The Wranglers have drawn first blood in the Heritage Junior Hockey League Final.
Sylvan Lake rallied from a two-goal deficit to double up the Carstar Okotoks Bisons 4-2 on home ice on Friday evening and take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five championship series.
Quick starters all playoffs, the Bisons once again earned the early advantage in the series icebreaker.
Blueliner Caden Scott opened the scoring on the powerplay and Sam Callahan notched his team leading eighth playoff goal just 39 seconds later as Okotoks took a 2-0 advantage into the first intermission.
The ice tilted in Sylvan Lake’s favour in the middle stanza and they were back on even terms by the end of the frame with Maddex Bignell and Hayden Motowylo rippling the mesh.
Justin Gyori broke the deadlock with a powerplay goal with just 2:08 left in regulation and Tyler Gyori added the empty netter in the final seconds to see out the result.
Okotoks will look to knot the series at 1-1 with Game 2 on Sunday, March 23 at 3 p.m. at the Murray Arena.
The series pits two of the most successful franchises in the HJHL and is the third consecutive championship series featuring both combatants.
The Wranglers have five HJHL titles to their credit, dating back to their time in Blackfalds and Lacombe, along with a trio of provincial championships.
The Bisons, the most decorated team in league history, have 14 HJHL titles and are the defending provincial champions.
For more information, go to okotoksbisons.com.
Series schedule
Game 1: Okotoks at Sylvan Lake. Wranglers win 4-2.
Game 2: Sylvan Lake at Okotoks. March 23, 3 p.m.
Game 3: Okotoks at Sylvan Lake. March 25, 8 p.m.
Game 4: Sylvan Lake at Okotoks. March 27, 8 p.m.
Game 5: Okotoks at Sylvan Lake. March 29, 6 p.m.
