OKOTOKS, AB (January 25, 2022) ““ The Okotoks Oilers (24-20-2) extended their home winning streak to six games with their most dominant home win of the season, outscoring the Canmore Eagles 8-2 and outshooting them by a 43-15 margin on Tuesday night.
The eight Oiler goals came from seven different goal scorers, as Okotoks moved four games above the .500 mark for the first time this season.
Austin Reschny (Macklin, SK) opened the scoring just 2:18 into the game on a post-and-in shot from the left circle, and Bowden Singleton (Calgary, AB) doubled that lead at 4:29 on a rebound goal. Carter Massier (Peace River, AB) roofed the puck on a breakaway at 7:03 to make it 3-0, before Kyle Young got Canmore on the board on a one-timer from the slot just 34 seconds later. With 17 seconds left in the period, Rieger Lorenz (Calgary, AB) scored on a wrist shot from the right circle for a 4-1 Oiler lead after 20.
Only one goal was scored in the second, as Nolan Flint (Beaverlodge, AB) won a faceoff to captain Tucker McRae (Calgary, AB) at the left point, who charged down the left wall, cut in front of the net, and tucked in a backhand shot for a 5-1 Oiler lead.
Brendan Boyle (Lake Country, BC) scored on a shorthanded breakaway 5:28 into the third for a 6-1 Okotoks lead, before Emanuel Hudson tallied on a backdoor shot at 10:06 to narrow the deficit to four.
But at the 10:40 mark, the game went off the rails. Rookie Ryan Neumann (Calgary, AB) and Canmore captain Cale Lyons dropped the gloves and fought in a spirited tilt, with the younger Oiler holding his own against a player three years his senior. But on the ensuing stoppage, with players jostling at the benches and the linesmen nowhere near them, tempers flared again and four players became tied up in brief battles before the officials could separate them, leading to ejections for Reschny and Ethan Jamernik for Okotoks, and Hudson and Riley Dekowny for Canmore.
Not long after, with the Oilers on another penalty kill, Massier scored his second of the game on a low wrist shot off the rush for a 7-2 game. Canmore would then see a defender accidentally bank the puck off their goaltender”™s skate and into their own net on a breakout pass for an awkward own goal to notch the 8-2 final score.
The Oilers will host the Drayton Valley Thunder on Friday night with an opportunity to make it seven straight wins at home. Tickets are available online at tickets.okotoksoilers.ca
Photo via Chad Goddard Photography