Goal scoring and special teams prowess told the tale in Okotoks’ pre-season kickoff.
The Sherwood Park Crusaders built a 4-1 lead and held off a rally to edge the Okotoks Oilers 5-4 in BCHL pre-season action in front of over 600 fans at the Viking Rentals Centre on Saturday night.
Tristen Buckley scored the visitors first of two on the man advantage in the first three minutes with Okotoks answering within three minutes when blueliner Brayden Duy’s well placed wrist shot on the man advantage also found the back of the net.
The Crusaders built a three-goal lead early in the second through Tristan Payne, Luke Norcross and Ben Bowtell with the Oilers again rallying to even the score.
Michael Kowalski, a 2005-born forward from Chicago, scored on a deflection in the high slot, Ryan Boyce, from B.C., scored on a well-executed backdoor feed from Myles Gauld and Joseph Meredith, an Ohio product, added the fourth on a rebound opportunity late in the frame.
The Crusaders’ Jeremy Loranger’s third period goal on the powerplay would prove to be the difference.
Simon Westling, a 6-foot-4 netminder from Sweden, made 28 saves in goal for Okotoks.
Okotoks is on the ice for four more preseason games, the next away from home.
The Oilers are on the road on Sept. 10 and 13 for games in Blackfalds and Brooks and return home for a Sept. 14 clash versus the Cranbrook Bucks at 7 p.m. The exhibition slate closes Sept. 17 in Blackfalds.
The puck drops on the 2024-25 BCHL regular season on the Sept. 20-21 weekend in a home-and-home set with the Brooks Bandits.
For more information, go to okotoksoilers.com.
