The Okotoks Oilers hit the road again looking to shed its consistently inconsistent play.
Okotoks has traded wins and losses over the past six games as part of a marathon road trip and unusual schedule which saw the Alberta Junior Hockey League team return home for a quick visit only to hop on the bus for four more away from Big Rock Country.
“Teams that are below us in the standings we may be taking a little lightly,” said Oilers captain Jordie Lawson. “If we’re going to be a number one team we have to treat everyone like Brooks or Spruce. We’re going to work on that.”
The green-and-gold made good on their return to Pason Centennial to start the week on a winning note in a 3-2 overtime triumph over the Canmore Eagles on Nov. 8.
A trip to Brooks on Saturday would go the other way on the Oilers as the Bandits vaulted to first place in the South Division with a 3-0 shutout.
Riley Morris, who tends to save his best for the Bandits, was again stellar on the last line of defence in holding Brooks at bay with 27 saves on 29 shots.
“Good teams, they don’t take games off,” said Oilers alternate captain Trey DeGraaf. “We’ve got to go into every game with the same mentality that it’s a big game.”
The Oilers (12-6-3) sit six points back of the Bandits and Calgary Canucks for top-spot while Canmore, the Camrose Kodiaks and Drumheller Dragons are all within three points of Okotoks in a veritable log jam in the South Division.
Not that the team is scoreboard watching just yet.
“We’re just worried about our game,” Lawson said. “If we win all the games we play then we should be at the top in the end. We can’t worry about what the other teams are doing.”
Looking to stay in the hunt, Okotoks heads north again to battle the high octane offence of the Whitecourt Wolverines on Nov. 18.
They then hit Grande Prairie for the second of a back-to-back with the Storm. The trip concludes in Camrose on Nov. 22 in a crucial divisional battle with the Kodiaks.
“It hasn’t been easy being away from the home rink all the time,” DeGraaf said. “We’ve got to treat it the same and go into those games up north just as if they were a home game.”
Okotoks, fourth from the bottom in the league in goals for, would be well served to get its 15th ranked powerplay in gear sooner rather than later.
“We’ve got to get more shots, go to the net and get a little greasier in front,” Lawson added. “As soon as we start doing that we will start scoring and get our powerplay going.”
Okotoks is back home for the first time in 17 days when the Drayton Valley Thunder pay Pason Centennial Arena a visit on Nov. 25.
For more information go to okotoksoilers.ca
