A thrilling finish to the conference championship saw Okotoks skate away with the banner.
The Okotoks Oilers scored a 7-6 win over the Lacombe Ford Central Alberta Selects in Game 3 of the best-of-three Alberta Elite Hockey League U15 AA South Conference on March 9 in Blackfalds to advance to provincials next weekend.
Okotoks won all six of its games at the regional round-robin tournament over the first weekend of the month with wins over Foothills, SEAC, Lethbridge, the Golden Suns out of Taber and the host Wheatland.
From there, they advanced to the conference finals versus the Lacombe Ford Central Selects.
In Game 3, Okotoks captain Cody Carson scored four goals, Bracen Lybbert had two goals and an assist with Caden Colfer adding the other tally.
Matthew McCallum backstopped the Oilers with 42 saves in the seesaw affair in which the Selects more than double Okotoks’ shots on goal.
The Oilers forced a third game after skating to a 3-2 triumph on home ice in Game 2 on goals from Carson, Blaze Barkley and Bennett Nixon. The Selects won the series opener by a 5-4 count.
It’s a repeat trip to the top of the podium as Okotoks won both the conference and league title in 2024.
The five-team provincial tournament features the Calgary Hawks, Calgary Rangers as well as the Rural Conference champion Lloydminster Blazers and Metro Conference winning St. Albert Bears.
The provincial tournament runs March 20-23 at the Cardel Rec Centre.
For more information, go to aehl.ca.
