Bantam Chinooks see Provincials hopes dashed by Okotoks Oilers

Bantam Chinooks vs Okotoks Oilers
C. Davis photos and video

Chris Davis, Pincher Creek Voice

Pincher Creek's Bantam Chinooks hosted the AJHL Okotoks Oilers for the second of a two-game Provincials qualifier on Friday evening, February 8.

The Oilers hosted and won the first game of the series 3-2 in Stavely, which made it necessary for the Chinooks to win this one by 2 points to move forward.

It was evident right from the start that the Oilers were going to be tough competition.  This is the team that came in second in the November 2012 Bantam Chinooks home tournament.

The two teams played to a draw for the first half of the first period.  Jessen Luco of the Chinooks scored first, at the 8:46 mark, assisted by Collin Lincez and Haylie Klyen. Nice to see defencewoman Klyen getting an assist.  The Oilers tied it up almost immediately, with a goal coming from Carter Sten at the 7:57 mark, assisted by Jayson McCarthy and Cody Guttridge.  Goaltending on both ends was fierce.  From the 5 minute mark on Chinooks goalie Jeremy Kretz faced a constant barrage of shots, stopping them all, the period ending in a 1-1 tie.

The Oilers maintained their momentum in the second period, keeping the puck in the Chinooks' end for much of it, making Kretz dance as shot after shot came his way.  The Oilers scored two unanswered goals in the period, the first a goal at the 18:11 mark by Shawn Growbowsky assisted by Kyle Parkinson, and the second by Myles Leckie assisted by Connor Selmer.  Had the Chinooks' defence not worked so hard the results would have been more dire.   As it was, this was the period that cost the Chinooks the game.

Going into the third period the Chinooks seemed to have a renewed sense of purpose.  I overheard one Oilers fan commenting to another that they weren't expecting their team to have so much trouble defeating the Chinooks.  At the 18:27 mark Colin Lincez scored for the Chinooks, assisted by Jessen Luco and Keiran Douglas. That brought the score to 3-2, and suddenly it was anyone's game again.  Both teams fought to a draw for most of the remainder, hats off again to the goaltenders, but at the 4:37 mark Carter Sten scored his second of the game for the Oilers, this time assisted by Shawn Browbowsky, and you could almost feel the wind leave the sails.

Final score: Oilers 4, Huskies 2.

Penalties were light throughout, with both teams concentrating on playing hockey.  A very good game, highly entertaining, despite the disappointing loss for the home team.  On this night, Jeremy Kretz must have been one of the hardest working young men in minor hockey.  I'm betting the Oilers won't be forgetting his performance any time soon.

Afterwards Chinooks Coach Randy Wittkopf  said "It was an excellent game.  The kids played their hearts out.  They gave it their all."  

  "We moved our team to 'B' Provincials," explained Assistant Coach Todd Vance.  "Normally they're a Provincial 'C' team but we felt with the teams involved and Okotoks involved, we had them at our tournament, and we felt we had a better chance of the kids rising to the occasion.  Realistically, we're not going to Provincials but they did quite well."

The Chinooks played their second to last League game of the season on Sunday, February 10, an away game against Lethbridge 2.  The Chinooks won that one 3-2.  "If we beat them by 1 then we go into the playoffs," explained Tyson Goodreau after the Okotoks game.  "We need to keep what we did tonight, keep it up for the rest of the season and the playoffs." 

"We're just a young team.  We just work hard and we do well."

 The Chinooks are currently in second place in the Spud League standings, just 2 points behind Coaldale.  Their last regular season game is away against Picture Butte, scheduled for Saturday, February 16.  After that it's playoff time.