It’s becoming as ubiquitous in the spring as winter storms in southern Alberta.
For the sixth straight postseason, the Okotoks Oilers and Brooks Bandits are on a playoff collision course, this time of the BCHL Alberta Division semifinal variety, with the longtime foes kicking off the best-of-seven second round series on Friday.
“The biggest thing is we’ve got to find a way to slow them down,” said Oilers head coach and GM Tyler Deis. “That’s being physical, that’s being smart, that’s making sure we manage our pucks.
“We’ve got to try and keep their speed down, play well and be consistent as a group.”
Brooks dominated the season series with Okotoks, taking all 11 meetings in both the AJHL and BCHL regular season, and were the runaway top squad in the five-team division with a 44-8-2 record.
The Bandits and Oilers met in last year’s second round of the AJHL playoffs, a series the Oilers took to six games after having a much tougher go of it in regular season play.
This series marks 10th time the teams have met in the postseason.
“It’s new, ours is a new team, they’re a new team and they’ve got a really good team over there,” Deis added. “You’ve got to believe in the sense that you can beat them, start from there and make sure you’re smart in all three zones and that your awareness is top-notch.”
Brooks, as the top-seed, had a bye through the first round. Okotoks eliminated Spruce Grove in a three-game sweep in the wildcard series to get to round two.
“They’re a hard-working team, a heavy team and they play with pretty good structure,” Deis said of Spruce Grove. “I thought our guys played well, they stayed focused and they stayed to the game plan that we had drawn up for it and good things happened and we got the three wins.”
Jagger Tapper had a goal in each of the three games, along with three assists to pick up BCHL Alberta Division Player of the Week honours.
“When he plays fast, when he plays aggressive, he’s an unbelievable player,” Deis said. “That’s the part he’s got to make sure he’s doing consistently and playing that type of game.”
Another highlight for the Green and Gold was the play of its most veteran forward line with Owen MacNeil flanked by wingers Dean Spak and Connor Gourley. The trio combined for five goals and 12 points in the first round.
“It’s a lot of junior experience there,” the coach added. “They’ve got to step up and they did step up in that series and it just gets harder and harder as you go deeper and deeper.”
The series gets underway in Brooks on April 19 with Game 2 to follow on April 20. Okotoks will host Game 3 and 4 on April 23 and 24, and Game 6, if necessary, on April 28.
The other BCHL Alberta Division semifinal series features the No. 2 seed Sherwood Park Crusaders and No. 3 seed Blackfalds Bulldogs.
For more information, go to okotoksoilers.com and click here for ticket information.
