Oilers couldn’t find an answer to the Bulldogs offence attack

Written by: Scott Savard

Headline photo: Chad Goddard

Okotoks, AB (March 21, 2026) – The Okotoks Oilers and the Bulldogs finished off their season series with the Oilers falling 7-1 in Blackfalds tonight during their final road game of the 2025-2026 BCHL campaign.

Due to a recent injury bug, the Oilers were down two players from icing a full roster as they went up against the Bulldogs, who are fighting with the Brooks Bandits for the top spot in the Interior East Division, with the Rogers BCHL playoffs looming.

Patrik Kliment (Banska Bystrica, Slovakia) made the start for the Green and Gold, stopping 30 shots in the tilt. Olivér Király was on the opposing side of the ice as he was in between the pipes for Blackfalds.

It would take 12:36 to pass by in the first period before the game’s first goal, with Thomas Neu breaking open the scoring for the Bulldogs while on the power play. Nate Porter (Hingham, MA) answered back with his fifth goal of the season, less than a minute later, with Marko Lisica (Plainview, NY) collecting the primary assist, followed by Oilers assistant captain Michael Kowalski (Chicago, IL) adding the secondary helper.

The Bulldogs would take over from there with six unanswered goals. Luke Dahlen picked up the eventual game-winner less than two and a half minutes after Porter’s tying goal. Neu added his second goal before the first would come to a close.

Neu completed his hat trick 2:19 into the second frame to give the Bulldogs a 4-1 lead. Joey Melo added a goal under four minutes later to close the second period scoring. Nikita Ivashchenko and Liam Hoff both found the back of the net for the 7-1 final.

The Oilers will host their final two games of the season this coming weekend, as the Sherwood Park Crusaders visit on Friday, followed by the number one seed in the BCHL Interior Conference, the West Kelowna Warriors, on Saturday.