Junior hockey will return to the Foothills next week.
The Alberta Junior Hockey League introduced its schedule for the 2021 Return to Play with the Okotoks Oilers forming a three-team cohort with the Brooks Bandits and Calgary Canucks.
Okotoks will kick-off its game action on March 13 with a home date versus Brooks.
The Oilers will play eight games, exclusively on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, up to April 4 at which point the league will take a break before new team cohorts are introduced.
The other team cohorts to start include the Drumheller Dragons, Camrose Kodiaks and Olds Grizzlys; the Sherwood Park Crusaders and Bonnyville Pontiacs, Drayton Valley Thunder, Whitecourt Wolverines and Grande Prairie Storm with the final group pitting the Fort McMurray Oil Barons with the Spruce Grove Saints.
Both the Canmore Eagles and Lloydminster Bobcats opted out of the AJHL’s Return to Play.
The AJHL has been on pause since team sports restrictions were put forth in the province in November.
In a league press release on March 1, the AJHL reported its first round of testing for COVID-19 through DynaLife of 13 teams, 367 players and staff yielded zero positive results.
Another round of testing takes place this week before the squads are able to return to team practices.
All AJHL games will be broadcast on HockeyTV with no spectators currently permitted at games.
For full schedule information go to ajhl.ca.
