Written by: Scott Savard
Headline photo: Chad Goddard
Okotoks, AB (December 19, 2025) – Two Okotoks Oilers picked up their first BCHL goals tonight in Cranbrook as the Green and Gold held on against the Bucks to take the season series lead.
Tonight marked the third meeting between the two, with the Oilers taking two wins, both of which have now come on the road in Cranbrook. The last time the two met was back on November 21, with the Oilers coming away with a 6-3 win, which makes tonight’s win the second victory over the Bucks in a span of a month. In the three games combined this season, the Oilers have outscored the Bucks 12-10.
There were plenty of milestones to go around tonight as Jeff Niehaus (Calgary, AB) and Kash Crawford (Atlanta, GA) picked up their first career BCHL goals, former Buck, Jordan Murray (Decker, MB) picked up his first road point for the season, along with his first point against the team he used to play for.
Niehaus picked up his first junior goal in the second period after Grady Gustafson (Williams Lake, BC) got tangled up with two Bucks players inside the Cranbrook blueline and took the loose puck, ripping it on net while popping the water bottle.
“Definitely feels good to finally get the monkey off my back. Sometimes it feels like it’s never gonna happen, especially when you’re getting opportunities and just can’t seem to finish. I couldn’t have scored without my linemates Grady and Marko (Lisica -Plainsview, NY); they made a great play, and I just tried to do my part,” Niehaus said about his first career BCHL goal.
“As a team, we couldn’t have won without our goalie tonight. Everyone bought in, played for each other, and that’s what led to the win.”
Crawford would not only pick up his first BCHL goal, but it would also come at an opportune time in the third period, as it would hold up to be the game-winner.
“It was a great feeling. Gus (Gustafson) gave me a great pass from the middle, and I looked up and saw Jeff was taking away the goalie’s eyes completely, giving me a great opening,” Crawford said about his first in the BCHL and the game-winner.
“I think everyone was playing their game tonight, and everyone knew what the goal was. Things got a little shady for a minute in the third, but we dialed back in for the win.”
Murray, who had 11 points (4G, 7A) in 14 games coming into tonight, had only picked up his points at Viking Rentals Centre. That was until tonight, when he cashed in on the power play for his first point against his former team. Murray’s goal gave the Oilers their first lead of the game, which they would hold onto for the rest of the game.
“Well, we were doing good work on the power play there. Mikey (Mikan – Edina, MN) worked the puck back up to me after we had a couple of good chances. The killers were out of positions so I attacked when I had the opportunity. Obviously, it worked out well, but it started from our unit working well together, which led to me having a chance for myself. Obviously feels good to finally pop one on the road again,” Murray said about his power play marker.
As for the win, Murray reiterated Crawford’s sentiments about the third period by saying, “To be honest we could have had a lot more discipline in the third there but our strong start helped us hold off their push through the third, just need to stay more focused with that type of lead and not let the emotions of the game get to us.”
Eric Young (Mill Bay, BC) was back between the pipes for the Oilers, making 28 saves in the win and holding the Oilers in it after they were outshot 11-2 in the final frame. Josh Scully made the start for Cranbrook, which was the first time he had ever faced the Oilers in his career, as Jason Tremblay had made the two previous starts against Okotoks.
The Bucks opened the scoring 9:53 into the first period with Grant Denuccio adding to his goal totals. The Bucks wouldn’t be able to solve the Oilers until nearly 40 minutes later. Holden Pajor (Eden Prarire, MN) collected his ninth goal of the 2025-2026 BCHL season under five minutes later with Nate Porter (Hingham, MA) picking up the lone assist.
The second period was nearly even in shots as the Bucks held an 11-10 lead after the period came to a close, but Young would shut the door and add two more goals to extend their lead to 3-1. Murray picked up his fifth goal of the season just 47 seconds into the second period, with Mikan grabbing the assist to extend his point streak to four games. Niehaus picked up the 3-1 goal just under 15 minutes later, with Gustafson picking up his first point of the night.
The Oilers continued to find the back of the net in the third period as Crawford made it a 4-1 hockey game with Niehaus and Gustafson both grabbing the assists for their second points on the night. Tempers would quickly flare as former Okotoks Oiler, Teo Pisani, would drop the gloves with his once teammate, Brady Engelkes (Middleton, WI). The Bucks got fired up after the tilt and cut the Oilers’ lead to just one after potting two power play goals before the mid mark of the final frame. Denuccio added his second of the game, and Adam Csabi added the final Bucks goal.
The Oilers would hold on and pick up two valuable points as they have one game left until the holiday break.
Tomorrow, the Green and Gold will visit the Trail Smoke Eaters for their final game of 2025 with an 8:00 p.m. start time.
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.
