The Olds Grizzlys have a chance to move on to the third round of the Alberta Junior Hockey League playoffs tonight following three victories and one defeat last week against the Okotoks Oilers.
The series began March 6 with the Grizzlys managing a 3-2 overtime victory, followed by a 3-2 regulation win to go up 2-0 before the scene shifted to the Olds Sports Complex on Friday. The Oilers then managed a 5-4 victory but Brandon Thiessen stymied the Oilers Saturday, blocking all 31 shots he faced for a 3-0 shutout.
Grizzlys coach Brett Hopfe said in the first two games against the Oilers, while the team's work ethic was there, the players weren't as mentally prepared for the games as they should have been. Hopfe said good goaltending staked the Grizzlys to a 2-0 series lead.
“We got lucky in the first two games we played against Okotoks. I don't think we played our best games but we ended up finding ways to win those games, which is nice. I think the last couple of games we've worked hard and deserved to win,” he said.
On Friday, Hopfe said the team's effort wasn't good in the first period, but played much better in the second and third periods.
“I thought we competed extremely hard in the second and third period, right up until the last minute of the game and I think we let in a goal late there that I think was very suspect. I thought our goalie had that and the refs really let them bang away at that puck and after that goal counted I thought our guys didn't respond the right way,” Hopfe said, noting that after the controversial goal the Oilers then scored the game winner at 19:20 of the third, less than a minute later to seal the victory.
In Saturday's shutout, everybody was on board for the full game.
“I'm very excited right now because we've got two good goaltenders who are playing extremely well. I thought the guys battled hard in front of him (on Saturday) and Brandon made some huge saves for us,” Hopfe said.
In today's contest in Okotoks, Hopfe said he wants the players to compete on every shift. If they do that, they could move on to the next round.
“If we come out and play a full 60 (minutes), there's very few teams in this league that can out-compete us. We'll just worry about going out there and competing every shift.”
"I thought we competed extremely hard in the second and third period, right up until the last minute of the game and I think we let in a goal late there that I think was very suspect."Brett Hopfe, head coach, Olds Grizzlys
