OKOTOKS, AB (Jan. 7, 2025) — It took a while, but the Okotoks Oilers are finally back at .500 on the season — and they’ve only just started climbing in the BCHL Interior Conference standings.
With their thoroughly convincing 4-1 victory over the highly-regarded Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Saturday night, the Oilers improved to 15-15-0 on the season. They outshot Salmon Arm 27-19 in the contest and scored at least four goals for the sixth time in their last eight games.
Brock Souch (Edmonton, AB), acquired from the Brooks Bandits in early November, has re-established himself as one of the top offensive players in the BCHL over the last month, racking up 13 points in nine games since the calendar flipped to December. He’s only been held off the scoresheet once over that span and was named the first star after Saturday’s win.
The Oilers have maintained a strong balance of imported and local talent in their first full BCHL season, with Souch one of the main representatives from the latter group. Jackson Rowland (Calgary, AB) is another. The captain and All-Star is in the midst of another banner year, leading the team in points-per-game (0.92) and goals (13).
Furthermore, one of the biggest surprises in Okotoks has been the emergence of centreman Michael Kowalski (Chicago, IL), who is tied with Brett Wilson (Calgary, AB) for second on the team with 10 goals. Rowland scored twice to accompany tallies by both Kowalski and Souch in Saturday’s victory.
Although the middle two wins in the Oilers’ current four-game streak came against the bottom-ranked Blackfalds Bulldogs, the bookends were against two of the top five teams in the BCHL.
Okotoks kicked off this current run against the Penticton Vees, whose 24 wins and 50 points both lead the entire league. Despite being outshot 48-24 at the South Okanagan Events Centre on Dec. 29, the Oilers edged the Vees 4-3 in overtime off goals by Souch, Kowalski, Joey Meredith (Toledo, OH), and Kade Duell (Taber, AB), as well as an outstanding performance in net by Simon Westling (Harnosand, SWE).
In their subsequent back-to-back victories over Blackfalds, the Oilers scored eight goals in total, allowed four, and outshot the Bulldogs 83-63. Playing in front of a season-high crowd of 1,227 at Viking Rentals Centre on New Years’ Day, the Oilers rolled to a 5-2 win to move within one game of the .500 mark for the first time since late September. They officially returned to even footing three days later with a win against a tired Silverbacks group.
Now with 30 points in 30 games this season, the Oilers sit in seventh place in the Interior Conference and are tied with the Langley Rivermen for 13th in the league. Additionally, five of their next seven games are against teams below them in the BCHL standings, with the two exceptions being teams they’ve beaten this year (Salmon Arm and Trail).
Up next, the Oilers will hit the road to take on the West Kelowna Warriors (11-15-7) and Trail Smoke Eaters (22-8-3) before returning home to face the Spruce Grove Saints (13-16-2) in their annual School Day Game on Jan. 14 at 11:30 a.m. MT.
Photo: Chad Goddard
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About the Okotoks Oilers
The Okotoks Oilers are a not-for-profit, community-run junior hockey franchise competing in the BCHL and operating out of Viking Rentals Centre. The Oilers are currently in their 20th year of play and their first full season since officially joining the BCHL in January 2024. For more information, visit okotoksoilers.com or follow the Oilers on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.
