They say the posts are a goalie’s best friend, but sometimes a defenceman is too.
Okotoks Oilers blueliner Ryan Roberts was in the right place at the right time to clear the puck off the goal line to preserve a 2-1 lead in the late stages opening the door to a 4-2 triumph over the Lloydminster Bobcats Saturday at Pason Centennial Arena.
“I came back to the crease and saw that it squeaked through five hole and it surprised the hell out of me,” Roberts said. “I flicked it, just tried to get it out of the net and it actually hit someone in the face and went right by the post.”
A game of inches indeed.
Within two minutes the Oiler lead jumped from one to three.
First, Austin Wong took a feed from Carson Beers and wired home his second of the night and 52 seconds later freshman winger Quinn Olson potted a rebound to make it a 4-1 advantage.
The Bobcats added one late through Zach Webb, but that was all she wrote in the Alberta Junior Hockey League contest.
“We played hard, played a full 60 and their goalie (Pierce Diamond) did really well to keep them in,” added Roberts. “We deserved that one. We had a tough second period, but we kept going.”
Dylan Holloway added the other Oilers marker while Ben Howard made 29 saves to pick up his 14th win in 15 starts.
Okotoks improved to 15-1 with the victory, its fifth straight, to go three points clear of second place Brooks with two games in hand on the Bandits.
“We’re trying to play every team like they’re Brooks or Fort Mac,” Roberts said. “We don’t want to lull down to the lower team standards. We play every team like they’re the best team in the league.”
The Oilers opened the weekend in outlasting the Camrose Kodiaks 4-3 in a shootout.
Holloway and Gordon scored in the shootout with the latter potting the game-winner.
“I knew before I got on the ice I wanted to go five-hole,” Gordon said. “I stuck to what I wanted to do and it worked out.
The shootout triumph was Okotoks’ first venture into the skill session this season.
“When we get the puck in overtime we’re pretty aggressive,” Gordon said. “We want to score and don’t want to go to a shootout because then anything can happen.”
Holloway, Jacob Bernard-Docker and Olson scored in regulation time while Howard made 25 saves.
“We had good emotion and played with passion,” said Oilers head coach Tyler Deis. “We got away from our game plan a little bit this weekend, but we’re finding ways to win here and we’re sticking together as a group which is a real positive.”
Following an October to remember with an 8-1 mark the Oilers open next month up in a home-and-home with the third seed Drumheller Dragons.
Okotoks is in Drumheller for the first meeting of the season between the division foes on Nov. 3 followed by the return date Nov. 4 at Pason Centennial Arena. Puck drop is 7 p.m.
The Dragons are off to an excellent start and feature a pair of local figures in netminder Hunter Virostek and power forward Tyson Scott both from the Turner Valley area.
For more information go to okotoksoilers.ca
