A fixture on the AJHL South Division playoff calendar is officially back on the docket.
For the fifth consecutive postseason, the Okotoks Oilers and Brooks Bandits’ collision course has the teams meeting in the AJHL playoffs with the four-seed Oil looking to upset the two-time defending league champions in the best-of-seven South Division semifinal.
“It’s going to be extremely hard, they’ve only lost five games this year,” said Oilers head coach and GM Tyler Deis. “You didn’t think they could be any better than their team last year, but I think they’re as good or pretty damn close.
“It’s going to be a tough one. We’re going to have to play smart and figure out ways to slow them down and play desperate hockey.”
The division foes have met in the postseason eight times with Brooks owning a 6-2 edge. Okotoks last beat Brooks during a memorable South Final in 2018 en route to its first ever trip to the league finals. The Bandits swept Okotoks in last year’s South Final.
“We’ve got a bit of previous (history) from last year’s series and what happened in the playoffs and this year we want a better outcome,” said Oilers forward Connor Gourley. “They're a fast team and they have a lot of different systems from other teams across the league and that sticks out for us.
“We need to learn and adapt to it and it’s going to be an exciting series all the way.”
The Bandits had a bye through the first round as the top-seed in the South.
Okotoks swept the Camrose Kodiaks in four games in the opening round series, capped off by a 4-1 win in Game 4 on the road on March 15 led by a two-goal game from Gourley.
“Camrose is a great team and they held a great test and there was a lot of close games there,” said Gourley of the first round set. “That’s playoff hockey, those close games, and for our rookies they get a feel for it and even the vets, they learn from it each and every game.”
Parker Sawka made 26 saves for his fourth win of the series, improving his playoff totals to a .922 save percentage and 2.00 goals against average.
The Oilers spread the wealth on offence in the opening round set with 18 skaters registering atleast one point, with Ty Yoder leading the way with four assists and six points while Sam Huck and Dean Spak registered five points.
“The depth part was good, we had a bunch of guys, our (2002-borns) really stepped up in that series,” Deis added. “I think that’s something we’ll have to rely on here. We’ll need all 12 forwards, all six D and both goalies going.”
Brooks had a 6-0 edge in the season series, outscoring the Oil by a 27-11 margin.
The offensive juggernaut Bandits led the AJHL in virtually every offensive category with 319 goals for, a +206 goal differential along with boasting three of the league’s top 10 scorers led by sniper and AJHL MVP Aiden Fink.
The series starts this weekend with Game 1 and 2 at the Brooks Centennial Regional Arena on March 24 and 25. Okotoks gets it shot at home on March 28 and 29.
“The simple stuff is what we want to focus on and make sure we’re ready on Friday night,” Gourley said. “The energy is there, even on the road, we feed off it and all year it’s been our bench creating our own energy. We try to help each other out by being loud on the bench and supporting each other.”
The other AJHL second round series in the South Division features Blackfalds against Drumheller.
For more information, visit okotoksoilers.ca.
Series schedule:
Game 1: March 24. Okotoks at Brooks
Game 2: March 25. Okotoks at Brooks
Game 3: March 28. Brooks at Okotoks
Game 4: March 29. Brooks at Okotoks
Game 5: March 31. Okotoks at Brooks
Game 6: April 2. Brooks at Okotoks
Game 7: April 4. Okotoks at Brooks
*All games are 7 p.m. starts
