One of the quickest Midget AAA teams out of the gate in the province is also its newest.
The expansion Okotoks Bow Mark Oilers (3-0-1) made it four games to start the Alberta Midget Hockey League season without a loss in picking up consecutive road victories over the weekend on their first road trip in franchise history.
“We’ve surprised not as much ourselves, but a lot of teams in this league and a lot people who probably had doubts about us,” said Bow Mark forward Joel Dawson. “It is our first year in the league and this start has been great. We’ve always been confident in ourselves and knew that we had a great group of guys.”
Bow Mark opened Thanksgiving weekend with a goal scoring feast in outlasting the Fort Saskatchewan Boston Pizza Rangers 5-1 on Oct. 7.
Isaac Benoit, Kale Clouston, Gibb Coady, Evan Woods and Jaevon Buschlen scored in the victory while blueliner Tyler Strath and captain Joel Krahenbil both chipped in with two assists.
“You get bus legs and it’s more difficult to prepare, but we all prepared really well,” Dawson said. “We came out with a great start on Saturday and played really well against Fort Sask. We didn’t come out as hot on Sunday, but we learned how well we can play as a team.”
The Oilers continued to share the offensive load in doubling up the CAC Gregg Distributors 4-2 in Edmonton on Oct. 8.
Okotoks scored twice on the powerplay through Coady and Hunter Maximnuk, Clouston scored at even-strength and Coady added the empty netter to seal the two-point triumph.
“We’ve got a lot of good forwards and D, offensive players and when everyone is going it’s great to see,” Dawson added. “Because we get that sustained pressure even the best teams in the league can’t handle that sustained pressure for the amount of time we can put it on them.” At the other end of the ice the goaltending duo of Hunter Young and Ty Tarvyd continue to be the backbone of the team in the early going.
Tarvyd made 32 saves for the victory over the Distributors while Young held the Rangers to one goal on 35 shots.
The AAA Oilers have allowed just seven goals against in four games.
“Right now at this stage goaltending has been a highlight and also our penalty kill,” said Bow Mark head coach Kevin Willison. “Pretty happy with the efforts, the blocked shots, the sacrificing during the penalty kill.”
Through four games the Oilers have carved out an identity based on hard work, sacrifice and special teams proficiency.
“The kids believed in themselves right from the start. It’s up to the coaches to make them believe they’re a good hockey team,” Willison added. “Right now they’re buying in, they’re working hard and we’re trying to establish an identification for this hockey club and over the last four games we’ve identified ourselves a little bit.”
Through four games Coady is tied for first in league scoring with four goals, Krahenbil sits tied for fifth with 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists) and Buschlen is tied for seventh with five.
The AAA Oilers get back on the road to Red Deer to battle the Chiefs on Oct. 14 and return home the following night for an evening showdown with CAC Gregg. Puck-drop is 6:30 p.m. at Pason Centennial Arena.
