Dean Spak talks about his series-winning goal

The Okotoks Oilers finished off the Spruce Grove Saints in just three games after sweeping them in the first round five-game-series in both teams' first BCHL playoff appearance. 

In game three it was a back-and-forth tilt with the Green and Gold edging out the Saints 5-4 with the game and series-winner coming from team captain Dean Spak.

Spak would redirect a nice pass from Jagger Tapper who stripped a Saints player off of the puck before they could exit their own zone.

"I had just got on the ice; someone had a good change for me. Jag made a great play, he stripped that defenceman on the back check. I read off him because I know he is super good at making plays like that, me and him always seem to find each other. I went right to the net, saw the D-man look the other way for a second. He slid the puck right through and luckily it bounced right in," Spak said.

"I didn't realize it was in until after I came around the net, pretty excited when I saw that one go in."

During the Saints series it was clear that the Oilers wanted to take point shots with traffic in front making it extra hard on the Spruce Grove netminders.

"That's definitely something that was a part of our gameplan for Spruce. We tried to up the intensity a little bit, our forecheck, making sure we were hitting their D-man playing a physical game. We wanted lots of shots on net, they have good goalies," he said.

"It was a part of what we planned and practiced. It was nice to see those things turned out and that we won those games."

Dean Spak all smiles after advancing to the next round.

Ever since the move to the BCHL, Spak has led his team in points with 21 in 17 games. Seven of the points came from goals and the other 14 coming from assists.

"It's a collective effort, from my linemates, the whole team, we kind of amped up our atmosphere in the room. I took that a little bit on myself to make sure my game was the best it could be. At the start of the year, I had a little injury, a little setback and I wasn't in the lineup. Finally started putting points together," he said.

"It's a collective matter of linemates, our powerplay was clicking for a bit and had some luck there too. I was just trying to do my best and good things happened for me this year."

Not only did Spak lead his group in points, but being team captain his reasonability's also mean leading on and off the ice which has been easier for him this year with all the veteran talent on the team.

"Honestly it's been pretty easy, we have an older team. Last year was again pretty average age, but this year we have lots of leadership in the room. There are guys who have played four or five years in junior, quite a few of them," Spak said.

"I lean on my teammates and the veteran guys in the room to help me out. The whole team is great, it's not too big of a job for me because everyone pulls their weight really well."

One of the veterans who have helped Spak during his tenure with the Oilers is the Greg Wedderbum award winner, Brett Huxley.

"He's such a motivator for us, he's had a tough junior career with injuries. It's great to see him back playing, when he's succeeding I think the whole team is succeeding. When we see him going, it's a boost for us," he said.

"He's great in the room, great on the ice, and he's a guy who honestly helps us out so much when he's playing. When he's not injured, it's great to have in the lineup."

After sweeping the Saints, Spak and his team are looking toward taking the series against the number one seeded Brooks Bandits in a seven-game-series. One focus is going to be limiting the Bandits scoring touch and removing their speed through the neutral zone.

"Obviously they are a fast team, they put a lot of goals up. Not letting them score is going to be our biggest focus, and slowing their players down with how much high-end talent they have. It's just little things like details and our defensive zone has to be tight. With players on that team, if you give them a little slack they are going to capitalize on you," Spak said.

"We have to clean everything up and be playing our best hockey. After that series against Spruce Grove, we are going to have some confidence, hopefully we can come out with a bang, keep it tight, keep the scores low and slow those guys down."

Spak's former teammate and current winner of the NCAA Frozen Four Championship with University of Denver, Rieger Lorenz has kept tabs on how the team and Spak have performed this year.

"He's one of my closest friends, I still keep in touch with him to this day and I wish them all the best," Lorenz said.

Brooks and Okotoks will start their seven-game-series on Friday (April 19) when the Bandits host the Green and Gold with a start time of 7:00 pm.

You can listen to the game on The Eagle 100.9 or visit Okotoks Online to follow the action. Pre-game show starts at 6:45.

To view Spak's series-winning goal, click the video bellow and start it at the 5:38 mark.