Better late than never.
The Okotoks Oilers (13-9-1) were staring at an 0-3 road trip with a two-goal deficit in the third period before Jack Silverberg scored twice and Hunter Sawka notched the game-winner on a one-timer in the slot in the final minute of regulation to lift the team to a 7-6 triumph over the Lloydminster Bobcats on Nov. 12 in the border city.
“The goals that we’re giving up is a number that we want to situate ourselves to get down,” said Oilers assistant coach Reid Hnatowich on the Oilers postgame broadcast. “But I think if you look at the group and the weekend I think it would have been easy for us, with regards to the amount of games, to put that one behind us and just give up.
“I thought the push back was great and obviously battling right to the very end.”
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The defence got in on the offence during the barnburner with blueliners Kade Turner, Rylan Brown and Ethan O’Halloran finding twine and rookie forward Kade Duell adding the other tally.
Sawka finished with a game-high four points with Sam Huck adding a trio of assists.
The Bobcats took the front-end of the two-game set by a 5-3 margin on Saturday with Sawka, Hayden Fechner and Jagger Tapper scoring in a losing cause for the Green and Gold.
Okotoks opened the trip Friday in Bonnyville, dropping a 7-4 decision to the Pontiacs.
Sawka, who scored in every game on the weekend, lit the lamp along with Brown, freshman winger Brett Wilson and affiliate player Wyatt Yule.
“We’ll review and we’ll watch a lot from this weekend,” added Hnatowich. “That goals against is something that we’ve historically prided ourselves with, and still do, it’s an area for us that we need to focus and make sure that we just get better with.”
This week, Okotoks is home to the Calgary Canucks on Nov. 14, before a home-and-home set to conclude their season series with the Blackfalds Bulldogs on Nov. 17 and 18, the latter of which is in Okotoks at 7 p.m.
Okotoks and Blackfalds split the previous two games with the home team holding serve in each contest.
The Oilers and Canucks then do battle one more time on Nov. 20 in the Stampede City.
Okotoks sits sixth in the 16-team league, one point back of both the Bulldogs and Canucks.
For more information, go to okotoksoilers.ca.
