GRANDE PRAIRIE, AB (November 26, 2021) — Jack McNaughton (Calgary, AB) posted his second straight shutout since joining the Okotoks Oilers 11-15-1), making 24 saves in a nailbiting 1-0 win over the Grande Prairie Storm on Friday night.
With the win, the Oilers catapult back into 4th place in the AJHL South division after beginning the evening in sixth, one point ahead of fifth place Canmore.
After Okotoks outshot Grande Prairie 10-6 in the first period but the game remained scoreless, the opening goal finally came 14:25 into the second period, with Okotoks on its third power play. Rookie defenceman Brody Maguire (Calgary, AB) held the puck in the high slot, and threaded a perfect pass to Brett Huxley (Calgary, AB) at the left side of the net, whose high shot beat goaltender Aidan Feddema and popped the water bottle for a 1-0 Oiler lead.
With just 7 seconds left in that period, McNaughton (Calgary, AB) made a big cross-crease save on a Storm forward to keep his team ahead.
Grande Prairie came out firing in the third, outshooting Okotoks 6-2 early and nearly tying the game on a 3-on-2 rush where a perfect pass through the slot led to another key shoulder save for McNaughton.
But with just over five minutes left in the game, Oiler defenceman Riley Bodnarchuk (Okotoks, AB) was called for roughing after pushing a puck carrying player down to the ice. A key shorthanded breakaway from Brendan Boyle (Lake Country, BC) was stopped point-blank by Feddema, and McNaughton made two key saves to keep it 1-0.
With just over 90 seconds left, a key clearance by Sam Moshurchak (Calgary, AB) led to the Oiler defenceman getting shouldered in the head by a Grande Prairie attacker, giving Okotoks a late power play. But Grande Prairie pulled the goaltender and pressed late, getting several dangerous long point shots that didn”™t connect before one final clearance gave the Oilers the dramatic win.
Okotoks outshot Grande Prairie 26-24 in the game. They”™ll continue the road trip Saturday night with a 7:30 puck drop in Whitecourt, taking on the host Wolverines for the third time this season. Pre-game coverage starts at 7:15 on The Eagle 100.9.