Written by: Scott Savard
Headline photo: Scott Savard
Okotoks, AB (November 21, 2025) – The Okotoks Oilers are on their second weekend road trip in a row as they travel to Cranbrook tonight to face the Bucks and then make their way to Trail tomorrow to take on the Smoke Eaters for the second time during the 2025-2026 BCHL regular season.
Two weekends ago, both the Smoke Eaters and Bucks made their way to Viking Rentals Centre. The Oilers were able to split the weekend series, winning 8-3 over Trail, followed by a 4-2 loss to the Bucks. Nikolaj Rupi would single-handedly win the game for the Bucks, scoring all four goals for Cranbrook. As for the game against Trail, captain Brett Wilson (Calgary, AB) was the hero after completing his first-ever BCHL hat-trick and adding an assist for a four-point game.
The Oilers are coming into the game tonight against the Bucks after picking up a huge 3-0 win over their divisional rivals, the Spruce Grove Saints. The win came after a forgettable performance against the Blackfalds Bulldogs, which the Oilers will put in the rearview mirror. Oilers Assistant Coach and Director of Player Development Corban Knight said he was impressed with how the team responded after the loss to the Bulldogs by shutting out the Bucks the next game.
“That first game, Friday night, I think we just completely got away from how we want to play here and what our standard is as a team. You can’t do that against that team (Bulldogs), especially in their home rink; they play really well there. They’re a veteran team and have a lot of really good players, and they’re coached extremely well. I think we just came in there expecting an easy night, and obviously, as the score showed, it was the furthest thing from that. I think it was a big learning moment for us,” Knight said about the team’s performance against the Bulldogs.
“That’s the beautiful thing about hockey, you get another chance, and for us, we got in the next night into Spruce Grove, and they’re a very good team too. For us to come up, kind of rebound and show some character like we did with the three nothing win was huge. You don’t really want to take much from a 9-1 game (against the Bulldogs), but I really like the way we rebounded and showed some resiliency. Almost like a short-term memory loss, you just got to sometimes crrap it and move on,” he added.
The Oilers hunkered down defensively against the Saints last weekend, as they allowed 18 shots against. While facing Blackfalds, the Oilers allowed 38 shots against.
“I think a lot of it was just the commitment to it. I don’t think we changed anything from our structure or anything like that. Sometimes with a 9-1 loss, it’s a bit embarrassing. Well, it’s very embarrassing, right? I think these guys kind of took that personally, and there was definitely much more commitment to the defensive zone. I think you saw that with the guys making simple plays to get pucks out. Just a lot of those sacrificial things you have to do to play good team defence. We did that, the obviosusly we got a great young team,” Knight said.
Kinght would also give credit to both his goaltenders, who have been solid options in net all season. He would add that both Eric Young (Mill Bay, BC) and Ben Vatis (Vancouver, BC) are competitive goaltenders who always look to improve in practice and push each other to be better. Knight believes both can have short memories when it comes to goals against and added that “no one has a 0 goals against average their whole career.”
Kash Crawford (Atlanta, GA) made his Oilers and BCHL debut last weekend, and Knight is enjoying what he has seen from the right-shot defenceman.
“He played really well for us. It’s hard coming in when you have to drive across the country and get into a new organization. A new town for him, a new country, there’s a lot going on. I’m sure it’s just a relief for him to get out there and play. I think we were really happy with that. He skates extremely well, and he makes a lot of really good decisions. I think for him, just being able to come to a place where he’s going to get a chance to play and maybe a little bit of a stable environment will be really good for him. We’re really excited about having him a part of the team and hopefully he can be a big piece moving forward,” he said about Crawford.
Knight said that he’s excited to play in two barns that have a great fan base and believes this is a great opportunity for the Oilers to string two good games together. He added that the BCHL is a strong league, making every game meaningful and competitive. Knight said the team has struggled a bit with the consistency of playing strong games, but feels this weekend is a great chance to turn that around.
The Oilers and Bucks will meet at centre ice in Cranbrook tonight at 7:00 p.m. 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.
