OKOTOKS, AB (October 16, 2021) ““ Once again missing seven regulars from the lineup, the Okotoks Oilers (7-5) dropped a 3-2 decision to the visiting Camrose Kodiaks on Saturday night in front of 702 fans at the Pason Centennial Arena.
The Oilers erased a 2-0 deficit with back to back goals in the second, but a tipped point shot by Graydon Gotaas of the Kodiaks in the third period ended up being the difference.
Camrose got back to back goals from Michael Lovsin on a tipped shot at 8:18 and a net-front deflection off the rush at 11:20 to build their initial lead, despite the Oilers outshooting the Kodiaks 11-6 in the opening frame.
In the second, it was the Oilers converting twice despite being outshot 11-8. Jagger Tapper (Calgary, AB) scored his first AJHL goal in his second game as an affiliate with the team, pouncing on a puck in the slot off a setup from Dean Spak (Calgary, AB) and rifling home a top shelf wrister to get his team on the board. 2:40 later, Nolan Flint (Beaverlodge, AB) took a pass from Sam Huck (Calgary, AB) off the half-wall, drove in front all alone and flipped a backhander over goalie Logan Willcott to tie the game up.
But the Kodiaks had the last laugh at 2:04 of the third when Gotaas fired a wrister from the mid-blue line that ricocheted off two skates and past Austin Zavoda (Hershey, PA) to notch the 3-2 final. Zavoda otherwise made 26 solid saves as the Oilers were outshot 29-26 in the game.
Okotoks will remain at Pason for the final two games of their seven-game homestand with a Friday night matchup with the Lloydminster Bobcats and Saturday night battle with Whitecourt, who beat the Oilers at the AJHL Showcase. Both games are at 7 PM with tickets available online at tickets.okotoksoilers.ca.
Photo via Chad Goddard Photography