*Story written/supplied by the Okotoks Oilers

 

Rieger Lorenz (Calgary, AB) had two goals and two assists, while captain Tucker McRae (Calgary, AB) chipped in four assists, as the Okotoks Oilers beat the Calgary Canucks 9-2 on Monday afternoon in front of a season-high crowd of 999 at Pason Centennial Arena.

Dean Spak (Calgary, AB) had the game-winning goal on his 19th birthday, as the Oilers outshot the Canucks 47-19 in the game, with goalie Jack McNaughton (Calgary, AB) pushing his record to 14-8-2 with 17 saves.

Lorenz’s first came 8:29 into the game on a shorthanded top corner shot, before Connor Gourley (Calgary, AB) doubled the lead with a wrister through a screen from the left side at 10:20. Spak’s game-winner came on a breakaway at 18:27 when he tucked a shot through the five hole to make it 3-0 Okotoks.

In the second, Sam Huck (Calgary, AB) tipped a Kade Turner (Calgary, AB) point shot 2:23 in for a 4-0 lead. Conyr Hellyer (Okotoks, AB) cut to the slot and fired in a top shelf wrist shot at 4:15 for a 5-0 lead, before Canuck captain Connor Bertamini scored off the rush at 8:31 to get the road team on the board.

But Turner scored his own goal at 10:09 on a wrister that bounced off a defender’s knee and pinballed into the net, and Brody Spencer-Ha (Foothills County, AB), scored from the net front after driving wide around a defender for a 7-1 Oilers lead after 2.

In the third, Daniel Rozsival scored on a rebound off the end wall 6:44 in to cut the deficit to five, but Lorenz responded with his second on a bullet of a one-timer set up by Tucker McRae (Calgary, AB). At 15:28, Nick Wolfenberg (Calgary, AB) scored from the front of the net, but the teams collided behind the cage in a brawl, with Canuck defenceman Ethan McColm ejected for an aggressor penalty in a fight with Turner.

On the next stoppage, Conyr Hellyer dropped the gloves with Easton Inglis after the latter was called for a match penalty for slashing, and both head coaches were ejected from the game.
The remainder of the game passed without incident, however, with the Oilers taking it 9-2 and moving two points ahead of Blackfalds for fourth place in the AJHL South.

The two teams will meet again on Wednesday night in Calgary before the Oilers close out their regular season home schedule on Friday night hosting Blackfalds at 7 PM on Fan Appreciation Night.