netter immediately after the Oilers pulled Sawka, making it 5-2 at the 17:52 mark.
Okotoks made it interesting with a late power play goal by Bowden Singleton (Calgary, AB), who sniped a long point shot from the blue line at 18:41, but Alex Dominique scored a second empty netter soon afterwards to notch the 6-3 final.
The Oilers will next travel to Olds to take on the Grizzlys at 7 PM on Tuesday. Pre-game coverage starts at 6:45 PM on The Eagle 100.9.