CAMROSE, AB (September 17, 2021) ““ The Okotoks Oilers (0-1) fell in their season opener 4-2 to the Kodiaks in Camrose on Friday night.
Outshot 14-4 in the first period, the Oilers recovered with a highlight reel goal by Bowden Singleton (Calgary, AB) in the second period, but never led in the game.
Owen Dean opened the scoring for Camrose in their dominant first with a tipped point shot on the power play just 65 seconds into the game.
In the dying seconds of the period, Sam Huck (Calgary, AB) came as close as possible to tying the game with a shot from the slot, but rang the inside of the post.
Camrose doubled the lead shorthanded just 6:27 into the second period with a breakaway goal from Carson Whyte, but Singleton responded with a shorthanded breakaway goal of his own at the 14:24 mark to pull within one goal. The Oilers gained a bit more momentum when rookie defenceman Kade Turner (Calgary, AB) dropped the gloves with veteran Greg Nelson of Camrose and scored a decisive win with a flurry of forearm shivers and right hooks.
In the third, the Oilers missed on a backdoor pass by Singleton on an odd man rush that nearly found Brody Spencer-Ha (Okotoks, AB) for a key goal, but instead it was Camrose rattling off two straight goals from Griffen Fraser on a wrist shot from the slot, and Mathieu Gautier on an empty netter from the red line. Captain Tucker McRae (Calgary, AB) drew the team closer with a point shot goal at 17:54, but it was as close as the Oilers would come as they dropped the 4-2 decision.
The teams will meet again Saturday night at 7 PM to cap off the weekend series. The game will be broadcast for free online at OkotoksOilers.ca with Gino De Paoli.