OKOTOKS, AB (February 6, 2022) ““ 26 saves from Jack McNaughton (Calgary, AB) were nearly enough to force overtime for the Okotoks Oilers on Sunday afternoon, but the Spruce Grove Saints took a 2-1 decision on Sunday night at Pason Centennial Arena.
Nikola Jovanovic opened the scoring for Spruce Grove 4:48 into the game on a power play one-timer from the slot, before Brett Huxley (Calgary, AB) tied it for the home side at 15:39 on the Oilers”™ first power play; captain Tucker McRae (Calgary, AB) led the rush, taking a hard hit from a Saint defender but muscling the puck ahead to Huxley, who drove the net and scored on a point blank shot on Spruce Grove goalie Tristan Martin.
The Oilers looked to have taken the lead late in the second period when Sam Huck (Calgary, AB) gloved down a puck at centre ice, carried in to the offensive zone, and fed a pass across to Austin Reschny (Macklin, SK), whose quick wrist shot skipped off Martin to a waiting Huck at the backdoor for an easy tap-in goal. But as Huck made contact with the puck, the referee blew the whistle pre-emptively, and the goal was washed out.
The Saints then took the lead in a dominant third period, outshooting the Oilers 8-2 and converting on a Luigi Benincasa breakaway at the 3:40 mark.
The Oilers will head on the road for three games up north next weekend, beginning in Fort McMurray on Friday night; pre-game coverage starts at 7:15 PM on The Eagle 100.9.