The score was much closer than the competition, Sept. 17, as the AAA Bantam Airdrie Xtreme knocked off the Okotoks Oilers 3-2 to win its regular season home opener.
Out-shooting the Oilers 40-16, Airdrie built a three goal lead in the second period, and survived a late rash of penalties to claim victory.
“It’s nice to get that first win to start the year,” said Xtreme head coach Terry Keogh.
The teams battled to a scoreless tie in the opening 20 minutes, which followed a 20-minute pre-game ceremony introducing the players on this year’s Xtreme roster. Both teams struggled to adapt to Hockey Canada’s crackdown on hits-to-the-head, splitting a combined 44 minutes in headshot penalties by the final buzzer.
The Xtreme failed to score on a 1:59 five-on-three advantage early in the contest, but made amends in the middle frame, scoring on both ends of a similar advantage.
Seven minutes into the stanza the Xtreme peppered Okotoks netminder Jacob Standen, answering multiple rebounds with multiple shots. Eventually Chad Harrison tickled the twine to put Airdrie up 1-0.
Less than 30 seconds later Harrison struck again, this time tipping an Adamu Tanaka point shot past the netminder.
The Xtreme expanded the lead again, with 8:18 remaining in the second period. While killing a penalty, Airdrie’s Kris LeClair forced a turnover behind Okotoks’ net, and wrapped it around Standen on the wide side to tally the Xtreme’s first shorty of the campaign.
Airdrie continued to dominate the rest of the stanza, refusing to allow even one Oiler to skate the puck through the neutral zone.
“We came out sort of flat after all the pre-game introductions. It took us a bit to get into the game,” said Keogh. “But in the second period we showed what we can do when we skate, play our positions and compete.”
Okotoks made a game of it in the third period, seizing momentum with back-to-back five-on-three power plays.
Eventually Quinton Peplinski put his team on the board with a shorthanded marker with 11:50 remaining in the contest.
Okotoks captain, and the team’s best skater, Mason McCarty drew his team within one with 1:18 to play, but it proved to be too little, too late.
Overall, Keogh was pleased with his team’s performance.
“We knew coming into this year that we have good depth,” he said. “We may not have that one guy who can break a game wide open all by himself, but we have plenty of good depth.”
Harrison, with two goals, was named the game’s first star. Also notching points for the Xtreme were LeClair (1G), Tanaka (1A), Tristan Thompson (1A), Kyle Antochow (1A) and Troy Van Tetering (1A). Xtreme captain Marshall Burr, a defenceman, was named the game’s third star while netminder Ryan Ternes picked up the win.
Airdrie’s elite hockey clubs are poised to host home openers over the next several weeks:
• The Junior B Airdrie Thunder of the Heritage Junior Hockey League will host the Three Hills Thrashers, at 8 p.m. Sept. 23.
• Airdrie’s AA PeeWee Lightning of the South Central Alberta Hockey League will take on the Wheatland Braves, Sept. 24 at 12:30 p.m.
• Airdrie’s AA Bantam Lightning of the SCAHL are slated to host the Medicine Hat Venom, Sept. 24 at 3:45 p.m.
• The AA Midget Lightning, also playing in the SCAHL, will host the Innisfail Flyers at 3:45 p.m. Oct. 2.
• The A/C Avalanche of the Alberta Minor Midget Hockey League will face the CBHA Blackhawks at 7:15 p.m. on Oct. 8.
All of these home openers will be at the Ron Ebbesen Arena in Airdrie.
