We're going to Game 5. The Olds Grizzlys blew the game open in the second period of their fourth meeting of their first-round AJHL south division playoff series with the Okotoks Oilers to defeat the Oilers 6-2 at home on March 10.
We're going to Game 5.
The Olds Grizzlys blew the game open in the second period of their fourth meeting of their first-round AJHL south division playoff series with the Okotoks Oilers to defeat the Oilers 6-2 at home on March 10.
Olds staved off elimination and have now forced a Game 5 to be played on March 12 in Okotoks.
"We talked about it before the game, you don't truly feel alive until you're faced with almost certain death," said Grizzlys head coach Brett Hopfe. "That's how we looked at today and the guys came out with a ton of energy, a ton of excitement. We talked about it before, it's not a sprint; it's a marathon. The guys stuck with the plan and executed tonight."
The two teams played a tightly checked game up until midway of the second period, when Olds scored three goals – two of them only 38 seconds apart.
At the 12:49 mark, the Grizzlys extended their 2-1 lead as forward Christopher Gerrie weaved into the Okotoks crease, where Ty Mappin was there to score on an out-of-position Oilers goalie, Jared D'Amico.
The two Olds forwards were at it again a few minutes later when Mappin missed on a breakaway coming out of the penalty box. However, Gerrie scored on an ensuing drive to the net to make it 4-1.
Okotoks scored late in the second as forward Ty Clay connected on a cross-crease pass from the Oilers regular-season scoring leader, John Edwardh.
However, Olds put the game away in the final period as Mappin, left all alone in front of the Oilers net, chipped the puck past D'Amico for his second goal and third point of the night.
The Grizzlys added one more goal on the power play to chase the Oilers goalie.
D'Amico gave up six goals on 29 shots but Hopfe is expecting him to rebound.
"I feel like we got underneath D'Amico's skin which is the first time in quite a long time we've been able to do that. He's a tremendous goalie over there, I'm sure he'll bounce back but it was nice for us to get under his skin and get a few by him," he said.
Grizzlys goalie Ethan Jemieff was named the star of the home team, stopping 37 of 39 shots.
He was helped by the defensive effort in front of him, with players blocking multiple shots on six Okotoks power plays.
"It's actually ridiculous. Our (penalty kill) probably blocked 25 shots tonight," Jemieff said. "Just everyone sacrificing for each other and that's what it's going to take to win."
With the team mired in debt and efforts to raise season-ticket holders unfruitful so far, the spectre of the Grizzlys playing their last game at the Olds Sports Complex hung over the club.
Jemieff, a local player, said the team had to tune the drama out.
"(Business operations manager) Joel (Hunter) came down, he talked to us and he said, 'Don't worry about that stuff,' he's dealing with it," he said. "The money, it'll come in, everyone will support us. Hopefully we'll go on a bit of a run here.
"You can't let that stuff affect you. If you're not that mentally-tough to let that stuff affect you, you shouldn't be here."
One night earlier, the Grizzlys dropped Game 3 by a score of 3-2.
Olds had beat the Oilers in Game 1 in Okotoks on March 6 by a score of 4-3 and lost to the Oilers the next night by a score of 3-1.
With 12:14 to go in the third period of Game 3, Oilers forward Rhett Gardner's shot from the left wing found the net to give Okotoks the eventual winning goal.
From that point on, the Oilers were content to clear the zone and ice the puck to seal the game.
Despite the score in Game 3, Hopfe was pleased with his team's effort.
"We worked hard. I actually felt we dominated the game for the most part," Hopfe said. "That first period we came out a little bit lackadaisical at times but second and third we took control of the game and just couldn't get it done at the end."
Behind 2-1 in the second period, Olds tied the game up when Grizzlys defenceman Jack Goranson one-timed a pass into the slot past D'Amico. The goal came on the power play with Oilers defenceman Max Mowat in the box for a tripping penalty.
D'Amico made 19 saves in his team's Game 3 victory.
Jemieff stopped 31 of 34 shots in the loss before 575 people in attendance.
The boisterous crowd was roused in the second frame when Grizzlys defenceman Chaydon Lauber fought Josh Smith of the Oilers in front of the penalty box. As game officials settled players down, assistant coaches could be seen jawing at each other between benches.
"We continue to work hard like that and get pucks on net and get traffic to the net. It's going to give us an opportunity to win," Hopfe said. "We're a blue collar group of players. We like to put pucks in deep and finish our checks. I think you could see tonight that we're starting to wear them down."
GRIZZLYS NAMED TO ALL-LEAGUE, ALL-ROOKIE TEAMS
The Grizzlys also received some good news last week regarding three team players selected for the AJHL's 2013-14 all-league and all-rookie teams.
League coaches and general managers unanimously chose team captain Spencer Dorowicz, who led the AJHL in goal scoring during the regular season with 40 goals and was the co-winner of the AJHL's Top Scorer Award, to play on the Reebok South Division All-League Team.
Grizzlys forward Chris Gerrie, who was named the league's rookie of the year this season, was also unanimously selected to the CCM South Division All-Rookie Team along with teammate Nikolas Koberstein.
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