Okotoks, AB (September 19, 2025) – The Okotoks Oilers opened up the 2025-2026 BCHL season at Viking Rentals Centre tonight against the Sherwood Park Crusaders, dropping the home opener 6-3.
The Oilers organization would follow hockey traditions with player introductions before puck drop to open up the season. After Oilers fans were introduced to the new and returning faces for Okotoks, the organization paid tribute to the late Madisson Cobb, the daughter of Oilers Head Scout Brad Cobb, followed by a moment of silence.
Ben Vatis (Vancouver, BC) made the start between the pipes for the Oilers in the home opener and did everything he could to give Okotoks a chance to come away with the win. Vatis made 45 saves on 50 shots in the contest, while Sherwood Park’s goaltender, Jack Scali, only had to make 25 saves on 28 shots for the Crusaders’ win.
“Obviously, this loss isn’t on Benny. He played great for us, and he made some huge saves even earlier in the game that kept us in it. So, it’s on us. We’ve got to protect him better and make his night a lot easier than it was. But yeah, he’s a kid that just battles his heart out; he’s such a competitor in practice, and you can see how it just translates to the games. We always know he’s going to give 110 per cent, and I think just for us as a team, we’ve got to make sure we’re a lot better for him,” Oilers Assistant Coach and Director of Player Development, Corban Knight, said about Vatis.
While the Oilers’ home opener didn’t produce the result Knight would have liked, he’s happy to get his first regular-season game on the Oilers bench under his belt.
“It’s really nice to be back in Okotoks to be a part of the organization. You know, a tough way to start the year. Sherwood Park is a good team, we know that, and they played well tonight. But I think for us, it’s definitely a lot to learn. Thankfully, we get back at it tomorrow and get to go down and play Brooks. It’ll be fun,” he mentioned.
The Crusaders set the tone early, netting two goals before seven minutes had passed in the first period. Stevie Grumley opened the scoring with a power play marker 3:12 into the game, followed by Maxime Ly just over three and a half minutes later. Oilers assistant captain Hunter Sawka (Cochrane, AB) potted the Oilers’ first goal of the 2025-2026 BCHL season with less than eight minutes left in the first period after finding a loose puck in front of the Crusaders net. Michael Kowalski (Chicago, IL) picked up the primary assist with Michael Mikan (Edina, MN) getting the secondary assist for his first point as an Okotoks Oiler.
The second period saw the Oilers tie things up at two goals apiece, with Holden Pajor (Eden Prairie, MN) putting the puck in the back of the net for his first goal as an Okotoks Oiler. Luke Calabria (Huntington, NY) picked up his first point of the season on Pajor’s marker with an assist, along with Henry Sampair (Mahtomedi, MN) collecting his first point as an Oiler with a helper. The Green and Gold took their first lead of the hockey game 10 and a half minutes later, when Teo Pisani (St. Albert, AB) sniped a shot past Scali on the power play to make it 3-2 Oilers. Josh Wiebe (Calgary, AB) and Brady Engelkes (Middleton, WI) added their first points as Oilers with the helpers on Pisani’s gorgeous goal.
Sherwood Park controlled the third period as they outshot Okotoks 21-5 and found the back of the net four times in the period to take the win. Jude Bray picked up the game-winning goal, with Danick St. Pierre and Noah Keys adding their first goals of the season. Grumley iced the game with his second goal of the night, coming on an empty Oilers net.
The Oilers hit the road for Brooks as they play their second game in as many nights to continue the 2025-2026 BCHL season. Okotoks and Brooks met three times during the preseason, with both teams taking a win at home and then both forcing overtime in the final meeting of the preseason.
Knight and the Oilers will look to correct the mistakes made tonight and continue to do the things that did work for them.
“Well, I mean, the offensive side of it is good. We had a lot of chances today and created a lot. But I think it’s going to be a huge learning curve just with how offensive this league is. If you’re not 100 per cent detailed in the defensive zone, you can get picked apart pretty quickly. For us, just defensively, it’s a little bit more commitment from everybody. But, that’s something we can fix, and we’ll address that tomorrow and plan on being a lot better tomorrow in Brooks,” Knight explained.
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.
