Okotoks is looking to put on a show as provincial hosts both on and off the ice.
When the Hockey Alberta U15 AAA Provincial Championships hit Okotoks from March 23-26, the host Okotoks Oilers will seek to build upon a memorable experience at the competition one year ago.
“Going to provincials last year, having a great experience and getting a silver medal and the show that Fort Saskatchewan put on was awesome,” said Okotoks U15 AAA head coach Jamie Steer. “It’s all Jacquie Milford, for the most part, our manager had this idea that we should host this year that it would be great for our kids.
“She put the bid in and thank goodness we’ve got it and we’re looking forward to hosting this year and putting on a good show.”
For Steer, the team has to do everything it can to earn its way into the competition independent of its automatic berth into provincials.
Okotoks will go through the postseason with the goal of punching its ticket through the front door.
“We’ve got to be careful,” he said. “Last year Fort Saskatchewan hosted it, and they limped out of the playoffs and didn’t have a good run there.
“So just because you’re hosting it doesn’t give you an advantage, we’ve got to be ready to play when we get there.”
The team’s current form is extremely promising.
The Oilers made it 10 straight victories over the weekend to improve to 20-5-1-3 in the Alberta Elite Hockey League.
“It keeps getting better as the season is going on and getting ready for playoff time because that’s when games do matter,” said Okotoks U15 AAA captain Noah Milford. “Everyone is just buying in and as our coaches want, we’ve been getting pucks deep and we’ve just been bringing it to everybody, no matter who they are.”
Okotoks took it to the Calgary Bisons by an 8-3 score on Saturday to make it nine in a row before closing the weekend in an overpowering 3-0 performance on the road over the SEAC Tigers.
“We’re a real physical team, a real puck possession down-low team and I think the guys are starting to get the pucks down low and we’re outworking teams,” said Steer following the win over Calgary. “Just like today, they were the better team in the first period and we just wore them down and by the third period they didn’t even want to touch pucks anymore.
“If we can do that, we win most games.”
Commitment at practice is another factor, the coach noted, in the team’s ascension.
Time away from the rink over the holidays was also a huge benefit to the squad, Milford noted.
“Over the winter break, everybody needed some separation and to clear their minds and come in fresh,” he said. “And that’s what been the best for us, that winter break.”
Four players from the provincial silver medallists are back from last season in Milford, alternate captains Jake Perry, Kaden Hayes and netminder Carter Esler.
“We’ve got them all back from last year which says a lot about our program,” the coach added. “I’m very proud of the Okotoks Oilers and the OOAA program. There’s a lot of competition out there with academies and all of that, but to have four great players come back and lead us this year was awesome.”
Among the many lessons being passed on by the veteran leaders is to be ready to play regardless of opposition as there’s not a bad team in the U15 AAA loop.
“There was a stage there where we went through about seven, eight games where it didn’t matter who we played, we were just hanging on and just playing,” Steer said. “I’m trying to get them to show up and not worry about who we’re playing and just play our game.”
And when it comes time to put their spin on hosting provincials next month, they’ve got an impressive template to build upon from 2022.
“The host team held an amazing tournament,” Milford said. “It was a great experience and we just wanted to build a team to replicate that tournament and make it even better for everybody else.
“The atmosphere, they supplied teams with really good swag and made it an overall memorable tournament.”
For more information on the U15 AAA Provincial Championships visit u15aaa.haprovincials.ca.
