Written by: Scott Savard
Headline photo: Chad Goddard
Okotoks, AB (January 9, 2025) – The Okotoks Oilers are in Spruce Grove tonight to start their weekend games, as well as the first of three games in five nights coming up for the Green and Gold.
After tonight, the Oilers will visit Sherwood Park tomorrow and then host a special Tuesday night game against the Brooks Bandits at Viking Rentals Centre for their first home game of 2026. Even though every game is important, as the 2025-2026 BCHL season is at the halfway point, the next three games are crucial as they are all against Interior East Division rivals.
“I think for us, you know, three really big divisional games before the All-Star break here. Coming off a break, going into another one here, we have this four-game stretch where it’s pretty important for us, and we got up to a good start in Vernon there. I think we just got to build off what we established in Vernon. I thought we played a really strong defensive game. We were working a lot in our D-zone and protecting in front of our net a bit more, and I thought we did a good job,” Oilers Assistant Coach and Director of Player Development, Corban Knight, said.
Knight added that it’s a dogfight right now in the standings, explaining that the next three games are important in helping them continue to push for a playoff spot once the season comes to a close.
While emotions are always high during Oilers and Bandits games, Knight is focused on each game that’s at hand and not looking too far into the future, as they have a tough opponent in the Saints tonight.
“I think the emotional differences, especially with the guys who were here before. We haven’t played Brooks much in a while, so that’s always an emotional game. But, right now, we are just trying to focus on (tonight), and then we’ll turn the page against the Crusaders (tomorrow). Brooks for us, well all know it’s there, it’s in the back of our minds, but we still have two huge names this weekend to focus on before that,” he said.
While the game against Brooks isn’t the main focus for tonight, Kinight is excited to dive into the heated rivalry come Tuesday night.
“I think just the rivalry and the hatred these two organizations have for each other. That’s built up over these years, I think that’s probably one of the things I missed most while playing in these kinds of games, it’s a little different the week of. For a lot of our guys, this is the first time playing (Brooks) at home,” Knight added about the rivalry.
Assistant captain, Hunter Sawka (Cochrane, AB), and 2005-born defenceman Luke Calabria (Huntington, NY) have both made it back to the lineup after dealing with injuries prior. Knight and the coaching staff are thrilled to have both players back as they are contributors on and off the ice with the Green and Gold.
“Yeah, it’s huge. Those guys are both guys that have been here, and they’re leaders on our team. They’re really good players, too, right? Sp, I think from on ice, you just see the veteran presence that they bring and how they can really lead our team on the ice. But, I think even more so, what they do in the dressingroom and on the bench as two guys everyone looks up to. They have put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into this organization. I think it really brings a calming presence and something guys really rally around. So, it’s been great having them back; they are both phenomenal young men, and they’re a lot of fun to be around. We definitely missed not having them, but now that they are back, we are pretty excited,” he said about Sawka and Calabria.
As for last weekend’s game, Knight liked the effort of the Oilers and thought the team played well coming off the break. He added that the team played a mature game and handled adversity with the travel and other unforeseen circumstances. The resiliency was shown last weekend, too, as the Oilers gave up a short-handed goal in the third period, but instantly responded as captain Brett Wilson (Calgary, AB) picked up a power play goal shortly after.
“Yeah, I think that’s a part of the maturation of our team right now. Maybe earlier in the year it would have affected us a little bit more, but I think the guys have just shown that they’ve grown a lot individually and as a team, and on special teams as well. I think that was a big answer for us,” Knight said about the Oilers not getting down on themselves after the short-handed marker.
The Oilers, who face the Saints tonight, will be taking on a team that announced yesterday that it had parted ways with four different members of their coaching staff, which makes tonight’s game even more intriguing.
The Green and Gold hold the season series lead over Spruce Grove as they hold a 2-0-0-1 record against their Interior East rivals, as they have picked up at least a point in all three games.
Puck drop for tonight’s game in Spruce Grove is set for 7:00 MST.
The Okotoks Oilers are a not-for-profit, community-run junior hockey franchise competing in the BCHL and operating out of Viking Rentals Centre. For more information, visit okotoksoilers.com or follow the Oilers on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.
