OKOTOKS, AB (October 9, 2021) ““ Austin Zavoda (Hershey, PA) stopped all 23 shots he faced for his second consecutive shutout, and the Okotoks Oilers”™ third consecutive, in a 3-0 win over the Drumheller Dragons on Saturday night at Pason Centennial Arena.
The Oilers become just the seventh team in AJHL history to post three consecutive shutouts, and the first since Spruce Grove did it in 2015. It”™s the second time the franchise has done it, after the 2013-14 squad accomplished it in February of 2014.
The Oilers leapfrog Drumheller into third place in the AJHL South Division with the win at 6-3, just two points back of Brooks and Camrose in first and second place respectively.
Rieger Lorenz (Calgary, AB) opened the scoring for the home side with just 17 seconds left in the first period, when a pass from captain Tucker McRae (Calgary, AB) at the right point found the Oiler forward at the left circle for a top shelf wrister and the eventual game-winning goal.
No goals were scored in the second period, but the Oilers were on their heels late when Ethan Jamernik (Calgary, AB) was called for a major penalty for a check from behind and ejected from the game. But the Oiler penalty kill successfully killed off the long disadvantage, and the team was only outshot 9-7 in the period despite the extensive PK time.
Nolan Flint (Beaverlodge, AB) then doubled the Oiler lead 11:49 into the second, tapping home a feed off the rush from Brody Spencer-Ha (Okotoks, AB) for his second of the season. At 17:19, Dean Spak (Calgary, AB) scored on a backhander from the slot for a 3-0 Okotoks lead, and Zavoda made several key stops down the stretch to preserve the shutout.
The Oilers will next host the Blackfalds Bulldogs on Thanksgiving Monday with a special 4:15 PM start time. All fans under 18 can get tickets to the game for free, which are available online at tickets.okotoksoilers.ca.