Oilers eliminated from Mac’s by AMHL rival
By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter
Tyler Lowey Photo
The Oilers were in a position every team wants to be in before the puck was dropped in their third game of the tournament: being in control of their own destiny.
Sitting 1-0-1, tied for top spot in Pool 4, a win would have all but sealed their ticket to the quarterfinals.
Standing in their way was the Chrysler Division-leading Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Alberta Midget Hockey League.
The two teams have faced off twice this season, with the Oilers winning the first meeting 4-1 and tied the Hurricanes 3-3 Oct. 29.
The Hurricanes were also 1-0-1 and needing a win to better their chances of advancing.
“We had a feeling going into the tournament that this game was going to dictate our fate. We knew it was a big game that could have put us in the driver seat, but we couldn’t get on track and Lethbridge was simply the better team,” said Oilers Head Coach Kevin Willison.
The Oilers had trouble finding their offensive footing, as they were held to just 12 shots through the first two periods.
“We knew it was going to come down to this game if we wanted to control our own fate, but we came up short,” said Oilers captain Joel Krahenbil.
Former Wheatland Athletic Association midget Chiefs forward Isaac Benoit missed the first game of the tourney with an illness, but caught fire upon returning and contributed on all three goals against the Hurricanes.
Benoit got the Oilers first goal in the opening frame from another former Chief, Mitch Desserre.
The Oilers enjoyed a lengthy five-on-three power play to close the period, but couldn’t find the back of the net and trailed 2-1 after the first 20.
Scoreless in the second, former Strathmore CFR Chemicals Bisons-affiliated player Jaevon Buschlen tucked a wrist shot through a crowd eight minutes into the third.
Then, with the game out of hand, Benoit added another snipe with 11 seconds remaining in regulation.
The loss meant the Oilers needed a win and then had to go up against the unforgiving tiebreaker formula to help their chances of advancing past the round robin stage.
Unfortunately, the Oilers were not one of the teams knocked out by goal differential, as they came up short again in the finale against the Prince Albert Mintos.
“We knew before the game that we needed a big win and to keep them off the scoreboard to give ourselves a chance. We just didn’t show up with the effort needed to move on,” said Krahenbil.
Krahenbil got his crew going to start the tourney, as he recorded one goal and four assists in the 6-1 stomping of the Greater Vancouver Canadians Dec. 26 at the Max Bell Centre. Affiliated players last year with the Bisons, Nathan Bailer and Kale Clouston, each chipped in with a pair of goals.
The Oilers followed up the big opening with a come-from-behind 3-3 tie against the New York Jr. Islanders Dec. 27 at the Max Bell Centre. Benoit supplied two goals while Bailer tied it midway through the third.
Krahenbil led the Oilers in points with six. Benoit was the team’s leading scorer with four goals. Bailer finished third on the team with three goals and a pair of assists, while other former affiliated players Jackson Kobelka (two assists) and Connor Bertamini (one assist) were productive.
Tyler Strath competed in the tournament last year with Strathmore and recorded a pair of assists in four games.
One of the two netminders from the tourney team last year, Hunter Young, started a pair of games, finishing 0-1-1, stopping 55 of 61 shots.
Last year’s lead goaltender of the provincial champion Chiefs, Ty Tarvyd, went 1-1-0 with a .910 save percentage and 3.50 goals against average in the tournament.
The Oilers return to AMHL action Jan. 6 when they take on the Calgary Flames. With it being an Olympic year, the Canadian Women’s national team is playing exhibition games against AMHL teams. They battle the Oilers Jan. 6 in Okotoks.