Opening week went according to script for the defending South Division champions. The Okotoks Oilers showcased their offensive might in scoring 13 goals in two games to open the Alberta Junior Hockey League season with road wins over the Camrose Kodiaks and Olds Grizzlys on consecutive nights. “It’s pretty close to where we thought we would be,” said Oilers head coach Tyler Deis. “We knew we had a pretty good offensive group here, including the defencemen, we’ve just got to make sure our special teams are clicking. With our penalty kill we gave up two each game. “We’ve got to get that a little more dialed in.” Okotoks erased a two-goal deficit to spoil the Camrose Kodiaks home opener with a 6-4 triumph Friday at the Encana Arena. Facing a 4-3 scoreline after two periods, the Oilers surged back with three unanswered in the final frame through Dylan Holloway and Blake Wells’ second goals of the game along with Zane Kindrachuk’s timely marker. Kindrachuk notched the game-winner off a set play on a breakout with Austin Wong leaving the puck for his linemate to fire into the back of the net. Wells added his second of the game on an empty netter to complete the scoring. Ayden Roche-Setoguchi had the other Oilers tally in the contest. Nolan Hildebrand made 22 saves on 26 shots to pick up the win in his Okotoks debut. “We had lots of guys playing in their first game,” said Kindrachuk, a second-year forward. “Once we kind of settled down it was just another hockey game and we were able to take advantage of that and dominate the second half of the game.” Okotoks carried the momentum into a 7-4 victory over the Olds Grizzlys on Saturday in an offensive slugfest. Wong and Kyle Gordon each scored twice, Olson potted his first of the season while Wells and defenceman Spencer McHardy each chipped in with one goal, one assist performances. “We saw what we’re capable of when all four lines and all six D are going,” Kindrachuk said. “When we let off we let them back in, but it was good to see we turned on the gas again and were able to take advantage of them and win the game. “We have lots of really good forwards on this team who can all score and it’s nice to see different guys step up every game.” After playing the majority of last season with Gordon as their linemate, both Wong and Olson have seen Kindrachuk slide into the role seamlessly through two games. “It’s a lot of fun. We’re all pretty fast and all bring different things to the table,” Kindrachuk said. “Wong is good on the fore-check, fast, strong. Olly is really smart and quick and we all work well together.” Rookie netminder Brady Parker earned the victory in his first junior start, turning aside 21 of 25 shots. “Playing against Camrose, their home opener, and Olds, it’s two good games there with a lot of emotion in those games and I thought we did well,” the coach added. “It’s the little things too, especially with all the new defencemen that we’ve got it will take some time to get them to play how we want them to play. “Hoon Kim, you can just tell with that one year of maturity his game is getting a lot more structured, he’s moving the puck a lot better. His two games, he did pretty well.” The Oilers make their long anticipated debut on home-ice on Sept. 21 versus the Kodiaks. The Drumheller Dragons are in town the following evening. Both games are 7 p.m. starts at Pason Centennial Arena. “It’s really exciting,” Kindrachuk said. “For some of these guys it will be their first time playing in front of this crowd and it’s a lot of fun, the atmosphere is awesome and it will be nice to see those guys take it all in for the first time.” For more information go to okotoksoilers.ca Three Stars *Dylan Holloway Fresh off representing Canada at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup the centre is playing with limitless confidence. Two goals, six points in two games to start sophomore year. **Blake Wells Quite a week for the pride of Blackie. Three goals and four points in two games on the heels of NCAA commitment to UMass Lowell River Hawks. ***Hoon Kim Picked out by coach Deis as a standout on the back-end. Sublime skater picked up two assists in two games and earned plaudits for his decision-making. Trade Winds The Okotoks Oilers traded 1998 born forward Regan Doig to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Battleford North Stars for future considerations. The move was made to give Doig, entering his third season, a chance to play a bigger role on a team in his final season at the junior level. The Olds native is a terrific penalty killer and put up a career high 28 points in 2017-18. “We wanted to give Regan a better opportunity with his development,” Deis said. “And we didn’t feel we could facilitate what his needs were this year. “It’s about these kids and we want to put them in successful spots where they’re getting better during the season. We wanted to put him in a situation where he was a top guy on a team so we made that decision.”
